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"    Marie Claire: You joined Alvin Alley in 2011 and grew up in Baltimore. How did you fall in love with dance? Jacqueline Green: My mother is the reason I started dancing and the reason I kept dancing. I went to the Baltimore School for the Arts. People know it as the school that Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur went to. I had another choice in mind but my mother said, &amp;#039;This art school has a really good academics, but you just have to get in with an art.&amp;#039; I said, &amp;#039;Really? An art school? What would I audition for? I&amp;#039;m really just regular.&amp;#039; She said, &amp;#039;Well, you&amp;#039;re flexible. So go ahead and try out for dance.&amp;#039; I auditioned for the school with no training. I found a leotard and picked up some tights from the store and got some regular ballet slippers from a Payless or something.  MC: Did anyone inspire you? JG: Once I was in school, I remember my second year dancing, one of the alumni came back. Her name is Linda Denise Fisher Harrell. She was a former principle dancer with Alvin Ailey, the company. She was a woman of color doing ballet. She was really one of the first people to influence me and inspire me. Then I came to New York for college and completed the B.F.A. program with Ailey and Fordham so I could have my college experience and continue to dance. MC: What is it like being a professional dancer at such a young age? JG: My high school was a performing arts school. When they accept you, they train you to be a professional from the day you walk in. They teach you everything you should expect in the dance world. They kind of instilled that professionalism in us. I came here to New York and I did what I had to do as far as my schoolwork and learning what I could from dance. I felt like a professional as a student. When you get into a company, it&amp;#039;s really on you. You develop different muscles. That performance quality, I really learned my first year dancing as a professional dancer. I think I am still the youngest girl in the company. Everyone has a little more experience than I do and some have a lot more. I can really learn from them as well.  MC: I understand that costumes are a huge part of the performance for every dancer. Have you adopted anything from your stage costumes into your daily life? JG: I like to spice up my wardrobe\u2014I have my signature pieces. I&amp;#039;m always the girl on the first day of rehearsal on tour, I&amp;#039;ll bring out my 80s tights they are red and blue and yellow. Everyone is like, &amp;#039;Oh my gosh. There she goes with the tights again.&amp;#039; But I like it because it distracts everyone from being complacent in the rehearsal setting. It&amp;#039;s always during Christmas time. We&amp;#039;ll have class on Christmas day and I&amp;#039;ll have Christmas ornaments hanging from my ears or reindeer antlers on my head with bells.  Alvin Ailey&amp;#039;s tours around the country. The company&amp;#039;s New York City Center 2013-2014 season begins on Dec. 4. To purchase tickets, click here.      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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