I May Be Agnostic But I Do Believe in Yeezus

I recently had a conversation with a close friend about my dance career aspirations and goals. I told her how much I enjoy touring because of the travel and performing elements. The subject of "appropriateness" came up and I explained to her that the way a dancer looks nearly always determines the types of jobs he or she can work on.

Many people like to comment on how young I look (which, by the way, isn't really a compliment at 23 years old), which has led me to believe that I am only appropriate for jobs with certain artists of a certain age and aesthetic. But at the end of the day I welcome any opportunity to dance with an artist, whether he or she is young or old. But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be performing for an artist like Kanye West.

And so it began two weeks ago: rehearsals for West's highly anticipated North American leg of the Yeezus Tour.

The creative team is an eclectic group of talented and eccentric heavy hitters from all mediums of art. The Artistic Director is Vanessa Beecroft, whose vision for the show is to create less of a concert and more of a performance arts piece. The Choreographer and Tour Director is Yemi A.D., the genius behind West's famed "Runaway" video and many of his subsequent performances. The lighting, music, and set design departments are also at the top of their fields.

We had our first performance in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, October 19:

I'm excited to see how the whole show will progress as time goes on, and am positive that it will evolve over the next 7 weeks.

As another chapter of my career unfolds, I am beginning to realize that the restrictions of being a dancer aren't always as confining as I may think. As long as I stay focused and continue pushing, anything is possible.