Q: How did you begin performing arts?

I started dancing when I was 4-years-old. My mom put me into ballet class. She was like “oh you always loved music so we put you in dance class.” A studio was right up the street from her job so that was faith in itself. I took ballet class every Monday through Saturday and the studio I went to was very strict about ballet technique, so that's all I did six days a week. When I was 13 I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I had to wear a brace when I was not dancing. Though I never had surgery for it, I had a lot of chiropractic care. When I went onto high school I started training at the professional performing arts school in Manhattan, NY and got into the Ailey School. It was a performing arts program and I was a dance major so I was able to take academics during the day and then they would bus us to the Ailey studios to take two different classes a day. These classes varied. We would take ballet of course, but this program also exposed me to modern, jazz, and African dance. It was a really new experience for me because I hadn't moved my body in that way. I was so used to just doing ballet, so when I went to Ailey and was introduced to all these different styles of movement it was really eye opening. In high school was when the light switch went on that I wanted to do this as a profession. I was in this beautiful organization where I saw dancers that look like me being represented, that were professionals, that were inspiring, and it allowed me to push harder and go after what I wanted to do, which was dance. Following high school I went on to go to Fordham University and got my Bachelor of Fine Arts, I graduated cum laude. My senior year I was one of the lucky twelve dancers accepted into Ailey II, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre’s second company. That was my first professional job and I was there for two years and we toured internationally and domestically, which was really big for me. It was my first time going to Europe at 21-years-old.

You learn so much by traveling. I was very picky with the foods I ate and going to these places kind of forced me to try different things and learn about different cultures. Also being an ambassador for Alvin Ailey and his vision was like a dream come true. Following my time in Ailey II I moved to Chicago and joined Visceral Dance Chicago and I am a founding dancer of that company, I think there were ten of us. We helped to see the company grow into what it is now and I was able to work with many different choreographers like Sidra Bell, Banning Bouldin, to name a few. This company is contemporary based so we did a lot of new work, works set on us, which was a new experience for me as well. In Ailey we learned new works but a lot of the works were original works being reset on the dancers. But joining Visceral Dance, where we had no repertory, the director brought in choreographers to have all these new works set on us. It definitely presented some growing pains because prior to being there I was in an established company so I had to humble myself and realize this was a new experience that I could learn from being a founding dancer. I was with them for five and a half years and I’ve always had the itch to do musical theater. I saw that there was an audition for a West Side Story in Chicago, so I went and I booked it. It was my first musical and I was an African American “Jet” which was pretty crazy because the “Jets” are the italians and I was so sure I would be a “Shark” because they are Puerto Ricans and I'm brown-skinned. But, this cast wanted a new, diverse look on the story and that was so beautiful and brave of them to make those tweaks so that more people could be in the show and represent humanity more versus just a specific type. So, West Side Story was my first musical theater experience and now I am in my dream show, The Lion King, which I auditioned for six times over my professional career. I would go, make it to the end, and hear nothing. I would go again, they would say they loved me, and then I never heard anything. But I kept going. And then one day, I woke up to a voicemail from the casting director and I got the job and here we are! Before this pandemic, I was touring and doing what I love with this historical show, which has been around for over twenty years and has inspired people of all ages. It’s such a timeless story to be a part of and to be able to share everyday with the audience.

Q: Has dance helped you overcome any hardships in your life?

When I was 13, I was diagnosed with scoliosis. I am now a scoliosis advocate and have my own Not-For-Profit, The Paige Foundation, for dancers with or without disabilities. I still treat my scoliosis with floor barre as well.

Q: How can dance be a platform for social justice issues?

To me, dance is a big platform for social justice issues. Even my experience going from Ailey II, which was a predominately black company rooted in modern dance and black history and stories, then dancing in Visceral, in which I was the darkest woman in the company, there were two biracial women and another black man. But I was the darkest person and at times, I felt a lot of weight and responsibility because I knew other dancers like myself were looking up to me. I was able to combat that pressure by remembering that I am an example and I am not not alone. So many dancers broke barriers and have experienced what I have before me. I look at those dancers, the founding dancers of Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem and all these dancers who have re-written what it should look like. I think dance is a very important platform when it comes to re-addressing the issues people have with certain races within dance. Another example was my experience in West Side Story and how the casting directors re-wrote that story and put me in it, someone who is African American. They weren’t sticking to what it was, but rather opening people's eyes and changing the narrative a bit so that it is reaching more people. I think that is really important and relative to today.

