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

Some people even think that I'm still just not right for it [ballet]. And I think it's shocking because they hear those words from critics saying I'm too bulky, I'm too busty. And then they meet me in person and they're like, you look like a ballerina. And I think it's just something maybe that I will never escape from, those people who are narrow-minded. But my mission, my voice, my story, my message, is not for them. And I think it's more important to think of the people that I am influencing and helping to see a broader picture of what beauty is.

The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.

Once I became a professional, maybe 19 or 20, I really started to try to figure out who I was, as a woman and as an individual.

You can do anything you want, even if you are being told negative things.stay strong and find motivation.

I don't think every African-American or Latino have the same body type, but, yes, that's been one of the excuses ... saying that African-Americans are too muscular or just aren't lean enough. Usually they say, "Oh, they have flat feet so they just don't have the flexibility that it takes to create the line in a point shoe."

I ended up training only for four years before I was accepted into American Ballet Theater in New York City.