My name is Emmanuel Malik Liberty but generally I go by Manny. I've been performing almost all of my life. Since I was 5 years old I used to perform everywhere from my school to my basement for family. My singing started when I was younger and my mother just heard me sing all the time. I wound up singing at my kindergarten graduation and after that I was put into vocal lessons where my teacher told my mom that my voice was anointed. I continued singing all the way through high school and singing independently so far into my college career. My dance career started when I was young also by learning dance from music videos. Michael Jackson was my biggest inspiration. When I got to high school I joined the dance team and people noticed me often out of large groups. Before this point I had no formal training in any dance style. However, that summer I auditioned for the Joffrey Ballet's summer dance program where I would be getting hands on training from current and past Joffrey dancers. When I first got there it was a huge shock. When I began learning ballet techniques, I was at the bottom of the barrel. There were older, more experience males in my class with years of training, and being conscious of this intimidated me. I began to show how I felt on the inside by giving up on basic combinations and barre warm-ups. For the first time in my life, I had lost confidence not only in what I loved doing, but in myself. Life in the Joffrey is an unspoken, seen or heard competition. When I first joined, the Joffrey was a place filled with beautiful dancers who used their skills almost as a battle. With each pirouette, it was like a full K.O. towards me. In our program, there were two casts for each choreographed piece that we performed. Each time I found myself in the B cast, which barely performed and were merely considered backups to the A cast. This lowered my confidence even more because I felt as if there was no reason for me to continue if I was not going to perform. I had always been a team player when it came to performance. Even now, I still haven't gotten into an altercation with anyone. However, during this period I began to drift away from my friends in the program. I felt as if I was alone and no one could help me. My instructor, Pierre Lockett, began to notice that I was not improving at the same rate as everyone around me. I told him how I felt about myself and how I felt completely out of my element. It was at this moment that we gained an understanding of each other and developed the relationship that we have now. He told me that all I had to do was keep on dancing my hardest and I will grow on the inside and outside. Hearing Pierre say those words has inspired me to this day to never back down from challenges that I will encounter throughout my life. From that point forward I had permanently become an A cast member. By the end of the program, Pierre pulled me aside from the group and said, "I can tell you've really been working hard. Right now you're one of the best dancers in the group." This meant a lot to me because as I looked around the room, I felt a heavy weight lifted off of my head and I felt as if new breath had filled my lungs. From then on I’ve strived to keep my dancing technique up to par so I can help myself remain on top. Recently I’ve begun working on my voice more so that I can get it up there with my dancing. Personally, I am a very caring and nice person. I like to make friends and I love having fun. Although I love having fun I know when it’s time to work. I’m very determined and I don’t let things stray me away from reaching my goals. I’ve been told many times that the way that I handle situations is miraculous because I tend to keep a cool head even in tense situations. I like talking about things instead of acting right away because you never know what the consequence may be but, I still take risks. Risks help you accomplish more because you grow from the mistakes you make or you see what works and doesn’t work. I want to accomplish all of my dreams and this may be the first step that I take toward success.My dream is to one day be widely known and inspire the world through my singing and dancing. I want to have the ability to move the world to tears through my movements and voice or make them smile and laugh just like I’ve done with those around me. I want to be able to travel and work with other artists that have inspired me through my years of performing. Overall, I want to be out here, doing what I love and showing the world that I can do it. I want to be an inspiration to others and encourage others to do great things with themselves and their talents.

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