In terms of sexuality and other social justice issues, I think dance creates a safe space for people, whatever your orientation is or your beliefs are. For me, when I perform, I want everyone in the audience to come together and have an experience. I don't want it for one type of person. When I’m choreographing, or even whatever piece I’m in, it shouldn’t be catered towards one type or group. The audience shouldn’t just be all black or all white, it should bring people together. I love when I look out in the audience and see a sea of different ethnicities and identities. Just everyone there having a joyful experience and their hearts being changed, whatever their views are. I think of the story of the Lion King and how there is tension between Scar and Mufasa and it leads to the death of Mufasa in that case, but this story is very relatable. If you don't get along with someone, the hatred towards people --- that is the beauty of not only dance, but the arts, to change people's perspective on things and open their minds and their hearts.

Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you as a performing artist? (community, financially, initial reactions, company shift, online class, emotions, initial cancellation reaction)

I was just hitting my six month mark with Lion King, which people say is like the peak.Once you get through those first few months you start to settle into the show, and then boom, we were sent home. It was very surreal and stressful. It was one of those things, I was kind of anticipating something like this because I was reading the news and I could see that the virus was not getting any better. But how quickly life changed --- it was traumatic in a way. You start to become paranoid because I was like I don't know if the person I'm sitting next to in the dressing room has a virus or the makeup artists or my dressers. You kind of get in your head a bit so I was glad they sent us home. But now, being home now it's kind of like... now what? I have had to create my own schedule to stay motivated and in shape which is not always easy; it comes in waves. Some days I wake up and I'm super energized and I'm ready to move my body and excited about cooking something for breakfast or organization or writing emails. And then some days I don't even want to be bothered. I think that is how it's affected me most in terms of my career. What keeps me motivated is that one day I will return back to theater. I will return back to the stage, and I have to keep my instrument sharp because your instrument gets you jobs and lets you keep your jobs. Whenever we return back to the Lion King I want to be in shape because it is a very demanding show, I have one of the hardest tracks in the show. It’s not just the flexibility but it is the core strength, the stamina. Sometimes I do lip drills to make sure my voice and throat continue to stay warm. A lot of things you have to add to your regimen even though you are home. I also have relatives that work in hospitals and that creates a sense of anxiety for me because I worry about my family and their health and the relatives I know who have caught the virus, will they recover and if they do will they be ok? Just so much anxiety and unanswered questions that I think we all have and no one knows when this will end and what life will be like when we go back to work. I try to combat all the anxieties by texting loved ones, watching something, avoiding the news even though it is all over social media and staying busy and balancing that with resting, like if I want to take a nap I can take a nap and that is ok.

Q: Can you talk about the Initial cancellations and the US shutdown? What did that look like for you?

Our last day of work was March 12th. Prior to that we saw on the news that certain governors had said large gatherings were being banned and that was a red flag to me and my co-workers because if they’re banning large gatherings, what does that mean for the theater? The next day got an email saying we had a company meeting, so we went in and they told us that we were not performing that night and we would all be sent home and we had to leave as soon as possible. I gave myself two days ---  we were in South Bend, Indiana and I knew that was God looking out for me because my fiance lives in Chicago, so I was able to just take a train and come home. Those first two/three days felt unreal. My roommate and I were all settled in our AirBNB with groceries and it felt like, ok we will just cook all this food and have a big brunch gathering and then I guess pack and go home? It was just really bizarre. And then I felt very paranoid because I didn't want to necessarily be around anyone because I didn't know who had the virus. That was very stressful. I gave myself two days to pack up and then I took a train to Chicago from Indiana. I have been here since March 12th.

Q: Have you stayed in contact with the other company members during this time?

We have a Facebook group that we talk in, we share articles in and sometimes joke to keep things less stressful. Because the Lion King is a union show we also receive updates through our Equity and the company manager and the people above us that have the information. Also on my own, with BroadwayWorld and these online sights, they have updates as well. We all know now that Broadway is not opening until June, I think. When Broadway knows then the tour knows. If Broadway doesn't open, then touring... who knows when that’ll happen because we travel and we're in different theaters every 3-4 weeks so it's very risky. But yes, they have been communicating with us through emails and our Facebook group chats.