00:00My name is Regan Taylor. I'm 14 and I'm from Washington DC. My idol is Misty
00:13Copeland because I'm a dancer like her. I look up to Misty because she's made so
00:24many marks as an African-American dancer and set so many opportunities for other
00:29dancers like me. I almost died today when she was dancing. I could like actually
00:35touch her and that was amazing.
00:41Meeting Regan today, just seeing her face like so excited and so happy, it's like
00:47reliving what I went through and it's just awesome to like experience it again
00:53through someone else.
00:55We started out with the dance school, it's called Steps, and then we got in the car
01:01and just chit-chatted a little bit.
01:04So you're here, are you excited?
01:07I'm very excited.
01:08It's exciting to see someone like her that's a black woman you know in the
01:13ballet world and like the color of her skin doesn't even seem to be something
01:16that she's like worried about which is amazing.
01:19So like what do you want to do? What's the plan? Do you want to be a professional dancer?
01:23Yes. I like ballet.
01:26I can tell.
01:27I think I've been dancing since I was about four. You can never be perfect at it.
01:32There's always a new obstacle you can face and I like that you can't just sit
01:35around and be like oh I've done this a million times and I know what it is.
01:38I constantly am saying like there's no way around like working hard.
01:42There are no shortcuts in ballet. You have to put in the hours, you have to be
01:46focused, you have to be dedicated. It is fun and I know that a lot of people will
01:50look at my life and they think you're so lucky, you're so fortunate, so glamorous
01:54but you know there's a there's a grind and there's a lot of work that goes into
01:57all of this.
01:59So we just got to Under Armour so you're gonna get to get an insider's like you know
02:04sneak peek on the new line that I'm working on with them. It's my inspired by line.
02:09Thank you, peek.
02:10Yay!
02:11Hi!
02:12Nice to meet you. I'm Regan. Come on in.
02:16We came to Under Armour and looked at some of her clothing for her line. I got to see
02:28some of the prototypes. I love it, the detail. Do you like it?
02:32Yeah. Okay.
02:33You wanna try it on two?
02:34You wanna try it on?
02:35Oh, it's so cute.
02:38It's awesome to have Regan along. I mean I think it really is giving her a taste of what
02:43it is to be an adult, first of all. You know, what it is to be a working dancer. So I think
02:48it's just cool that she's getting to kind of experience what her future may hold.
02:53It was really cool. And then I did a sit down interview with her.
02:58Being African American in a predominantly white company, how did you overcome the bullying
03:04or harassment that you got?
03:05Um, I wouldn't say that there was really bullying or harassment, but you know, it's difficult
03:13if you've ever experienced that, you know, being the only in an environment and a situation
03:18and I was the only black woman for 10 years. For me, I mean, it's beautiful, like how small
03:22the black community is within the ballet world, but also like how close knit they are. And so,
03:27that's kind of where I found like my support throughout the beginning of my professional
03:33career, you know.
03:34Regan just seems like she's got her head on right and that she's like ready to just like
03:39take on the ballet world. And so it's exciting to see that she's on her way.
03:44Throughout your career, is there anything you would change?
03:46No, I really wouldn't. Like I feel so fortunate to have come from the background that I come
03:53from, like grew up the way that I did in a single parent home. And I feel like I'm more grateful
03:59maybe than I would have been had I grown up a different way for everything that I have.
04:04I think that the struggles and the obstacles that I've had throughout my career have made me a stronger person.
04:12I feel like it's helped me to find this voice and be able to give back to the African American community
04:18into the ballet community in a way that had I had an easy ride, I don't think I would really quite understand
04:25the value of my voice and what I could do to help bring more diversity to classical dance. So, I wouldn't change a thing.
04:34I mean, I still have mentors. I mean, I don't think that's something that should ever end. I've had mentors since I started dancing.
04:44But Raven Wilkinson is probably one that just has done so much for me, I think in ways she probably doesn't even realize.
04:53Just seeing an older black ballerina who's gone through what she's gone through in her life.
04:59People like Raven have paved the way for me and it's incredible.
05:03Before we leave, we have to take ourself.
05:05Okay.
05:10She was just a little girl in a small house with a bunch of siblings and now she's one of the biggest ballerinas in the world
05:18and an entrepreneur at that. So, one big thing that I took away was anything that you put your mind to, you can do.
05:33She's not really cute.
05:35She was just a little girl.
05:36She is a little girl.
05:37She's not a little girl.
05:38She was just a little girl.
05:39She was just a little girl.
05:41You
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