The Misty Effect: India Bradley, Apprentice, New York City Ballet

Dance runs in India Bradley’s family: Her mother is a dance teacher and a former member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Unsurprisingly, Bradley ended up in dance classes at a young age, studying a little bit of everything but falling hardest for ballet. After training at Dance Theatre of Harlem and the School of American Ballet, Bradley earned her apprenticeship with New York City Ballet last year. Tall and impossibly long-limbed, she’s brought a compelling mix of energy and delicacy to a slew of corps roles, as well as some featured parts in The Nutcracker. “I love the fast pace of the company,” she says. “You have to keep up. You see how focused everyone is, and you want to work that hard, too.”

Bradley grew up idolizing NYCB principals like Wendy Whelan and Tiler Peck, and aspires to join their ranks. “There’s a lot of discussion at the moment about the fact that there has never been an African-American female soloist or principal in the company,” she says. “I would love to be the first black female to get to that point. I don’t necessarily want it for me; it’s more just that it needs to happen. It’s not about my success. It’s bigger than that.”