I was really creative. I started to dance very young. I loved to dance. I begged my mother to put me into dance classes, and finally, in third grade, she did. Tap and jazz, but not ballet.
I wasn't into tapping when it began dying down. Ever since I started, it's been alive for me. I just want to keep on dancing. I want to do it all.
My family plays a big part in my role as a dancer and my sister was my first trainer. She's still my role model and inspiration until this day. She was my first trainer, she taught me my first steps.
My goal was to become the best dancer in the world and, because I started late, I always had this feeling I was playing catch-up, so I've been a bit of a maniac most of my life, sort of striving.
I remember from when I use to be a dancer, there is an expression among dancers, I had a T-shirt that said: SHUT UP AND DANCE.
Give me something to dance about and I'll dance it.
I got started dancing because I knew it was one way to meet girls.
I've come to realize that people dance for reasons of their own.
Youngsters are selecting dance as a profession and are aiming for an aspiring career in the field of dance. I am happy to see that we brought about that change and encouraged young people to opt for dance as their path.
What kind of art do I want to make? What do I stand for? What inspires me? And then to have people in return respond to that... I think that's the greatest thing because throughout dancing, I'm always looking for that.
I'm not naturally a gifted dancer, and I don't enjoy it.
Gene Kelly has meant so much to me through the years. I used to dance in my living room in socks and a tee-shirt, no idea what I was doing, but wanting to dance like Gene.
I'm not someone who can dance to a song I don't like.
I don't really think about dance except just before rehearsals start. I put it off. I don't live my life thinking about dance.
When I was young, I took classical ballet lessons, but I wasn't very good at it. It was really frustrating because I wanted to be good at it. When I stopped having lessons, I began to dance and improvise, and I felt more comfortable.
I was a dancer, so I always loved watching girls perform and dance and just always looked up to them and their bodies.
Most dancers are less eccentric than driven. It starts young. When other kids are at the playground, we're in the studio, endlessly drilling jumps and adjusting our socks.
When I look at the people who are the guiding figures in modern dance, I think, 'This does not look to me like the way I want to spend my days.'
I've had a lot of little girls write to me saying that they want to be dancers and that I've inspired them.
With my work, it's not possible to just cast a production and leave it. I have to nurture the group of dancers to make it happen.
All I do is watch dance videos. I love Ricky Ubeda, who is a contemporary dancer, and I also love Madison Cubbage. They inspire me to work harder every day.
No movie influenced me more to go after my dreams than 'Flashdance.' After seeing it, I took 15 dance lessons a week. I cut all my sweatshirts. I did the 'Maniac' thing.
I wanted to inspire every little girl who wants to be a dancer to fire their imagination about the joys of being on the stage.
