Q: What has been your professional dance journey, and how did you come to dance with Doug Varone?‍

I started dancing when I was 13. I had a family member taking dance classes and one summer she took me to a summer camp for dance and I loved it. I eventually went to the University of Arizona to pursue a BFA in dance. After college I felt like all the dancers I knew were in a competition to have a job right out of college.  However I saw that time right after college as an opportunity to reset. I don't come from a financially stable background that can pay my way through things. So I told myself it would be smart to go home first before pursuing a career in the arts. So I took a full time teaching job at a dance studio and I got to learn about myself as a teacher. Later on I saw Doug Verone  was auditioning so I went back to New York  to goto the audienction.  That audition was for two projects as a guest artist with the company.  The company auditioned 400 people. I got an email a few weeks later where I was accepted for both projects. I had never worked with Doug before. I remember one of my professors at University of Arizona telling me about him and his work. So he was on my radar but I had never worked with him before. I was doing the teaching thing until I realized that it wasn't for me. So I auditioned for Doug Varone. Again I saw an opportunity and took it. I moved out to New York in March of 2019 and have been on tour ever since. 

I went to a seminar recently about the shift of what an influencer has become and what it should be. I realized my purpose is to create opportunities for artists that are wanting to pursue a career in the arts and doing whatever I can to get them there. When I went to the dance summer camp as a kid, the teachers gave me an opportunity to train under their knowledge and raise me as one of their own. Ever since I finished high school and went to college, people have always been giving me opportunities. So I think where I see my purpose is to help others as well. We do a lot of educational outreach with Doug Varone and I teach dance a lot and try to just bridge whatever gap people need me to and give people the space to be able to create opportunities of their own. 

Q: Do you have any mentors or important people in your life that have shaped the way you dance and or think about dance?

Justin Giles for sure. We have had a long standing relationship since I was 13. Having a male mentor is very important to me. To have a male role model growing up, and that carried into our professional relationship. He taught me a lot about structure and how I can find myself within the structure. Someone who inspires me is Peter Chu. I truly think that there is no one else like him in terms of how gracious he is in connecting different worlds to one another and I don't see so many people offering that generosity in this field. I think no matter what he always tries to help you out. I feel like he creates opportunities for people and I highly respect his work teaching and who he is as a person. 

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

I would say financial challenges. I had some FAFSA issues in college because of my parents divorce and there were one or two semesters where I was not able to enroll in classes because of the FAFSA issues. My mom and dad didn't have money to help me out financially to pay for college. So it became evident for me in order to get the degree I needed my own resources. Fortunately we were able to make it work and I am a go-getter and my parents are the same way. That was the biggest learning moment for me about how to excel in this artform without having a liquid base to pull from.

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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?

A huge passion of mine is diversity, equity and inclusion. In the workplace I always am striving to look for problem areas and how we can fix things. Something that I noticed is Paris Goebel’s entire career is based off of feminism and inclusivity. She recently did Rihanna's Fenty fashion show and put out a new stamp on what is “expected” in a lingerie show. It wiped Victoria Secret off the map! She paved the way for an inclusive way to see a lingerie show. The way Paris did it was by having so many people on stage such as women of color, size differences, handicapped people, just so many different ranges of physical appearance.  To see that could be done in blending the art form of fashion and dance was so subtle, but you could see it was a melting pot. But at the same time it seemed like the norm and that is the world I am pushing to be a part of. I think that is a great way for the masses to see how dance can change and advocate for social justice. This show is now on amazon prime and internationally seen on this platform. I think that is a great way to start, because a lot of people if you tell them to come see a show they may not. But using that platform of TV and the commercial routes is a great way to be seen. 

Q: What inspires you and drives you forward as an artist and a person?

I think as an artist just constantly creating. I don't mean that in a literal sense, I mean creating opportunities, connections, and friendships. We have to be the person that is evolving and changing constantly. Also as a person I think that aspect blends into the relationships. For example I surround myself with people that are willing to share knowledge and trade things back and forth. I value human connection and generous conversation.

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

My career as a performing artist was just beginning. I feel like as a professional I had just moved to New York in March of 2019. I was just headed into my first performance at Purchase College with Dou Varone. I had a solid month planned with the company. When we do have things planned, as an artist,  we are so excited because we have worked so hard on this show, or whatever it may be. Then one day we got into the studio for rehearsal and there was talk about the pandemic, about a month ago now and we had to get prepared. Then sure enough a few days later at a company meeting we were told everything had been cancelled. Of course being an artist is hard to begin with, but this mental and financial stability I had was taken away and it was a pivotal moment for me. I decided to fly home three weeks ago in order to heal from this a little bit. I was like, “What am I doing?  I just got out here to New York!”  I had to think about whether I should re-evaluate my career as an artist. And it is a shame that I had to feel that. 

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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 think something we have already seen is relief funds for artists that has been incredible to see. That there are people out there supporting artists in times of disaster, but that hasn't really happened without a pandemic. Where is the relief fund when there isn't a pandemic for artists? The financial representation isn't there for artists and I would want the world to have financial support for artists and our communities.