When people meet me in person, they're usually surprised at how petite I am because there's just [an] idea that because I'm black I just look a certain way.

I know that most of the time I have to work overtime to do everything that I want to.

I believe that I definitely developed into a refined and graceful woman due to ballet. It has shaped me in every way.

My first ballet class was on a basketball court. I'm in my gym clothes and my socks trying to do this thing called ballet.

Hopefully, I'll be a part of ABT, in some way, forever. I think I'll always be a part of ballet and try to push diversity, for as long as I live.

I will never reach perfection.

The fact that I was African American was never addressed, and that allowed me to just be a student, like anyone else. I was not aware of how rare it was to be an African American, how rare it was to have four years of training under my belt, and how, even though I could imitate people and fake it, unprepared I was to become a professional.