Q: What has your professional dance journey been like, and how did you come to dance with Ailey? What is the most recent show you have been a part of and how did you come to be a part of it?

When I was a wee lassie...I have literally been dancing as long as I have existed. It started out with me asking my parents for ballet shoes and a tutu and a tiara. Finally, I signed up for dance classes. My parents thought it was just a phase all little girls go through that would just run its course, but as we can see it was not, I am still dancing. I went to Baltimore DanceTech, which is a local dance studio in Baltimore, Maryland. I went to a performing arts high school, the George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology, where we practiced all disciplines of dance. Then, for college, I originally was going to go to George Mason University, but that did not work out at first, so I went to community college for a year. I used that time as a platform for myself to open my mind and my body to new experiences that were outside of dance, but I was at community college for two weeks when I decided it was not working for me and that I wanted to be a professional dancer. I transfered to Towson University after a year at community college, and under the watchful eye of Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, a former Ailey dancer, I was able to thrive in such a beautiful space where I could create the experience I wanted for college. I did not want to settle into a set schedule that I followed every day and that was it, but rather make my own path in college.

I graduated in 2016 from Towson University, and my senior year of college, I was an apprentice with Ailey II. I had auditioned for the main company; I made it to the second round and was cut. Troy Powell, who is the artistic director of Ailey II, invited me to the second company audition for Ailey II. I got in and was there all summer learning these new pieces, but I made it clear that I needed to finish school before I finished anything else. After serving as an apprentice, when I auditioned again, I got the job in Ailey II for two years and then spent a few months away from Ailey to do commercial dance to see what else was out there. I was then invited to join the first company last year. I am now here dancing for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I was under the coaching and support of Mr. Chaya, who was our former artistic associate director, and now Matthew Rushing, Robert Battle, Clifton Brown — that whole creative team is coming together and it is a whole new generation and whole new movement within the company.


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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First and foremost - my family, they are my biggest support system without a doubt. They never questioned that this is what I was meant to do once I expressed the interest and once I was actively in it. They have been supportive 100% of the way, coming to all my performances, getting what I need, sitting in the studio for hours and hours and hours. As far as dance mentors, Stephanie Powell has been with me since day one. Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, as I mentioned before, was an Ailey starlet and a power house in the company — she was the first Ailey dancer I ever watched perform and I had never seen a Black woman look so regal and powerful and dominate the stage in that capacity before. Having anyone of your likeness on stage to show what your future could be is such a huge part in me pursuing Ailey. Before then, I didn't know what Alvin Ailey was, and she’s kept me under her wing ever since. Also, definitely my colleagues — I would say they are HUGE in this journey, because while some you can see there is a difference in 20 years and some are your age, everyone is so incredibly inspiring and supportive of one another; that helps you get to this level of comfortability, technical ability, professionalism, and artistry that we wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. We are all mentees and mentors, even within our own circle.


Q: What have been some challenges in your pre-professional or professional dance career?
(Adversity as a minority artist…)
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Being a Black woman, I am grateful that I am in a company that celebrates the African American tradition through modern dance. But before then, there were auditions I went to that would say my look was too “ethnic” because of my afro, or that my “build was too athletic” — so many things that when I looked in the mirror, I never saw them as being a problem or a handicap in me progressing in my career. There was a moment in time where I thought to myself, “Am I even going to be able to be successful in this field?” because every place I go, I am not necessarily accepted. But my dancing and artistry speaks for itself, or it should. After a while, after receiving so many no’s and a sprinkle of yes’s, I took the bull by the horns and I said, “I know what I need to do and it is time to do the work.” I took color completely out of the equation. I went to all these auditions, no matter what they were for, and I kept pursuing dance aggressively because I knew it was what I was meant to do. The other challenge I have been physically dealing with is that I have scoliosis. I was in a back brace as a child and that was very difficult, dance-wise. I have become a lot stronger in my body and a lot more controlled in the way I move, but that is something I still have to deal with from time to time. However, it has taught me how to maneuver more efficiently and effectively in dance and everyday life.


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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I feel as though dance is a platform for social justice topics. I was talking to a friend the other day and said that, for all of us to be in such a creative space, you are able to add depth to whatever the subject matter is and make it more relatable because the language that you are using is movement. I really feel as though, for any individual or group to embody that type of context within the content that we are already producing, that spreads it to the masses so much wider. The fact is, social media is such a huge platform, and you can easily go from your phone to the internet and it is seen by millions. It is the best way to get the word out in regards to social justice and opening up someone's world to something new, because now it is in a language that is understood by everyone.


