What motivates you to work towards greatness? For Kobe Bryant, it was his passion for basketball. Bryant explained in his Muse documentary that he used basketball as a source of refuge as he became his alter ego of the Black Mamba on the court. This passion motivated him to become one of the greatest players […]
A viral photo of two young dancers in full blackface has shocked the dance world and started an international conversation about diversity in dance. The two Russian ballerinas at the center of the scandal recently shared an Instagram post of them in head-to-toe blackface prior to a performance of Bolshoi’s La Bayadere. Unfortunately, this situation […]
Warning: This Post May Be Triggering for Some Readers *Words have been redacted from this statement ** Names have been altered in this statement “To dance is to be out of yourself, larger, more beautiful, more powerful” – Agnes De Mille. These were words that I lived by. These words were featured in my public […]
At the age of 14, I left my family, school, home, and country to pursue my dream of becoming a professional ballerina. After only two years of training in New York City, this dream turned into a nightmare when a prior stress fracture became severe. I broke my sesamoid, one of the most highly impacted […]
My swollen feet found temporary comfort as they pressed against the cold floor. Here, in the place where I felt most safe, I learned that my race was a hindrance to my dreams. I stood there exhausted, wishing I was in a nightmare, rather than in the midst of a brutal confrontation with reality. There […]
I was twelve years old when I experienced my first anxiety attack. There I was, alone backstage two hours prior to the biggest performance of my career. My heart was fluttering, my chest felt tight and my hands were shaking. Soon, this tightness in my chest evolved into shortness of breath which transitioned into a […]
