I haven't had a family, but I don't think of that as a sacrifice: my dancers are my family.

Dancing is being trusted with other people's guts; choreographing is trusting other people with yours. When I choreograph I'm giving a dancer something to do and trusting the dancer to do it and build on it.

Concert dance is the hardest kind of dance. We tour constantly, around the world, year in and year out. It just doesn't work for everybody. It's the lifestyle, it's the stamina, it's the love, it's the dedication, it's the commitment, it's all those words.

Dancing is a gift. You are supposed to do it; it's like breathing.

Maybe its a generational thing, but I never wanted to be the best black dancer in the world. I just wanted to be the best.

I've been in a competitive situation almost all my life. I've been having a competition with myself and trying to be the best I could be.

I was a protege; by the age of 10, I was studying with ballet choreographer Anthony Tudor in a class of adults.