I’ve been dancing all my life; it’s my passion. Dance doesn’t just make me feel good; it fuels my soul and is the emotional outlet that allows me to share myself with others. The challenges it provides for my body and mind keep me healthy and teach me valuable life lessons that I use every day. Having trained with professionals from around the world in dance genres like ballet, jazz, Horton, Graham, Flamenco, and contemporary, I have a strong foundation to build up my dance career. While pursuing my B.F.A. in dance, I’ll continue to improve my technique, but most importantly, I want to improve my quality of movement and ability to connect with audiences. Knowing how to breathe life into a choreographer’s vision so it touches the audience is a skill I want to strengthen. Dancing is more than just movement; it’s about being a visual expression of the human experience. After earning my degree, I want to join a professional dance company that will provide numerous performance opportunities, a strong sense of community, and exposure to many varieties of dance and choreography. While in a company, I will always strive to grow and reach new levels in my dancing because I want to perfect my craft and inspire other artists. As a dancer, having role models to look up to is very important and helps me have more self-confidence. I’m a young, female, black dancer who doesn’t have the “ideal dancer body," so I didn’t always see professional dancers who looked like me in the spaces I aspired to be in. Throughout the years, I’ve had to make an effort to ensure I appreciate my body because, without it, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. There were many times when I felt discouraged because I didn’t see principal dancers who looked like me in major companies. But the world of concert dance is progressing and companies are increasingly becoming more diverse. When I see dancers like Precious Adams, Christian Burse, Calvin Royal III, Ashley Kaylynn Green, and Misty Copeland, it’s encouraging and a reminder that I can achieve the goals I have for myself. Having a successful dance career isn’t just for me; it's to inspire up-and-coming dancers like me. Representation is so important, and I’ve seen how it changes mindsets. I performed at my little cousin’s birthday party, and hearing gasps of excitement from little black girls and even adults was so powerful. It helped me realize the power I have because of my differences. The beauty of art is that everyone can gain something from it, and more than anything, I want to encourage all artists to explore who they are and discover how their artistry can change the world.

Many social issues affect the American population, but one I am passionate about is income inequality. Money makes the world go around, and its powers can change lives instantaneously. As a young, black, woman from America, I’ve learned about the many inequalities that have and continue to affect black and other minority communities. Through my research, I realized how many of these institutional and social inequalities are connected and feed into one another. But one I believe is one of the most influential is income inequality. The conversation around this topic in America goes back hundreds of years, beyond the nation’s founding. Back then the only people who truly had power were rich, white, men, and the systems they set in place hundreds of years ago continue to keep them and their families in the forefront of financial success. The economic effects of American chattel slavery are a great example of how having the ability to build generational wealth can benefit a family for generations. Only within the last 100 years have specifically black families been able to begin building their wealth up enough to translate across generations. Most white families have had that privilege for hundreds of years. Today, many POC have broken this barrier but many continue to play “catch up” to their white counterparts. The issue of income inequality affects every aspect of life. Not having the money to have secure housing and food can lead to homelessness, mental health issues, and even crime. This often becomes a direct pipeline to entering the prison system, where through a loophole in the 13th Amendment, prisoners can be used for free labor. Also, it’s widely known that public schools in America are funded largely through property taxes. If POC have struggled to get equal housing to white people because of racial covenants, were forced to live in underserved areas, and work low-paying jobs, then how can they properly fund their schools? If children have rough home lives and aren’t getting proper education then they can be tempted to turn to dangerous and unhealthy ways to live. If a community’s youth is struggling, it’ll struggle to move forward, hindering progress and change. Another issue is healthcare, America doesn’t have nationwide healthcare, but this isn’t an issue when you have the money to pay for medical bills that range in the thousands to tens of thousands. For many Americans, a hospital bill would devastate their finances and negatively impact their lives for decades. Also if the neighborhood you can afford to live in isn’t being invested into then accessing necessities like healthy food becomes more difficult. Although it’s possible to make healthy meals on a tight budget, it may be easier to buy fast food to have money left to pay for other necessities. There are truly so many examples of the negative impacts of income inequality. It’s important to get involved in this issue because it affects so many people and is increasingly becoming a problem. Pushing for legislative changes and federally backed programs are great ideas but rarely are implemented or work as intended. So by implementing more resources around financial literacy and understanding how history influenced the subject of personal and generational wealth, we can help slowly push for change. It starts in homes and at school, not only should children learn about personal finance topics but how important it is to begin taking finances seriously early on. Many predict the gap will continue to widen, but there are still ways that everyone can make changes to their finances and reap the benefits, whether big or small.

