“I started dancing when I was eight years old at a social project in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but I could have never imagined dance would become my life. I’ve been dancing for 20 years, which feels like a long time but I still want more. My family has always been supportive of my career. Every day, my mom used to take me and my brother to after school ballet classes. And the project allowed me to discover a new world, a new perspective, and a new path in my life.
I hope to experience a continuous growth of the organization, and to inspire young dancers of color and underprivileged youth by showing them that they, too, can pursue their dreams. With hard work and dedication, they can become whatever they aspire to be. I also hope to continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King: to achieve and do what was once thought to be impossible. Social justice refers to the ability people have to realize their own potential. It doesn’t matter where you come from; what matters is what you see yourself going. I would like to see more black dancers in classical ballet, and black girls studying and performing ballet. Take my life as an example: I come from a favela in Brazil. I am black. I have a poor family and yet, despite the odds, I made my dream come true. I became a ballerina.”
