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" I grew up poor in San Pedro, California, sleeping on the floor of shady motels with my five siblings and not always sure when or where I'd get my next meal. "

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" If I'm put in a situation where I am not really sure what's going to happen, it can be overwhelming. I get a bit anxious. "

" I feel like with 'On the Town,' it was the perfect production and the perfect opportunity. "

" I've always approached my career and my life, you know, one day at a time, as if this was the last day that I'm going, because you never know as an athlete and as a dancer. You never know what can happen today, tomorrow. "

" Depending on the level you're at in your company, the higher you go up in rank, usually the longer you can dance. "

" Before dance came into my life, I don't really remember having any major goals or dreams of wanting to be anything. "

" Ballet became this escape for me. I feel like I was on my own a lot. I was searching for stability, so I was going off on my own and imagining what I thought stability was. Ballet became a way for me to cope. "

" 'The Firebird' just symbolizes a lot for me and my career. It was one of the first really big principal roles that I was ever given an opportunity to dance with American Ballet Theatre, and it was a huge step for the African-American community, I think, within the classical ballet world. "

" I was seventeen when I moved to New York. I was nineteen when I joined the main company. I was going through a lot. Just becoming an adult and just wanting to fit in, be accepted, and be in common with the other dancers. "

" Being in ballet class, being on the stage, being surrounded by my peers at American Ballet Theater every day, keeps me so humble and grounded. Being in ballet class, I feel, is like this meditation for me every morning. "

" I think, as a child, there weren't dreams. I can't recall as a child having some ultimate dream and thinking that it was possible. "

" When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. It all happened so fast - it was pretty unheard of that someone could train for so few years and become a professional at one of the most elite dance companies in the United States. "

" You have to be the one promoting yourself. If you don't think that you're worthy, you're never going to make it. "

" I had always been proud of my body - its strength and grace enabled me to pursue my passions. "

" I never thought of myself as special or particularly good at anything. But once I started ballet, suddenly I had a new identity: prodigy. "

" That something that I fought so hard for throughout the beginning of my career is I didn't want to pancake my skin a lighter color to fit into the... ballet. I wanted to be myself. I didn't want to have to wear makeup that made my nose look thinner. "

" My curves became an integral part of who I am as a dancer, not something I needed to lose to become one. "

" Don't hold on to the barre like, 'I might die.' It's just ballet. "

" My family didn't have very much money, so ballet wasn't even on my radar; I just found it randomly when I was 13 at a Boys & Girls Club. We were practicing in a basketball court in gym clothes with some old socks on. Even though it terrified me at first, I found that I really liked it. "

" I think that having a platform and having a voice to be seen by people beyond the classical ballet world has really been my power, I feel. "

" Most ballerinas take their first ballet class when they are 5 or 6 years old. I was 13 when I took mine on the basketball court of the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club in California. "

" 'The Company' was interesting. I didn't love it, although it might be compelling to someone who isn't a dancer. There wasn't a lot of dialogue, and you were just kind of observing the creative process of choreography and in class. "

" I wanted to open the dialogue about race in ballet and bring more people in. It's just beautiful to see the interest that has exploded for such an incredible art form that I will forever be grateful to! "

" Ballet was this thing that just felt so innate in me, like I was meant to be doing this. "

" I don't feel like my life is that of a superstar! Every day I wake up, I take the train, I go to my ballet class. My everyday life is pretty normal. "

" When I was dancing, I felt in control and happy. I'm a Virgo, so I really like to be in control. "

" I had some really incredible people who mentored me and gave me things I never got from my parents. "

" I'm definitely influenced by the music. We dance to music, and you have to listen to it and phrase your dancing and movement in a certain way to compliment the music. We have to work hand in hand, the dancer and the music. "

" I have the opportunity, which most people don't experience nearly as much, of being in front of a mirror up to 10 hours a day. Staring at your body, you really get to know every little detail of how to make yourself look your best. "

" I love heels. I'm 5-foot-2, and I like feeling tall. "

" Finding great training, I think, is number one. I did a lot of research and found really great teachers, and it just takes - I took a year off from school and did independent studies so that I could devote all of my time to it. But I think that training is the key, definitely, and it's not a sport. "