I ended up training only for four years before I was accepted into American Ballet Theater in New York City.

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.

Life is magical for a lover.

In those few words you've summed up my life - my reason for existence. It's you. Any pain I've suffered, the mistakes I've made, the path laid out for me have all led here - to you.

Fame & fortune come with a price that fame finds insulting and fortune can't afford to pay back.

Standing up for yourself is about more than flinging barbed-wire insults around. Its about picking your battles, knowing when to fight, knowing exactly what and who is worth fighting for.

I am as my Creator made me and since He is satisfied so am I.

In the long run, there are no secrets. in science. The universe will not cooperate in a cover-up.

He hands you a nickel, he hands you a dime. He asks you with a grin, if you're having a good time.

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.

If you want to help others and become a person of influence, keep smiling, sharing, giving, and turning the other cheek.

Death ends our woes, and the kind grave shuts up the mournful scene.