Q: What inspires you and drives you forward as an artist and a person?
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God. Period. My faith inspires me and drives me forward. I truly believe that I was put on this earth to do exactly what I am doing - to perform, to create, to be an artist, to be a dancer, to share, share all these beautiful parts of myself and tell many different stories and to honor the language that I receive on a daily basis, whether it be from artistic directors, choreographers,  teachers, staff, fellow dancers, what have you. I feel that is why I am here. Also, I aspire to inspire — there are so many young women, young Black women, young Black women from the hood that do not know this is an option. They don't know that dance can be pursued as a career, and they don’t know all the different platforms they can explore to get to what they want to do. I know for a fact that if I didn't see another person of my likeness up on stage doing what she was doing in the manner in which she was doing it, I wouldn’t still be pushing for myself as much as I had once I realized it was an option. I want other people to be able to see that you can be Black, a woman, athletically built, have many no’s and then get that one yes, and have that matter the most. You can grow from the no’s and flourish within the yes’s.


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

I just miss the stage so much! I will say that for sure. I shed a tear the other day because I was looking at our tour book - we get tour books every year- and I was looking at all these beautiful theaters we won’t be in for a while – like, wow. We can’t be on stage right now. I love performing, so now after the little tear was wiped away, I said, “Ok, how can I create things? How do I flex that muscle so I can still be as creative as I want to be and maintain a certain routine but also be safe and at a social distance?” Social distancing has really affected me. I don't feel as though I cannot maneuver through my neighborhood safely, I don’t feel as though I cannot communicate with my friends and higher-ups, because everyone in the company is in constant communication. But I have been able to really go in a different direction as to how I create content and share it with other people, and I am really happy about that. So there was a dive down, but now we are coming back up. For example, we did a ‘Revelations’ video of everyone doing it at home, pieced together, so there is a conversation being had. What is happening is everyone is creating different videos of our repertoire and putting them together, because we won’t be able to do them on tour, and so we are still technically doing Ailey on tour––just in regards to social distancing. I was in my apartment doing Robert Battle’s, ‘Ella’, and was putting together a video of me dancing in my apartment and having fun doing it (which is not something I normally do). For me to have this vision and create this thing in the confines of my apartment — it was very exciting. The synapses were firing, the wheels were turning, and my mind was working in a different way than I am used to. I am used to dancing for an audience, and now I am giving dance back to the people in a different way. I am sure you have heard this a bajillion times, but just to say it again, Mr. Ailey said that dance came from the people and should be given back to the people. That’s exactly what it is that we are doing. We are giving back. We feel as though we have nothing to prove and everything to share (we say that as we circle up before our performances). We are sharing the love, the arts, the passion, the creativity, and we are opening people’s worlds to dance in a different way. And being able to see master classes online, ballet, modern, West African––there is so much we are now exposed to that I think is just excellent for this pandemic, and for everyone to still get all of the art that they are hungry for. That’s amazing.


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

I think so. I hope that after all of this clears, people will come to realize there are so many ways to connect with other people. It is really interesting to see how people are still making it their mission to communicate, even during this pandemic and opening up themselves to all the different ways in which you can communicate. I personally believe people need to be around people - we are social beings, and now that our social muscle has kind of atrophied, our social muscle is developing in a different way. Once all of this is done, I think there will be more people open to being out and will want to see things live and explore the different art forms. After this, I think there will be more people in theaters and in dance classes, going to museums, just being outside. So much of that will happen more because of what is happening now. We can look at the negative side of things, but I like looking towards the future, and I feel that is what the future holds.


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 feel as though the arts world will just burst — that it will just bloom and grow exponentially. I really believe that. Back in the day, I know for a fact that you couldn't turn a corner in the city without people knowing exactly what Alvin Ailey was, what the company is, what Mr. Ailey’s legacy and vision is, and as time has progressed, people have lost that. No one dives as deep into the performing arts as much as they used to. But now that we are able to share so much to so many on social media, people will support the arts and see the importance of art. For example, funding—the first thing that is cut is arts programs, and where I grew up that is no exception. I want to see people going to different schools where they are not exposed to art of this magnitude and share it. We do a lot of lecture demonstrations, mini performances, outreach (Mr. Ailey was very passionate about outreach) and we have been able to do that in our physical bodies for so long, and now, we are doing it again in our virtual bodies. I really think once everything clears and everything settles, we will see so many more active participants in the theater and in every way when it comes to the arts… Everyone will be more open to receive it, because now it is that much more relatable and it is becoming ingrained in everyone’s DNA now that they see it so much on these social media platforms. I see a world full of art.