Q: How did you begin dancing?

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I come from an artistic family - my mom and aunt were ballerinas in Puerto Rico. I grew up around it. My dad tried to get me into sports and it didn't work. Eventually my mom got me into dance and opened her own dance studio in our hometown in Puerto Rico. I trained there until 2009. My aunt and uncle, who were also dancers, got hired for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, Nevada and my family followed them. We knew there were more dance opportunities in the U.S. Once I got to Vegas I trained in the competition world and went to a performing arts school, Los Vegas Academy of the Arts...

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Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you as a performing artist?

Personally, I have been doing better since it started. It was something that chased me and the company down. We were in Italy and had to cancel the tour and leave Europe. It was a very heavy thing at first and we were in the middle of performing “Decadance.” I remember thinking there is the possibility all the shows would be cancelled. We were pushing to do the show and the day of the show we were told it was cancelled. It was such a heartbreaking thing. I think in general artists know the work we put into the show is blood sweat and tears but it is so rewarding when we can show the work to the people and that was taken away. The first couple of days were not easy for me and I think that is something we all were experiencing. The days started to merge and everything felt like deja vu. I think slowly I have been getting used to it and a lot of us are keeping busy or still have a lot of friends and colleagues who say this can be a time to focus on yourself or gain new perspective. I just know we are all in the same place but we are all coming together even as we are apart.