“Ballet is my passion. I live it and breathe it.” — Michaela DePrince Quote

Ballet is my passion. I live it and breathe it.

I couldn't get into classical companies in the U.S. and Canada. I would make the cuts in auditions and would be one of the last five dancers standing when the audition ended. I'd expect to get an offer, but I never would... I began to think that I was truly a dreadful dancer.

I want young black girls to have more dancers to look up to. I want to be able to spread more poppies in a field of daffodils.

The fact that black young dancers consider me to be a role model is incredible. I hope that they can continue to realize that they can become ballerinas, too, no matter what skin color you are.

The idea for 'Ballet Baby' started when I was going through my own pregnancy.

Being a ballet dancer isn't cool. Football, boxing, hockey... they're cool. And you make more money.

When I started thinking seriously about learning the rules of narrative, I thought, 'You've learned the rules of dancing from the ballet; what's the matter with learning the laws of theater from the people who know how to do it?'

I was a ballet dancer and that kind of bled into musical theater. I was constantly in rehearsal for one thing or another.

The focus of our family life was homework and what was for dinner; getting to ballet rehearsal and getting my brother to soccer.