I have never considered the question: “Is it because I am Black?” because it often sounds like a convenient way to redirect a personal shortcoming to someone else; however, I couldn't help but wonder as I stood in the dance studio, at the ballet barre, surrounded by all of those assigned to my beginners-level ballet class, “Is it because we are all Black?” I observed the patterns, noticing that the majority of the Caucasian dancers got the parts in the...

My dad slammed the English-Spanish dictionary down on the table, ripped open a fresh pack of crisp white index cards, handed me a ballpoint pen and told me to copy down every word in the dictionary. This is how my dad insisted that I was to learn how to read. I was only five years old, but I knew that there must be another way to learn how to read that did not involve me rewriting the entire dictionary. I...

Last summer I spent six weeks at the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive in New York City. After long days of dance classes, I managed to visit the best schools that New York has to offer. One day after I finished my hip-hop class, I put on my shoes, slung my backpack over my shoulders, and nervously rushed towards the subway that would take me to the Columbia University stop. I was nervous because it was Columbia that I was visiting....

Dance is an evolving art form, and I am an evolving human being - a dancer who changes and adapts daily. I try to keep up with the evolution that shapes the art form by being coachable and adaptable while also breaking barriers and contributing in my own way. New York University has always been a dream of mine and it is difficult to remember how exactly I came to know about NYU initially have been aware of NYU for...

I recall that my parents always made sure that I started at the beginning and worked my way up - from wearing the number “double zero” on my soccer jersey despite me wanting to skip straight to the number “one”, to going through all of the necessary steps before getting to hit a golf ball. I remember my father taking me and my two sisters out to the country club’s golf range and teaching us his “ten-step process” towards...