Q: What has your professional dance journey been like? What is the most recent show you have been a part of and how did you come to be a part of it?
I am from Miami, Florida. My career has truly not been one linear path—I have had an interesting path with many branches. I went to college, dropped out, did a reality TV show, and then went back to training. I grew up doing every style of dance and wasn't sure if I wanted to focus in one direction and push aside the others. I've been trying to do it all since I was young. I was on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ season 12, which was in 2015. After ‘SYTYCD,’ I danced and lived in L.A., doing more of the commercial scene. While in L.A., I went on a couple national tours with a more commercial contemporary company, but then wanted to sink my teeth into more training and do more artistic, concert work. I moved to Chicago to do the Hubbard Street Professional program and was then an apprentice with Hubbard Street for a year. At Hubbard, I auditioned to be in Steven Spielberg's ‘West Side Story’ and got the gig. I fell in love with dance on film and musical theater this summer and met a whole new community in New York City that I love. I am now in the process of moving from Chicago to NYC. Currently, I have a lot of exciting things coming up in NYC that I can’t speak of yet, but they have to do with the Broadway world, which is another new adventure for me.
Q: Do you have any mentors or important people in your life that have shaped the way you dance and or think about dance?
The biggest name that sticks out is Alexandra Wells. She has such a broad understanding of the dance world as a whole. Even though she performed as a ballerina in her career, she has seen so much and has been so well connected that she knows so much about every corner of the industry. I really trust her opinion and instinct on timing. I had a lot of conversations with her about how that time in my life was a good time for me to go more back into training. If I did things out of order and did Broadway first, I would never have gone back to do the more contemporary concert style of work. She has great instincts on things.
Q: What have been some challenges in your pre-professional or professional dance career?
(Adversity as a minority artist…)
Finances, always. The biggest dream to support yourself with the money you make dancing. That is the dream, to be a full-time professional dancer. There is a world in which that exists, but it is very difficult. It takes a lot of time and work. Dancing professionally is not a very regular schedule. It's not a 9-to-5 job usually. If you can figure out a routine that works for you, it's very worth it. By the same token, the arts aren't funded enough through the government in the U.S., so freelance is a tricky thing to navigate. Being able to plan a year in advance is ideal but often almost impossible. You just have to have a calendar and pray nothing overlaps and that you are well-organized.
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?
Absolutely. I think dance is the perfect platform for that. Dance is a universal language—you can evoke emotion and feeling when you are performing. That can be read by anyone, anywhere, no matter what language they speak. It is a beautiful thing that we can represent how people feel internally for people who are not in tune with their own body in the way dancers are, and reach them and understand them in that way. It is beautiful to watch someone express what you are feeling and relate to them in that way.
Q: What inspires you and drives you forward as an artist and a person?
I think it is a beautiful time to embrace the internet, which is something I have a love-hate relationship with, because Instagram in particular can be a highlight reel of a person's life and not necessarily the most authentic representation of anyone. It is very curated. But, I am loving that people are now using Instagram and Zoom and all these tools to teach class, take class, and remain connected and a community during this time. No matter where we are on the globe, we have this tool to connect. To take advantage of it in this way is so nice––I have been taking a lot of classes myself online, but I don't feel alone, because so many others are doing it with me.
Q: Do you think the pandemic will make us a more socially conscious society? If so, how?
Lord. I hope it will, I really hope it will. I think this is the universe's way of forcing us to soften up and really listen to one another and to the planet. I think Mother Nature is angry and she needed a moment to breathe. For example, the air quality in China has improved an insane amount— these are things that are so much bigger than the day-to-day issues we face right now because of not working. I do think that the results on the other end of this, will be far greater. I hope in this time that people are doing internal work––sitting with themselves, reading, connecting with people, just taking it back to the community and helping each other out.
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.)
My dream would be for all of the arts to be more widely accessible… I’m scrolling through social media and seeing different dance classes that I wouldn't normally have access to, which is super exciting. After this whole pandemic I would like to see the arts more accessible to everyone. Maybe that means rethinking ticket prices for shows and getting creative about different ways to include everyone in what we do, and not make it an elitist thing. I would like a world in which we can dabble in all of it.
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)?
I think the best thing we can do right now is check in with one another. I have had longer conversations with people in this time than I have in a very long time because there is no rush. It is nice to check in and not ask about work… The conversation isn't about trying to prove you are working on something. The conversations have been more real, about how we are feeling and creative ways we can be active indoors. Checking in with other people to bounce ideas back and forth has been very helpful for me.
