I grew up with a baby grand piano in my living room. For enjoyment, my father and I played the piano endlessly for each other. When I was nine, he would play big, juicy, romantic nocturnes, and I would try to mirror the music with my body, improvising and performing ideas of ballet (and also break dancing) that I had seen on television. I remember making arabesque shapes before I even knew what an arabesque was.

Taking my first ballet class at 18 felt late, but also felt like meeting an old friend from a past life—it was surreal. I remember standing at the barre and thinking, I could be good at this, watching my shaped hand glide through space. The feeling was impossibly familiar. I had some decisions to make.

Now, after one BFA program, one scorchingly hot summer program, countless freelance projects and choreographers, tours across the nation and around the world, I am dancing full-time, about to start my 10th season with Whim W'Him.