My body is very different from most of the dancers I dance with. My hair is different than most I dance with. But I didn't let that stop me. Black girls rock and can be ballerinas.

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.

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.

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

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

Ballet.something pure in this crazy world

That it's possible to do positive things and I think that's how we're going to set an example to be respected as women in the world.