On Pointe

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Bradley, 25, has been a member of the Corps de Ballet since August 2018.

“It was so much pressure, and I was really nervous,” she says.

It’s something on your shoulders that is really heavy.

Her mother sat in the crowd, sobbing.

By the time I met Bradley, the curtain had closed onThe Nutcracker.

Brandon Maxwell top, skirt, earrings; Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello cuff.

No longer dancing in a predominantly white space was a “huge identity moment” for Bradley.

Being at the Harlem school taught her that “ballet can feel like a family.”

That’s just the reality.

In 2005, there were not that many Black girls in ballet school.”

There, Bradley would officially earn her apprenticeship into the company.

It was a dream accomplished for Bradley.

But it also proved the most challenging.

“Your body’s aching; I never felt that much pain before.

The toes are bruised,” she says.

And I just cried."

The life that she wants.

Alexander McQueen dress, belt, and boots.

This February, she was on stage for Tiler Peck’sConcerto for Two Pianos.

There were the Zac Posen costumes.

There was the excitement of it being New York City Ballet dancer Peck’s first time choreographing a ballet.

“We really just wanted to make her happy,” Bradley writes.

And there was, of course, the dancing.

“We were a little nervous, a little palms sweaty.

For a dancer, it’s always about the movement.

Prada dress and shoes.

Louis Vuitton jacket; Threads tights.

Sportmax top and skirt; Fleur du mal bra.

The King and Queen shared they had “heavy hearts” over the pope’s death.

Out with the moody basics, in with spring pastels.