As a classically trained, Black male dancer who also loves the visual arts, I have recognized that often I am the minority in creative spaces I occupy. As I traveled to schools to inspire and share my love of the arts, I often find that Black males will wait after presentations to talk to me personally. Stigmas associated with Black males in the arts, make many youths who would love to be open about their interest, shy and unwilling to speak up in the crowd. I want to use my talents as a safe space for anyone to express themselves artistically through visual artistry and dance. I have also noticed that the exclusion of minorities and especially low-income minorities in the arts is often not overt but through systematic, exclusion to accessing appropriate training spaces. How many dance and art studios are in impoverished areas? How many Title 1 schools have dance and quality art programs that extend beyond non-technical styles of dance and visual arts? How many families are willing to support careers in the arts because they are unaware of the careers that will support their families fiscally? I want to be that voice and inspiration for these communities. I want to take ballet, modern, and contemporary dance to rural areas. I want to bring visual art programs to areas that challenge the status quo and inspire creatives like me to understand that art has no boundaries. I want to share that expression through visual arts can be therapeutic and put food on the table. I want to share my love and freedom in dance and the visual arts and ultimately inspire others to do the same. As I begin to pursue my professional career as an artist, I know my relationship with dance and visual arts will be one of personal healing, a happy-place, and also one that sustains me financially. I want my life’s work to extend beyond my generation and be noted as an opportunity for humanity to come together and heal in a shared experience. I see my relationship with art as evolving. In this evolution, the arts will serve various purposes throughout my adult life. Initially I hope to experience the fruits of my labor as a professional dancer and freelance visual artist. Eventually, I will leave the stage and begin to teach and train students across the United States and hopefully abroad. Finally, I hope to choreograph and complete commission pieces. Plato stated, “Art is an imitation of life,” but I hope my art is my life and fills my spaces with light and love.

In middle school, I noticed the stress I was experiencing from my studies, social issues, and so much more. During 7th grade, I experienced a series of months where I was just angry, and I did not know why. Finally, I spoke to my mother, and I shared what I was experiencing. She immediately hugged me, and we began the road to sustaining my mental health. That angry kid in me needed to be tamed. This was the beginning of my mental health journey, and understanding that my mental health is important so that I can have the quality of life I want and deserve. Throughout my high school career, I was able to learn various strategies to maintain my mental health. From conversations with my school counselor to watching self-help videos, I was able to learn that mental health support can be simple or complex. For me, I adopted some tactics that I did not need anyone to execute to help when I felt stressed or anxious. This way, when I was unable to communicate my feelings, I was still able to manage them. One strategy I used was meditation apps. I really used these during COVID when I felt very anxious about the new world I was experiencing. Every morning, I would begin with a 3–5-minute meditation. My mother made me notice the power of fresh air and sunlight. Walking around parks or open spaces allowed me to release and learn to “just be”. As a dancer and typically upbeat person, I learned that I am often “on stage” literally and figuratively. Doing so allows me to be present for others but I was not taking care of myself. Physically and mentally drained from daily activities and shows, my stress levels began to rise and the practices that I adopted were neglected. Having my mother as an accountability partner, she reminded me to release in positive ways. Once again, I am intentional about my mental health practices. Morning meditations, weekly walks around the neighborhood or park, talking “big” thoughts out with a safe person, and journaling have proven repeatedly to be necessities in my mental health journey. As I transition to college, these will be top priority as I once again learn to navigate a whole new world. I have learned and appreciated that mental health challenges ebb and flow throughout life. Sometimes I will be able to manage those feelings by myself and there will be times when I will need to lean on someone. Understanding that this is okay is a huge part of mental health management. I am thankful for a mother that allowed me to express and not just say things like “suck it up”. Too often in various cultures, the right to “feel” for males have not been supported and mocked. So here is to walks in the park and meditative moments. We all need them. Know that angry, 7th grade kid still tries to rear his head, but I now know he just needs a hug.

Earning my bachelor's degree in fine arts, with a concentration in dance will allow me to explore my dance career through various facets. Over the next four years, I desire for my educational experiences to expose me to areas of dance I have never considered and allow me to collaborate with dancers from around the world. An ideal college experience would push me in the art of dance but allow me to experience joys like never before. I would also like to experience travel throughout and outside of the United States during my undergraduate years. From meeting new people, exploring various genres of dance, and learning from master teachers, college is about the courses but also molding me into the young adult I want to be. Additionally, I would like for college to expose me to other areas of the arts: Vocal training, acting, and the visual arts. Graduating as a well-rounded individual based on my inter and intrapersonal exposures and other art genres would create an awareness of the connectively between the arts, supporting the efforts of humanity to come together in unity, and create safe spaces in this world. My post-secondary professional goals span from performance to choreography to philanthropic work. First, I desire for my professional dance career to begin on the stage. Ideally, I would tour with a company or be afforded the opportunity to have a reoccurring role in a production. Throughout my dance career, I desire to expand my experiences to include choreography and own a dance company that focuses on the development of pre-professional dancers from all walks of life. Finally, but not least in my life as a dancer, I would like to open a dance company that would include the development of students of various races/cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and access. I was given the opportunity to dance through a scholarship at a dance studio and this act has always inspired me to do the same. Through philanthropic work, I would like to support underprivileged students from low socioeconomic or rural backgrounds that may not have access to advance levels of dance training. Unfortunately, in the Black community, quality and affordable dance studios are scarce. Dance and the arts have always been a major part of the culture of people of color around the world. The obvious absence of these opportunities in certain areas can be viewed as a systemic action to further remove people of color from their roots. As I matriculate through my career, I want to address this issue and be known for my work in providing training to underserved communities.

Dance is more than movement. Dance is an expression of art and emotion. Dancing is my freedom! As a Black, male dancer, I have found the stage or wherever I am able to move, a space where I can let go of any worries or feelings which I am unable to express. I find joy in movement and many who have seen me dance have shared how my dancing makes them feel. This is what dance is to me, freedom of expression. I also feel dance is the equalizer of humanity. The stage is a space where color, gender, and religious barriers cease to exist. When I am on stage, the movement and expression of dance collectively unites the dancer and the audience. My goal when I dance is to leave the audience with an experience that inspires and renews. The gift of unity that I am able to give to my audience is a gift that I have often not been afforded off the stage. As a Black, male dancer in the south, I have faced the challenge of family acceptance, access to adequate-affordable training, and guidance to pursue a career in a field that is vastly different from my science and math minded family. Often faced with questions of what is your back up plan or can you really make a living from dance, I find myself not responding but only being inspired to work harder at my craft. Thankfully with the support of a few family members and my teachers, I have been able to create my path and pursue my passion despite the obstacles that I have faced. Now, as I strive to be the first dance major in my family, I seek to secure financial support for my dream. Dance is everything to me. Dancing is the one thing that I look forward to everyday, and the one thing that I see myself doing throughout my life. Through intensives, non-profit funded master classes, school dance teams, and a scholarship to attend a dance studio, I have grown as a dancer in a short period of time. This financial support has made it possible for my single mother to support me in my efforts to learn dance. Continuing my education as a dancer will allow me to exist in various spaces. As a degreed dancer, I will be able to teach and inspire other young dancers like me. I want to give to my future students what my teachers gave to me, the hope of a professional dance career. I want to travel the world and experience cultures and prayerfully, support connecting humanity through dance. I want to learn and learn from the best. Dancing is my freedom and I hope to share this freedom with the world.