This AAPI Heritage Month, Joffrey Ballet School reflects on the importance of representation, visibility, and belonging within the arts. Dance has the power to transcend language, culture, and borders while also honoring the lived experiences and identities that shape each artist’s journey. We believe artistry grows strongest in spaces where dancers feel seen, supported, and connected to both their individuality and the larger community around them.⁠ ⁠ Throughout the remainder of this month, we are honored to highlight voices from across our institution as they reflect on identity, artistic heritage, and what it means to find belonging through dance.⁠ ⁠ We begin with faculty member Tomiko Magario, whose words speak beautifully to the universality of dance and the idea that artistic belonging is not limited by race, nationality, or cultural expectation, but shaped through dedication, passion, and heart.⁠ ⁠ “As an Asian woman, many would perceive that the Eurocentric study of classical b...