Amber

I started ariel about a year ago; I wanted to get more in touch with myself as a performance artist. I’ve been in gymnastics since I was three, ballet since I was ten.

I grew up pretty modest, actually. I mean, I grew up in leotards, but as I got older and more curvy I was supposed to, you know… hide the curves. But being an athlete and performing has helped me to get really comfortable with my body.

I never really thought much about how my body looks, just what I could do with it. Everybody has things about their body they don’t like — I don’t like that I have a smaller chest — but I was able to find different role models, like Michelle Kwan, who are built like me.