Q: What has your professional dance journey been like, and how did you come to dance for Alvin Ailey? Or What is the most recent show you have been a part of and how did you come to be a part of it?
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I grew up always dancing since the age of five, and it is something I have always enjoyed doing. I was also a competitive gymnast. I went to the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina from sixth to twelfth grade. When I was a senior in high school, one of my dance teachers asked me what I was going to do for college––was I going to go to school and be on a gymnastics team and become a gymnastics coach, or did I want to dance and become a professional dancer? Dancing professionally definitely sounded more intriguing, and so that day, I quit gymnastics, and I focused all my attention on dance from then on. My teacher and I created my senior solo to take for auditions and I auditioned for SUNY Purchase, Julliard, and the Fordham Ailey BFA Program. I got into SUNY Purchase and I was there for one year. One of my Graham teachers at SUNY, Stephanie Tooman, was my mentor, and she asked me what I would do for the summer. I said I would probably go to the Dance Theater of Harlem, because I thought I was a ballerina. She said I should try the Alvin Ailey summer intensive, so I decided to give it a shot. She happened to be the Graham teacher at Ailey as well. When I did the Ailey summer program, I was blown away by the diversity. You had people from all over the world coming to train. They offered so many techniques and so many performance opportunities––I got to perform with these amazing dancers, more than I had the opportunity to at Purchase. It was this really great healthy competition with people getting their lives, going for it, giving their all. I had never experienced so much beauty that looked like ME [as an African-American woman]. Especially coming from where I grew up in North Carolina, feeling like I was the one token child in places and teams where I was the only one of color. That summer at the end of the program, after I performed, I told my parents I decided I wanted to stay at the Ailey program and audition for their scholarship program. They were 100% behind me, so I auditioned and I was accepted. I studied at the school for two years and then I was asked to join Ailey II, which is their pre-professional program and a stepping stone for me. It was a small group of twelve dancers, six guys and six girls. In Ailey II, I got to tour around the U.S. and the Carribean islands and see the world. After two years with Ailey II, I auditioned for the main company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and they were only looking for three girls at the time. It was 2007 and Judith Jamison was still the director of the company. I had heard through the grapevine that one girl was already hired from a company called Complexions. This meant there were only two spots left. At the audition, I remember I looked around the room and saw hundreds of girls. We started with barre––they made cuts during the barre. Then, made cuts during center. We did repertory, and they made cuts. I finally got to the end of the audition day and Judith Jamison said we had to do another day of auditions. I was already petrified and had to go through it AGAIN. I remember I came back the next day in the same bright yellow unitard, and at the end of that day, she called my name with a contract. I could have puked, I remember I cried a little bit. I then got to travel the world and partake in even more amazing things. Ailey has been around for 62 years now — I got to celebrate the 50th anniversary, I also got to guest perform on So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars. 
I took a little hiatus because I am also a mom of two, and when I came back a few years later, the company was now under the direction of Robert Battle. A few years ago, we celebrated our 60th anniversary, and I got to perform on a TED talk for Judith Jamison. I recently shot a movie that I can't name because it is not out yet, but it is going to be really awesome! I have been really blessed and overwhelmed with beauty and art and experiencing so many different cultures through this company, so I can’t complain. I mean, in the company, we have a very full schedule and I do complain sometimes. We travel eight months out of the year, we work 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; on the road we rehearse, take class, and have one to two performances a day. It is very strenuous on the body. But beyond that, I make it through, and it makes me stronger.


Q: Do you have any mentors or important people in your life that have shaped the way you dance and or think about dance?
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Yes, absolutely. My high school teacher, Susan Thorsland, was the one who got me prepared for my auditions and got me to realize I needed to focus on dance. Additionally, Stephanie Tooman was my Graham teacher and mentor from SUNY Purchase who brought me over to the Ailey school. If it wasn't for her I would never be at Ailey. Definitely, of course, Miss Judith Jamison has been the biggest mentor; she has shaped my professional career and molded me to be the dancer that I am. She pushes you to emote, be vulnerable, to open your heart, and to not just work through the movement and be a technician. Mr. Ailey’s work requires a humanistic feeling, it also requires you to be as authentic as you can with the pieces so you can bring them to life. That is how the works have continued to be such masterpieces to this day.


