Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Ross.
Hi Nadia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Since I can remember, I have always sought out knowledge and growth: I was the type of kid to bring home stacks of books from the library and sneak after my parents put me to bed to read books via nightlight. I also went to a French Immersion elementary and middle school that made us take Russian classes, so I was always learning something new in all aspects of my life. I loved to learn by any means and, most importantly, I loved to learn to dance.
I began dancing when I was two years old with the Kankouran West African Dance Company and have always used dance as a means of expressing myself since then. From ballet with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, training and performing with Debbie Allen, and performing with the Joffrey Ballet, I was blessed to be able to cope with growing up a little Black girl by engulfing myself in the arts. I was even more blessed to have parents who were supportive and pushed me to pursue my talents. Dance turned into acting and singing as well, so eventually, I was able to do things like perform at the White House for former President Bush as well as portray Young Nala in the Lion King Broadway Tour.
My yearning for the consumption of knowledge remained, and I decided to go to a Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania for high school. There, I discovered so much more about the world and myself: I was fast enough to run in the Penn Relays, passionate enough to plan the school’s Martin Luther King Day programming, and engaged enough to be in leadership roles across campus. I continued to learn about myself through college years as well: I graduated from William and Mary, where I organized disruptive anti-racism protests through a variety of art forms, studied dance and social development in Cape Town, became a woman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and shocked my parents when I brought home the first true love of my life- who just so happened to be another woman.
From graduation, I began to work as an HR Technician for a division of the government in Maryland and I stopped dancing. The desire to create never subsided, however, and I yearned for a life in which I could create and improve conditions for my people through my work. When you grow up a black, pansexual woman, you experience injustices that can fuel you for a lifetime. From bearing witness to the outcome of the Trayvon Martin story, experiencing both physical and mental trauma at the hands of my educational institutions and the cognitive dissonance that comes with being assaulted by one of your own, life after college began to throw realities at me that shook me to my core and removed so much of the spark that made me who I was. It wasn’t until I went out on a limb and decided to take a new type of dance class that I began to remember the version of myself that I was slipping away from. I took a Heels class and all of a sudden, I remembered that I was a Black, pansexual woman, and that makes me divine and powerful in my own right. I remembered that my ancestors were constantly around me, helping me move on days I felt I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own. I remembered my name, Nadia Danielle Ross, and I swore to myself I would never again give anyone else the power to make me forget who I am. All it took was one hour of class to make me feel realigned in my purpose, standing firm in my right to own my body and my choices. I began to plan my next move.
Moving to Atlanta in 2019 is still one of the most scary and fulfilling decisions I’ve made thus far. Going from landing in Atlanta with a limited amount of savings and no job lined up to being in music videos while working full time for a Black-owned majority women-run company is something that I am proud of. Every day, I get to engage in something creative and I get to make an impact on the lives of Black people around me. I got to where I am today by remaining true to myself in what feeds my spirit: I know that as long as I am forever learning, growing, and impacting others around me, thanking my ancestors for their guidance and protection, and feeding my creative spirit, I will always get to where I need to be.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve always struggled with depression and anxiety accompanied with undiagnosed ADHD, and I firmly believe that my experiences in life have been harder to deal with because of my lack of diagnosis. I was bullied consistently as a child after returning to school from being on tour. I struggled with being one of the only Black girls in a primarily white high school and college and developed such a negative view of myself that an eating disorder became one of my biggest struggles in my adult life. I have experienced mental, violent, and sexual abuse at the hands of people I thought loved and trusted me, to the point where I experienced a temporary bout of homelessness. I was judged by family members for living in my truth as a pan woman.
After moving to Atlanta, one of the biggest challenges I faced was during the pandemic. I was under the employment of a popular dance studio in Downtown ATL while simultaneously living in the studio owner’s house. Though I had stopped being paid for my work at the studio, I was still expected to be able to make the rent each month. Thus began the racially charged sexual and emotional manipulation towards me at the hands of the woman who owned the studio. To this day, my being vocal about her violence towards me, including the use of racial slurs, has prevented me from being able to train with certain teachers- but it has not impacted my development. I realize that those who would not work with me or treated me differently for being brave enough, to be honest were people that I was being saved from at the end of the day. I’ve learned that what is for me is already mine. The important thing to note is that life is never going to be without its hardships. Learning from these hardships and accepting them for what they are is the only way to develop into who I am meant to be. I cannot grow without growing pains, and I believe that my struggles just as much as my accomplishments have made me into someone who is empathetic, passionate, and more grateful than I have ever been to be alive and on my path.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In addition to being a professional dancer and actress, I also work in the membership department of a Black-owned private membership club in Atlanta called The Gathering Spot. It is a place where Black creatives and professionals come together to create a community that is invested in individual and collective growth with a commitment to Black culture at its core. As a Member Experience Representative, I get to engage with Black innovators and creators and help connect them to other like-minded individuals, events, or resources that they need to become as successful as they can be so that they are getting the most out of their memberships.
I am most proud to be able to work in a place that has helped so many people in so many different ways- from registering people to vote to providing Black entrepreneurs with pitching lessons and opportunities for funding; TGS has an energy that affirms me that I am still in my passion of helping to advance Black culture. Working in hospitality, specifically, has helped me to develop a selflessness that has set me apart from others: I am in a mindset where I want to see myself and others like me thrive. We, as Black people, have been historically deprived of love, care, and humanity, so in my journey to become the best version of myself, I move with the mindset of spreading positivity and opportunities for growth everywhere I go for those who are ready to receive them.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
At my core, I am my happiest when I am feeling connected to the divinity within myself and the universe. Swimming in the ocean, praying to my ancestors, interacting with places and cultures outside of my own, perusing the local crystal shops to find herbs and books about astral projection, getting tattoos, laughing with my family, locking my hair, watering plants and playing with animals are all examples of things that make me feel connected to the Universe. I believe that we all have the likeness of God inside of us and that when we go out of our way to engage with the elements, people, and places that God created in a positive way, we ignite that sense of God within ourselves. It makes my heart warm to know that I share a space with other divine creations and that I have the ability to interact with them in a way that can spread positive energy to those around me.
Contact Info:
- Email:hellomissross@icloud.com
- Instagram:@nadiathagoat
Image Credits:
Photographer: Tony @tonys.time Posing Coach: Ty’Khari @tykhari2.0 Stylist: Nadia @nadiathagoat
Suggest a Story:VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us knowhere.
Related Items
