Kind of made me very
uncomfortable being different
and wearing not the tights and leotards,
so, one day I went into class
wearing tights and a leotard
and the teacher turned me away.
The teacher told me basically
that I was not allowed
to wear tights and a leotard
and that I had to wear
the male uniform if I wanted
to continue at that studio.
I realized that I wanted
to be a ballet dancer
when I first performed
in 'The Nutcracker.'
I really enjoyed performing
and I really enjoyed being on stage
seeing how the audience
reacts to the dancers.
It just gives you a nice feeling
that you're giving back to them
and I wanted to just do that
for the rest of my life.
I was contemplating
September through December
on coming out and what
my reactions would be
and how it would change
the way that I dance,
and I really didn't care at that point,
I just wanted to be myself
and I let the world know.
Wearing a male costume and
performing after I came out,
it was very uncomfortable.
I knew that coming out
would put a lot at risk
for my dance career, but at the same time
it was really rewarding for me
to see everyone being
so positive about it.
It was very heartwarming
to hear a lot of my friends
and family that were very
open and accepting right away.
I was told how inspiring
I was to other people,
how other people are able
to come out because of me,
and just hearing that from
other people is what matters.
Transitioning from male
training to female training
in pointe shoes, it was really difficult.
Just being able to move around
in pointe shoes I had to get used to.
I was also up against girls
that had been on pointe
since they were 11, 12 years old.
So trying to catch up
with them was something
that I've really struggled with.
Just knowing the fact that I was able
to be on pointe really helped.
We can solve a lot of problems
with the LGBTQ community
in the ballet world just being
more inclusive in classes.
There are some studios that
have male and female classes,
but I also know a lot
of times the male class
is separated from the female class
and it's two totally different things
and they're both learning different stuff
within their classes.
So I really think being
inclusive in all classes,
making people feel comfortable
is something that should be worked on.
My favorite role that I want
to be is 'Sleeping Beauty.'
I think that's like my favorite ballet.
Advice I would give to younger dancers
is to just be themselves and not be afraid
of what other people think,
and to understand that you
can't change people's minds,
you can only educate them as best you can.
