“As a dancer, starting out as a kid with no training at all, my training was watching [Michael Jackson’s] videos and trying to emulate him. Luckily my mother was a dancer so she knew the route to take and where to put [me] so that I could train. He made it okay to dance. I was growing up in a time when there weren’t a lot of male role models in dance. It was Michael Jackson and that was pretty much it.
My first opportunity to work with Michael was in 1991 and for me it was kind of a catapulting event. I auditioned for [him] at the MTV 10th Anniversary Special and it was so early in my career, so seeing a superstar at that age was just surreal! Being in that position and just knowing that months before I was sitting at home in my bedroom in Arizona wanting to be like him and then all of a sudden being next to him and working with him; it was, and [remains] the most incredible moment in my dance career.
When I heard about him passing, I was really upset. It felt like a part of me had died. But going back into the studio and trying to start working, I felt a change; I felt a big change. It’s not so much that I felt pressure to create brilliant work as much... like I had a duty. I’m beyond inspired by him and... I want to leave a mark. I want to have a legacy. I want to make sure if I put work out, that it is something that has either a visual meaning, or an emotional meaning. I want to make sure that it leaves its mark and if it doesn’t leave a mark, I don’t believe it’s even worth putting out. I’ve felt that [his death has] pushed me because all the work that I’ve put out since he passed away, I’ve really been a fan of. I think you have to have a clear vision and really stay true to it. I’m blessed that things happened the way that they did because my career wouldn’t have been the same. I wouldn’t be where I am right now. [We need to] cherish who’s here, grow from what they’re giving us, and just really live in the day because you never really know when it’s your last and that’s the truth.”