I love being active and have done many activities in my life, but my passion is to dance! I’ve been dancing since I was three years old, and for the past 15 years, I’ve dedicated my life to the art form. Dance is how I express myself to the world, and whether I’m performing on stage or dancing with friends and family, dance brings me so much joy. For more than four years I’ve been in one or more pre-professional companies and taken classes, six days and 20+ hours a week. Although it’s hard work, my dance career has already been so rewarding. I’ve been able to train with world-class teachers and choreographers and travel across the United States to train. These amazing opportunities influenced my choice to pursue dance in college, and next year I’ll be attending Boston Conservatory at Berklee to get my B.F.A. in Dance! The next four years will be crucial to my development as an artist and will help prepare me to share my talents with the world. While pursuing my B.F.A. in Dance I plan to improve my technique, but most importantly, I want to improve my quality of movement and ability to connect with audiences. Knowing how to breathe life into a choreographer’s vision so it touches the audience is a skill I want to strengthen. Dancing is more than just movement, it’s about being a visual expression of the human experience. All forms of art take their inspiration from life, and especially now we must use art to speak out on the things happening in our world. Doing so can spark conversations, and conversation is crucial to change. After earning my degree, I want to join a professional dance company; one that will provide a variety of performance opportunities, a strong sense of community, and exposure to many varieties of dance and choreography. It’s important that the companies I dance for challenge me as a person and an artist by not being afraid to showcase dances that tackle tough topics. Celebrated works like Revelations by Alvin Ailey have been around for over 60 years because it’s about a struggle that millions have and continue to relate to. Using art to bring awareness to the struggles and triumphant of humanity is the best way to get people of all walks of life engaged, and witness the power of art. In my journey as a dancer, having role models to look up to is very important and helps me have more self-confidence. Especially in America, dancers of color, and especially black dancers, were pushed out. Despite this, many trailblazers either joined majority-white companies or created their own companies that were safe spaces for dancers of color. Growing up as a black female dancer, I had to go out of my way to find dancers who looked like me. Dancers like Lauren Anderson, Pearl Primus, Christian Burse, Michaela DePrince, Judith Jamison, Precious Adams, Alicia Graf Mack, and many more became my role models. They serve as reminders that I could achieve my goals. More than anything I want to encourage all artists to explore who they are and discover how their artistry can change the world.

I believe there’s something so special about movies and their ability to transport you into another world and force you to think about something new. There are many movies that I’ve come to love and that have made an impact on my life, and one example is “Dances with Wolves." This movie is from 1990 and is about a Civil War soldier who’s stationed out west and adopted by a tribe of Lakota Native Americans. I’d first seen this movie on my own when I was younger but later watched it in a junior history class at school. Watching it a second time allowed me to better understand the movie's message. I’m African American, but my great-great-grandmother on my father’s side was Cherokee. Although I don’t have any connection with that part of my ancestry, I still believe it’s important to learn about the struggles of Native Americans. Before Africans were brought to the New World, Native Americans suffered first, and it’s important to continue sharing how colonization has impacted them. As a history enthusiast, this movie compelled me to learn more about the Native American experience. Unlike most movies featuring Native Americans, this movie featured many actors who are of American and Canadian Native American ancestry. This movie helped further solidify the idea that Native Americans are people who have families, lives, and conflicts but don’t deserve to have their lives taken away from them. This idea is taught in schools and might be a “duh” moment, but connecting faces to such terrible situations brings about new levels of empathy and understanding. This movie prompted me to do my research about the struggles of Native Americans all across the Americas. Some events, like the Trail of Tears, are mentioned in schools, but things like boarding schools and the conditions on reservations are rarely talked about. I began to do my research about Native American children who were forced into boarding schools to be assimilated into white culture when news headlines about it began to pop up in 2023. For me, one of the most heartbreaking facts about this wasn’t just that these children were taken from their families and forced to forget their culture, but that it happened recently. Some people are still alive who attended these boarding schools and have shared their stories. Watching this movie also helped me connect the dots of how colonization continues to negatively affect many Native Americans with what I learned from reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." It’s one of my favorite books, and Sherman Alexie shares his experiences growing up on a Spokane reservation and the hardships he and others on the reservation went through. For years, Native American activists have been speaking out about the dismal conditions on reservations, including rampant levels of addiction, unemployment, food insecurity, and high inflation. All these factors and more continue to show how strong all Native Americans are, but how much they’re suffering due to hundreds of years of inhumane mistreatment. I believe everyone should do more research about Native Americans and their ways of life. Especially now that climate change is a massive issue, we can learn how to properly take care of this land and only use what we need. Elevating their voices will not only begin to heal wounds but also push us toward becoming a more equitable society.

