I think I always felt a connection to music and to movement. Growing up, I was surrounded by R&B and Hip-Hop, and the closest thing I could find to dance was gymnastics which I watched on TV.

Success is not easy and I think everyone should know that hard work and perseverance and being open to giving back are so much more powerful than stepping all over people to get to the top.

You can do anything you want, even if you are being told negative things.stay strong and find motivation.

The best piece of advice that I remember probably on a daily basis is to accept everything about me that is different. That is what makes me special.

You can dream big and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from.

My body is very different from most of the dancers I dance with. My hair is different than most I dance with. But I didn't let that stop me. Black girls rock and can be ballerinas.

The path to your success is not as fixed and inflexible as you think.

You're always working to improve, and you're always being critiqued on your next performance. It's not about what you've done. There's always room to grow.

I just try to approach every opportunity on stage, as if it's my first time and my last time.

I feel like I represent every young dancer, and even non-dancer, who felt they were not accepted by the ballet world. I'd like to think that they can see themselves in me.

There are muscles that we have in our feet that most human beings don't even know that we have. The strength that we have is so detailed.

Happiness is not giddiness or some overly inflated sense of being.

A certain kind of courage is required to follow what truly calls to us

The sarcasm made a slight whistling noise as it flew over Loafers' head.

To Unlearn is as hard as to Learn

People don't resent you for being brave. They resent themselves for being afraid.

I can't stand callow amateurs who aren't sufficiently interested in the craft of advertising to assume the posture of students.

All work and no plagiarism makes a dull speech.

Of course I have regrets; I'm not stupid.

I get up at the same time every morning.

I held a variety of jobs - most notably ten years working in universities - and kept on writing.