Trailblazing ballerina Misty Copeland is stepping back into the global spotlight at the Academy Awards, performing a tribute to Ryan Coogler’s Sinners that doubles as both Oscar spectacle and cultural statement.
On Sunday, March 15, the dancer, 43, is set to join Sinners stars Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq for a live performance of the film’s track “I Lied to You.”
A Tribute Inspired By Cultural Phenomena
On Tuesday, March 10, the ceremony’s executive producer and showrunner, Raj Kapoor and executive producer Katy Mullan announced the performance, citing it as inspired by “cultural phenomena.”
“This year, our music performances are inspired by two of the most powerful cultural phenomena in film: ‘Sinners,’ the most nominated film in Oscars history, and ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ a global pop culture sensation,” they said. “They expand into cinematic tributes that celebrate the relationship between music and storytelling and why these films resonated so deeply with audiences around the world.”
Along with Copeland, Caton, and Saadiq, the tribute will feature Eric Gales, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Alice Smith, and legendary blues artist Buddy Guy.
Missing this would be a sin.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 10, 2026
Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq will take the stage to perform “I Lied to You” from SINNERS at the 98th Oscars, joined by Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush,… pic.twitter.com/wlntO34RJ1
A Legacy That Reshaped Ballet
For Copeland, the performance marks a return to the stage after she retired from American Ballet Theatre in 2025, closing a 25-year career that reshaped what classical ballet looks like at its highest level.
In 2015, she became ABT’s first Black female principal dancer—a barrier-breaking appointment that reverberated far beyond Lincoln Center and into pop culture and mainstream media, underscoring the importance of representation in elite arts spaces.
Not long after taking her final bow, Copeland posted a video on her Instagram revealing she had undergone hip replacement surgery.
Her journey to the stage was far from the traditional path of a classically trained ballerina. Copeland began training at 13 at a Boys & Girls Clubs of America location in Los Angeles. Despite her late start, she rose through the ranks of one of the world’s premier ballet companies, joining ABT in 2000. Over more than two decades, she performed lead roles in iconic productions such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Firebird, Giselle, and The Nutcracker.
Following her retirement from ABT, Copeland joined the company’s Board of Trustees, positioning herself to help shape who gets trained, funded, and promoted. At the same time, she has remained a visible advocate for young dancers of color who rarely see themselves reflected in the ballet canon.
The Cultural Impact of Sinners
Copeland’s influence on the cultural landscape of ballet mirrors the impact of filmmaker Coogler’s 2025 box-office hit Sinners, which has made waves across the film industry.
Set in a fictional 1930s Mississippi town, the vampire thriller leads this year’s Oscars with a record-breaking 16 nominations. The film draws heavily from juke-joint blues, Black Southern spirituality, and striking imagery that uses music and movement to explore desire, violence, and redemption in a community haunted by both bloodsuckers and history.
Copeland’s participation in the tribute challenges the elitist stigmas often associated with ballet, stripping the art form back to its purest purpose: expression and storytelling through movement.
The 98th Academy Awards will broadcast live on American Broadcasting Company and stream on Hulu on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
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