For the first four years of my studying in the U.S., I couldn't go home for two reasons. One is I was afraid that if I left my student visa may not hold and I wouldn't be able to come back to continue. Second, there was this big outrage in China that I didn't know how to face the public.

I think people don't often realize how much goes into being a male dancer. It's athletic and it's hard. It's not just men wearing tights, or wanting to be around women.

I left home at 14 and I have friends who joined the navy and the army performing troops at 9. I know people [like that]. It's a very straightforward character.

For the first four years of my studying in the U.S., I couldn't go home for two reasons. One is I was afraid that if I left my student visa may not hold and I wouldn't be able to come back to continue. Second, there was this big outrage in China that I didn't know how to face the public.

A lot of professional dancers become professional when they turn 15 or 16 years old, when they're still children. So you've trained every single waking moment up until that point for a career that could maybe only last 10 years, maybe longer if your body holds up, if your injuries are kept at bay.

I love the process of creating a character; someone entirely different from myself, and depicting it, either on stage or screen.

That being said, I am not one to feel sorry for myself. I believe it is healthy to honor one's feelings and do the best we can to learn and grow from them moving forward.