My story begins like that of so many others in the United States. I was raised in a single-parent home of moderate means in the heartland of America. As a young Black dancer in the Midwest, New York City seemed like a world away, but it was a world that I knew I wanted.
So, in 1992 when I won the “Miss Hal Jackson’s Talented Teens” pageant, a trip to New York was a dream come true. It was on this outing that I had the chance to see my first Broadway musical.
