I don't think a young person ever really quite knows what's going on when their norm becomes going to the grocery store with sunglasses on at 11 years old. It's kind of weird, and I'll say it also went to my head the first little season, because that became normal for me.

Being famous as a kid is weird and unhealthy.

I find that with dance - and with the arts in general - because I want to grow in my performance, I have to come face to face with my own personal challenges.

My sound is sort of India Arie meets Colbie Caillat. It's got a sweet-funk to it.

I think what's important, as an artist who wants to be multi-dimensional, is learning how to shape-shift into those different paths fluidly and frequently.

I may be on set acting, I may be in the studio recording, I might be teaching dance class all in the same day - so how can I manage all of those needs, prepare for all of those things, and still grow and train in all of them? The best you can do is, when you're focusing on one, be there and be present.

That's something that I think the best artists retain - the ability to invite you into their small, intimate inner space, and let that be what radiates.

Music is really powerful. It's a universal language that connects everyone.

Honestly, without art and dance, I think I would be a very safe, black-and-white thinker. I wouldn't dare to take any risks or see so much of the world in myself and other people!

I started dancing at the age of three in my hometown of Toledo, Ohio, and it really was my sister's dream to pursue dance professionally.