My entire life has been in constant motion. From a very young age, I was involved in all kinds of activities, like the Girl Scouts, weekly guitar lessons, soccer teams, community activities, science fairs, musicals at school, youth choir, and praise dance. Although I enjoyed them all, my true passion is to dance! Dance is ingrained in my very being, and allows me to express myself and emotionally connect with others without using words. My dance journey began at age 3 and now, I’m dancing in the studio from 20 to 25 hours each week for normal classes and rehearsals, which can increase up to 30+ hours during residencies with visiting artists like Ronald K. Brown, Tom Gold, and Lauren Anderson. I am in two pre-professional companies at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in University City: BalletEclectica and COCAdance. The artistic directors of dance at COCA, Antonito Douthit-Boyd and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, are both retired from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The high level of training I receive at COCA is preparing me to pursue a career in the performing arts. Although dance has given me amazing opportunities, I’ve still had to overcome many challenges. During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, I was forced to stay home due to my Type 1 Diabetes, asthma, and severe food allergies. It was a very dark time for me mentally. I watched as all my friends danced around in big studios while interacting with one another, and it was hard not to become completely hopeless. I took dance classes on Zoom for an entire year, but my commitment to dance never wavered. When I was first diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes I struggled to adjust, and was quickly tired of counting carbs and checking my blood sugar. Especially when it came to dancing, I struggled to keep my blood sugar in range and was always annoyed when I had to sit out of class to correct my levels. Despite those hardships, I learned and adapted, and with a newfound focus on my health, I saw growth in my dancing. Having learned what works for my active body, living with Type 1 Diabetes no longer prohibits me! One of the biggest challenges for me was growing up as a black female dancer, I didn’t always see professional dancers who looked like me in the spaces I aspired to be in. For decades, black dancers were pushed out of performance spaces and forced to start their own companies. Companies like The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Dance Theater of Harlem provided a safe place for dancers of all colors, shapes, and backgrounds to dance and share their artistry with the world. Recently there have been big changes within the dance world. Now I see many artists who look like me. It’s encouraging and serves as a reminder that I can achieve the goals I have for myself. I’m pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance not only to achieve my dreams but to become an inspiration to the next generation of dancers to know their identity shouldn’t be a hindrance to achieving their goals. Seeing someone who looks like you do something you love is the best form of inspiration because it’s a real-life confirmation that pursuing your dreams is possible.

Success isn't only about what you've accomplished but how your accomplishments inspire others. Being successful is about sharing yourself with the world and revolutionizing what is already established. Although everyone defines success differently, being labeled as successful should never deter the strive for excellence. From a young age, I was taught how to understand the value of patience and persistence. Settling for mediocrity was never an option, and being the greatest version of myself was the expectation no matter the task at hand. I am a dancer, so I have learned to be self-motivated, respectful, and disciplined at all times, no matter who is in the room. Dance has taught me to appreciate and acknowledge the specialties within every individual, something I believe is uniquely within the arts, but useful when applied to the real world. Being able to witness other's vulnerability and see their movement as a form of communication allows me to better understand the human experience and all its complexities. Success should not just positively benefit one's self but also benefit humanity. I believe that the vulnerability of sharing with the world is crucial to preserving the qualities of humility and humanity. I strive to share my artistry with others in hopes that someone will be inspired to define and reach their own level of success. In a world that's often compassionless and emotionally unavailable, I believe that using dance to create safe spaces of self-expression will allow for healing, growth, and success.