Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre Calvin Royal III is the third African American to hold this role in the company's 85-year history. Immersed in music from a young age, Calvin recalls how a tv commercial for a local production of The Chocolate Nutcracker introduced him to dance and how years later he deftly pivoted a last minute change in performance at the Youth America Grand Prix, which earned him a scholarship at ABT's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and altered the trajectory of his life. Alicia asks about Calvin's watershed moment, his newest work UNITE at The Joyce Theater, and his hopes for his legacy.

Check out Calvin Royal III on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and the web.

For tickets to see UNITE August 13th through the 18th, visit The Joyce Theater.

For more information about American Ballet Theatre, visit them on the web.

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Photograph of Calvin Royal III by Karolina Kuras.

The Moving Moments theme song was composed by Saul Guanipa for Videohelper.

Moving Moments was co-created by Alicia Graf Mack, Jessica Handelman, and David Krauss.

This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.

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