When I was younger, my feet would hurt a lot, but you build up calluses and strength and you don't feel as much pain there.

I remind myself everyday just how lucky I am to do what I love! I feel so fortunate and I'm just trying to take my life one day at a time.

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.

Ballet is number one, everything else is scheduled in the small windows when I'm not in the studio taking class, rehearsing, on stage or on tour.

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

I'm a classical ballet dancer, and at the end of the day I want to be with American Ballet Theater, performing classical ballets.

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.