everybody has a story

I’m 18 years old now, but I started dancing when I was about two, which is really, really early. It’s a running joke in my family that I was dancing before I could even walk. I would just move along to music. My mum knew I’d have to go to a dance class as soon as I was old enough, and it turned out it was something I really enjoyed. But as a kid, you don’t really think you can dance forever as a job. It wasn't until I was 11 that I knew I wanted to pursue it professionally.

When I was nine, though, I took a three-year break from dance and ballet. We couldn't find any studios that catered to Muslim girls – or specifically, Muslim girls in hijab.