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" It's all so surreal, and I'm living my dream. And you know, principal or not, I'm getting to dance all the roles that I've dreamed of doing. "

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" It's a European art form, and you're used to seeing a certain type of person as a ballerina. And I don't look like a lot of the girls around me. "

" Dance kind of was always just a part of my natural state as a child. It's something that, whenever music was playing, I was dancing. "

" My childhood is a part of my story, and it's why I'm who I am today and why my career is what it is. "

" Growing up, I was surrounded by R&B and Hip-Hop, and the closest thing I could find to dance was gymnastics which I watched on TV. So, I just used those avenues I found available right in my milieu to express what was inside of me. "

" 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. I didn't know anything about it. "

" 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. "

" The ballet world I don't think is an art form that is quick to change or to adjust or evolve. "

" Every time I step onto the stage, it's not only proving to the audience that I'm capable but to myself. "

" To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold. "

" 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. "

" 40 years old is about the time a principal dancer would start to think about retirement, but some go on to dance a little bit longer than that. "

" I feel like going to class every morning is so humbling. You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow. "

" I think all dancers are control freaks a bit. We just want to be in control of ourselves and our bodies. That's just what the ballet structure, I think, kind of puts inside of you. "

" At least in my performances, the audience has become so diverse in a way that I don't think ballet has ever experienced. "

" Something happens when you feel that energy and excitement from the audience. And you do, I don't know, four pirouettes. You jump higher than you ever have. And it's just this really magical thing that happens in those moments. "

" 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. "

" Being the only African American at this level in American Ballet Theater, I feel like people are looking at me, and it's my responsibility for me to do whatever I can to provide these opportunities in communities to be able to educate them. "

" A young girl reached out to me to be her mentor one day, which I didn't really know anything about. What I did remember was what it was to be alone as an African-American dancer in the ballet world and wanting to connect with someone who looks like me. "

" Ballet found me, I guess you could say. I was discovered by a teacher in middle school. I always danced my whole life. I never had any training, never was exposed to seeing dance, but I always had something inside of me. I would love to choreograph and dance around. "

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

" Perseverance has always just been something that was in me. And it was a tool that came in very handy as a ballerina. "

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

" I think body-image issues are not just a dancer thing. I think we're much more in tune and aware because the body is our instrument and art, and we stare at ourselves in a mirror all day, but I feel like it's something that every woman experiences and every girl experiences. "

" When it came to my childhood - growing up in a single-parent home, often struggling financially - my mother definitely instilled in me and my siblings this strength, this will, to just continue to survive and succeed. "

" I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop! "

" When I was a little girl, I was incredibly shy. My hope was to blend in, to fit in, to not be noticed in any significant way. I was deeply insecure and unsure of myself. "

" I think that the ideal physique and look of a ballerina is always changing with different eras. And it's continuing to change. "

" Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you. "

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

" Every time I dance, I'm trying to prove myself to myself. "