Q: What has been your pre-professional and professional dance journey, and how did you come to dance with A.I.M?

I started dancing when I was nine years old. It was something I got thrown into; I went to a NYC public school and there was a dance school the public school was affiliated with that would come in and assess students they thought had potential. I got the opportunity to go to Ballet Tech––The NYC Public School for Dance—twice a week to take a ballet class. I loved it. Once I finished 5th grade, I was given a spot at their school. I have honestly been dancing ever since––I went to high school for dance, college for dance. I went to SUNY Purchase and I double majored in Arts Management and Dance, and graduated in 2013. After that, I danced for Martha Graham Dance Company for one and a half years before joining A.I.M [Abraham in Motion]. My journey has been seamless. It is a strange thing to say in this art form, but it has been that way for me so far. Even how I got to work with A.I.M was a seamless journey—I was dancing with the Graham company and we had a lay off period, which is something that happens often in the professional dance world, but being a new dancer, I didn't know what that entailed. When that three month period happened, I had met Kyle Abraham and we had built a relationship in the dance world—he worked with a good friend of mine and that's how we met. During the lay off, Kyle was having his company do a residency at Jacob’s Pillow, and he had reached out to me. At that point I was not working because of the lay off period, so I went to Jacob's Pillow with Kyle’s company. I tried to work with both Graham and Kyle for a while, but realized that was not possible, so now I have been with Kyle for 6 years.


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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I would say now I have more people I look up to. I look at Camille A. Brown, at the top of the list—I love everything about her. People in my community, dancers in my community, I look to and am inspired by all that they are doing. Of course Kyle Abraham, who I work for. He is a wonderful inspiration for me. The people in my life inspire me. The dance community––Seeing how the dance community is leading their lives encourages me forward.


Q: What have been some challenges in your pre-professional or professional dance career?
(Adversity as a minority artist…)
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Some challenges have been knowing that we are enough. I know a lot of dancers struggle with knowing that; knowing our worth and our value, and what we can add to a space. Early on in my career I wanted to develop that in myself. Just knowing that being in the room is enough sometimes. That has been the biggest personal battle I have faced with myself.


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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Of course. I would say even dancing with A.I.M., we tackle a lot of issues in today’s society—the social injustices. We draw on those things to add to our work and we think about those things when we are in the process. It is so important to the dancers and Kyle, and we know we can say and do more with our art… If you are not reflecting the times you live in within your work, why are you doing it?


Q: What inspires you and drives you forward as an artist and a person?
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My mom is a huge driving force for me. Growing up and watching how hard she works—her diligence, her perseverance; those are things I instill in myself and admire. She has been a huge inspiration for me to work hard and always want more for myself. Also, just the people around me. I surround myself with incredible people and am so grateful for their support. I believe you are as strong as your village, and I am grateful to have a strong village behind me.


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

For me, it is a very interesting time. I think it is forcing us to think about the things we place value on. It is giving us the time to figure out what is worth our attention. I would say from a professional sense, a lot of tours and rehearsals have been cancelled and that means you are not making money. That has been the reality on the professional side. I believe strongly in financial literacy, and I am grateful to have knowledge about that. With the way I was raised, my mom was a great example to me of how to manage money, and it is something I took incredible notes on. I can say for me, at this time, I am okay from a financial standpoint. I am also grateful to be in a company where they are trying to offer and pay us for our time and, for now, the tours and rehearsals that are lost. A.I.M is a 52-week contracted company and a majority of the dancers are salaried, and that plays into it all.

It is a very interesting time, and I am taking the time to rest and reflect and find the beauty in it; although, that will not be the journey for everyone. This is day five of not leaving my house, and though I am not sure what the future holds, I can say for now I am in a good place. I’ve been making a daily schedule for myself to keep some sort of normalcy in my life. I also have been writing down the classes I plan to take, as well as scheduling in time to read, watch movies or Netflix series, have lunch, and rest. Keeping my spirit enriched and sharing encouraging words with my social media community is helping me to also stay encouraged as well. I also started sharing a live 10-minute ab workout on social media today and it was beautiful to connect with people virtually and help them release in some way. I think I will continue to share the workout online.


Q: How do you think we can continue to create and share art during this time?

What I have been seeing on social media is incredibly inspiring. The dance community has rallied and shown up for each other, which is beautiful to see. If we stay on the path of sharing with one another, we will make it through this. I have full faith that this will not last forever and that at the end of this, we will all be okay. But if we continue to think about each other and share in any way we see fit, whether it be information, or holding a class or sharing encouraging words––it is all important and I have been seeing a lot of that. I hope we continue to do that in this time AND once we make it out of this space.


Q: What social changes and responsibilities have you seen people making during the pandemic?

I think of the conversations I have had with good friends. It has been about priorities...what we have been making a priority, and thinking of how we are going to move forward in this time. I definitely see people getting more serious about financial literacy. I have had people ask me about how I am sustaining myself, because I am always that friend saying, “Are you saving?” We WILL hear as professional artists that we are not making enough money, but there is always a way to save and some people just don't know how. This pandemic makes us think about it more and realize the importance of it. Work is lost, gigs are cancelled, so we are asking, “How do we sustain ourselves with no income?” I am seeing the conversation of financial literacy shift and people are giving it more importance in their lives.


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

I hope it does. I am not sure how. I think that will vary for everyone. We will all be changed from this pandemic and we will definitely speak through our art once we are able to––whatever that art form will be. I am excited to see what will come out of this all and to see how performing artists will dive into their work. People are itching to get back to that thing that makes them get up in the morning and stay up late at night, and right now, we are just not able to do that. I am hopeful and excited and I am staying encouraged, and I hope everyone else is as well.


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 see a community that continues to love and to share. I see a kind community. Seeing how we are rallying for one another and coming together on social media has been incredibly inspiring, and at times overwhelming, but still so beautiful. I hope and pray we keep this energy when we are out of this again. I hope we lead from a place of love and continue to rally behind one another and know we are in this together, that we will always be here for one another.


Q: What is one thing you think we can all do each day to lift our spirits and help uplift the people around us (physically present or virtually present)?

Sharing kind and encouraging words and letting people know you love, hear, and see them—that you are here for them no matter the circumstance. That is so important for me, to reach out to people close to me and just tell them that I appreciate them and their presence. I am also reminding them that I am here for them and that they are not alone in this. Being there for one another, having a shoulder to lean on and being that shoulder is really important.