I didn’t know I was going to be a dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker; it was a desire. It all started in theatre. I couldn’t speak English so I started with mime and movement. The dream was to dance but I always thought I was too late. By the time I went to dance school I was 24, so I had to catch up with everyone else. Once you put your mind to it, even if you break something, you go ahead and do it.
Read MoreFor The Dance Practitioner
It was a surreal and full-circle moment because as a little girl, and a little girl of color, the pinnacle was always dancing for the Ailey company…. Then coming back and now teaching the company, running rehearsals, and setting choreography on the company and some dancers that I have been idolizing since I was a young girl… I had to really get my nerves together the first time I walked into the room because it was just unbelievable. The goal was to get in the room with them not knowing that I would be at the front of the room.
Read MoreFor The Impactful Artist
He said it was about patience and I thought that art was always a thing about patience and it didn’t matter that it hurt you, it was about the outcome of this beautiful thing. I fell in love with the process despite being so uncomfortable with it. I started drawing from there, then I realized I could sculpt things, which was even better because I could create things with polymer clay - things I saw in my dreams that I can bring to life. I could do anything, I was unstoppable.
Read MoreFor The Perpetual Hygge
That’s when I had an epiphany. What I was doing before, with my job, I wasn’t happy with. It was not something I truly wanted to do or something that truly brought joy. It felt like I was just letting my life go by, like so many of us do. So I decided to do something that scares me. I’m going to start my business. It’s risky because it’s new, it’s different, and I knew I wouldn’t be earning money for quite some time. I thought the best thing I could do is just jump in and dive in right away. That’s the day I decided that I’m going to start telling my story…
Read MoreFor The Musically Curious Child
Sometimes it’s really easy to feel like being a musician is a selfish thing, because you are having to constantly promote yourself. It’s easy to forget that the reason we do it is not just so that we can make a living, but so that we can share the beauty of what we do, as string players, with others. It’s a universal language. Everybody has a story. Everyone goes through things, and when people do things that can help you move through those phases and encounters in life, it’s a very powerful thing. Reminding myself that is important because it’s not purely a selfish endeavor, it really is for trying to help the good of humanity.
Read MoreFor The Adventurous Spirit
For me, surfing is the freedom to play. It’s like dancing on water. Right now I am learning how to walk the nose on a longboard, and it has given me the freedom to have fun and relearn “surf.” I think my style is not the traditional aggressive type of style. Mine is more relaxing… the feeling… the energy. It feels like there is just always a lot of play.
Read MoreFor The Creative Strategist
Technology is something where if we don’t have our diverse voices in it, we could be in deep trouble. Think about algorithms for example. If they are built only by white, straight, men… what does that equal for everyone else. What does that equal when they are doing surveillance on people if we are doing facial recognition. All these systems of inequity are happening because we don’t have diversification at the top. We don’t have people with emotional and social consciousness. Computer science in school should teach you about people. Art and technology need to be together.
Read MoreFor The Never Ending Creative
I did it partially because I was going to graduate and I wasn’t really sure what my money situation was going to be like. I ended up getting the van two months before graduation and I also started watching a lot of videos about it. It seemed a lot more sustainable because I don’t think we actually need that much space to live… so space-saving solutions are very interesting.
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