Without my mentors there is no Misty.

I know I will never let myself be complacent in life.

When you see the body outside of a costume and see the strength that it takes, people would look at dance a different way and see how athletic it is. You're not just born like that.

I absolutely love what I do, and I want to dance for as long as I can and feel good about what I am putting out there on the stage.

I had no idea what I was walking into, and the years and years of hard work it would take. I felt like an outsider and like it was never going to happen. But even if I would have known, I think I still would have done it. Dancers are perfectionists, and that's what keeps us going and growing.

I will push myself in different ventures that I believe will make me a better artist, dancer and person.

What makes people and companies and artistic directors and choreographers interested in working with dancers is the ability to kind of let go of everything you think you know and be a blank canvas.