Going on stage and doing ballet, for the first time, was even more verification of, "This is what I'm meant to do. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to make it somehow."
When I was younger, my feet would hurt a lot, but you build up calluses and strength and you don't feel as much pain there.
I've gotten nothing but warmth from the Black community and positive feedback.
I don't think a lot of people really understand the commitment it takes to being a character that an actor in Hollywood would take to approaching a role that they're doing.
I know there are a lot of eyes on me now from young girls, and it makes me so proud. The only Black woman examples aren't Rihanna and Beyoncé. It makes me proud that I am a classical ballerina and they can look at me and see another way to succeed. That is setting a new standard.
I believe I am yet to dance my favorite role, but I am pretty open to adapting to different characters. I would love to be Odette in Swan Lake one day. I think that would be the ultimate role.
Ballet is number one, everything else is scheduled in the small windows when I'm not in the studio taking class, rehearsing, on stage or on tour.
I try to consider people's perspectives and not just my own.
I was 17 when I moved to NYC . I'm now 32. But I do know I can't see myself living anywhere else. I love the food, the fashion, art, the intelligence of this city and the people that live in it.
In a ballet company, you're trying to create unison and uniform when you're in a cour de ballet.
I don't think every African-American or Latino have the same body type, but, yes, that's been one of the excuses ... saying that African-Americans are too muscular or just aren't lean enough. Usually they say, "Oh, they have flat feet so they just don't have the flexibility that it takes to create the line in a point shoe."
Without my mentors there is no Misty.
I don't feel like my life is that of a superstar! Every day I wake up, I take the train, I go to my ballet class. My everyday life is pretty normal.
It takes a lot of money to be a part of the ballet world. Both the training and the supplies are expensive, the shoes, the leotards and the tights.
I think I'm pretty laid back. I like cooking, being at home, and going to concerts. And I love to shop!
Ballet was exactly what I was searching for, but my environment definitely made me the dancer and the person that I am today. And the Hip-Hop culture was a big part of it.
Just to get into a company like ABT is a dream come true, but to have all of these opportunities on top of it, I don't think it will hit me until I'm 70. I'll be like, "Oh, my god, remember that amazing life you had?" It's an incredible honor to be a part of something like ABT.
Physical fears change and shift depending on the role and depending on the mindset I'm in.
I definitely like to be natural and more relaxed and not wear a lot of makeup.
Once I became a professional, maybe 19 or 20, I really started to try to figure out who I was, as a woman and as an individual.