Q: What have been some challenges in your pre-professional or professional dance career?
(Adversity as a minority artist…)
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I would say when I was younger, I was naive to noticing I was that token child, because I grew up in a biracial household. My dad is Greek and mom African-American. I did not pay attention to color as much when I was younger. When I got older, I felt the cliques of people forming and I always felt like the loner on the outside. Then in middle school, I noticed that your own race can pick on their race and say things like, “You are a Black girl that sounds white,” or “You talk too eloquently,” or “You do too good in school, which means you are white.” That is just brainwashed talk and our culture has been brainwashed like that for generations. I felt it, but didn't pay much attention to it. Nowadays with social media, you hear a lot more about racism and people's experiences, whereas back in the day, you heard it through your family’s mouth. I remember one time, I was at the age where I was asking about what I am, and I would tell people I was mixed, that I was black and white. My sister would say, “No, you’re Black and Greek.” I was like, “What’s so important about that?” Back then, I was young and naive. Now I am more passionate about where I come from, who I am, and where my ancestors come from. Now when people ask what I am mixed with, I happily say I am Black and Greek, I come from a family who were espionages during the German occupation helping Greeks flee, and things like that. 
I would say my first challenge was at SUNY Purchase, and it put a dry taste in my mouth. I had this one modern teacher who was into downtown-style modern. One day we got to do big jumps, and of course, me and my friends, who were all the Black kids, went across the floor at the same time, and I guess we must have done the jumps with too much power, and the teacher said, “Get that Ailey shit out of here.” I was taken aback by that. I didn't know if I should have been offended and should have said something, or if I would get in even more trouble. That was probably my first challenge. I had another teacher who would say, “Oh, Constance, you move so slow, like the South where you are from.” You need to use these experiences to push you, and motivate yourself and to be able to say, “Look where I am now—I’m a professional dancer with Alvin Ailey who is doing the thing, and I have had this amazing career to show for it.” Not every company lets you do other things like movies and TV, and I am so grateful Ailey does.


Q: Do you believe dance can be a platform for social justice topics? If so, how? and/or Have you used your art form to make a difference?
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Oh, absolutely. The advantage of being with Ailey and the company being around for 62 years is that it's a well-known company and you get a lot of media coverage. We had one choreographer, Kyle Abraham, who set a work on us entitled, ‘Untitled America’ which was a two-section piece. In previous years, he had created a trio first that was toured, and then he created a full company piece. The piece was about America's justice system and how broken it is. Kyle had gone and interviewed women and men prisoners on what happened to them, what their consequences ended up being, and what their relationships are like now with their family. This work got a lot of attention. We were clearly spreading the word to audiences everywhere around the world about the justice system.Times Magazine and New York Times, which are huge platforms, did articles about it, so I definitely feel like dance can be a huge platform for social justice. Recently, we did a piece called ‘Lazarus’, which is a hip-hop piece created by Rennie Harris. The piece is about the Black Lives Matter movement and takes you on a journey from slavery to now, where we are dealing still with police brutality against unarmed black people.


Q: What inspires you and drives you forward as an artist and a person?
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What drives me forward as an artist is remembering my love for dance as a child and knowing there are children, beyond my kids, that are watching me and looking up to me. I want to inspire them, whether or not they want to be a dancer, work wardrobe, or in stage management. It is achievable and possible. I find that performing and giving my best is me giving back to the community. One of Mr. Ailey’s famous quotes is, “Dance came from the people and should always be delivered back to the people.” I try to practice this and give my all on stage. For example, I try to make myself accessible for interviews like this, teaching master classes at schools, lectures, whatever I can get my hands on.


Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you as a performing artist?
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Our tour got cancelled. We had started in February on our domestic U.S. tour, so we had hit all of the East Coast and were getting close to the West Coast tour. We had landed in Dallas, Texas, and by the time we got to our hotel, we all got messages that Dallas was canceled and we had to fly home the next day. Of course, a part of me was glad I got to go home to my kids, but you also feel bad for those who were patiently waiting for us to perform, and those who bought their tickets already. We ended up going home and not knowing exactly how drastic the measures would turn. We thought we might get to perform again in a week in Berkeley (even though California of all places is not where you want to go, but neither is New York City where most of the dancers are based) but that was not the case. Pretty soon, we got emails every day saying that Berkely was canceled, Los Angeles canceled, Vegas canceled, Seattle––I realized we were not working anymore. Right now we are at a standstill. Usually I give myself a week off and eat whatever I want, but we can’t really do that because we do not know when we will be needed. We would see the news and that it could be months. Now I have to homeschool my kids, with six hours of homework every day. I am losing my mind on that end because I am not being able to release myself as a dancer, to move. Today, I got my phone and I got on my social media live and did an in-home workout with my husband who is a personal trainer. Then, I went outside with my kids because thankfully it is not freezing anymore today, and we exercised and played around and did some TikToks. That put me in a better spirit.

The one positive is seeing people communicate more. I am not one to often be calling my friends and family and checking in on everyone, and now there is no excuse. It is scary though. I am scared to go to the grocery store, you just don't know who has touched what you are touching. I am taking extra precautions, especially since I have kids, I don’t want to have them catch anything. I was worried about myself because I had been flying all over the place — what if I show signs while at home? It has been nerve wracking, but I try to stay calm and keep my life as normal as possible, even if it is all indoors. Thank goodness for Netflix and Hulu! It has been cool to see people teach classes online as well. We are trying to do the same thing. We took clips doing ‘I've been ‘Buked’ by Mr. Ailey, and one of the dancers, Danica Paulos, made one video of all of us and we sent it out to keep people's heads up. It went viral, people loved it. It was cool that people got to see into these dancers’ lives and their lifestyle, which is pretty cool.


Q: Do you think the pandemic will make us a more socially conscious society? If so, how?

I do, in the sense that we will check on each other a lot more, especially our elderly people. I see posts on social media about making sure parents and grandparents have food and supplies and are staying inside, especially since people are clearing the shelves––at least here, the shelves have been empty. I have been seeing posts about acknowledging those who are less fortunate and may be one welfare, and being aware of the fact they can only buy certain things with WIC on it—thinking about those who do not have options to buy anything else. This is all opening people's eyes (at least I hope it is) also, to the fact that Mother Earth is cleaning house. She is telling us we have to do better as far as recycling and caring for the world. Water is blue, swans are coming out. I believe Mother Nature is healing herself, and maybe we are the virus. I think this is also opening eyes for those who do not believe in climate change as well. It is telling us that we have to make some changes as a community.


Q: Using the idea of “worldmaking” how do you imagine the performing arts world after the pandemic? (Worldmaking: How you can re-imagine the world in your own terms, the way you want it to be. Using this tool one can construct new worlds and write themselves into narratives that have excluded them and systems that have disabled them.)

I imagine equal opportunities, no matter if you are female, male, Black, White, Asian, whatever you are. As far as performing certain roles or being a director and choreographer, there are not many female choreographers and directors in our field to this day. An example is seeing little Black girls playing Clara in Nutcracker. We are finally seeing movies appropriately cast characters according to their color and ethnicity. For the longest time, things have been white-washed, so I think having more opportunities where you see people of your likeness in all facets of the world—whether it is the arts with dancers and actors, or doctors—is so important. We first have to heal the brainwashing that tells people they can only be a certain thing. We are all different, and no matter what color we are, we have to know we are all capable of the same things, we are all worthy of the same things. It should be solely about the work you put in, not what you look like. I have seen casting directors, who say they want a black person, still cast lighter people to be closer to being white. I would like for it to not be like this, and only based upon work ethic. If you can do the part good enough, you should be cast for it.