Q: What have been some challenges in your pre-professional or professional dance career?

I feel like I kind of got in my own way most of the time. Dancers are in the mirror everyday, comparing ourselves to other people thinking ‘why did she get this and I didn’t’ or ‘how come she gets the better costume or partner’ or whatever. That was my biggest personal challenge, just allowing myself to be, and that prevented me from getting hired right away into the main company. I needed to be shot down so that I could go out and discover more about myself and let go of preconceived notions of what I thought I had to be in order to be a professional. It was not until after I came back to audition for the company that Glenn hired me and he said “I can see you now. You let go of something and I can see you.” That was a huge turning point for me.

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Q: Do you believe dance can be a platform for social justice topics? If so, how?

Yes. Of course it can be. I feel the default art form that people go to for social justice is music, but dance does the same thing and you see it.  There are so many arts organizations out there who vouch for people that don't have a voice. Through my experience with JUNTOS Collective, we have direct contact with people in underserved communities. It is an in person face to face experience and I think when others take ownership of that and feel like they are a part of the process it invigorates them and that energy spreads through their community.