Liz Walker, 25
Hometown: New York, New York

When was the "a-ha" moment you knew you wanted to dance professionally?
"My mom has been a New York City Ballet subscriber since the '70s, and I got to go with her sometimes when I was little, which was a great treat. I remember one performance when I was 13 that inspired me to get better ballet training and hopefully become a professional. George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments was on the program, and I had never seen something like it before. I wanted to learn how to dance like that and be on stage like those dancers. After that, I switched ballet schools and started training six days a week. I never looked back — until suddenly I was auditioning for companies!"

Do you ever get the jitters? What's your pre-performance ritual?
"I get butterflies every time I go on stage. Just before I make an important entrance, I take a few deep breaths, swing my arms around, and shake my hands a little bit. It’s kind of weird, but it distracts me and calms me down. It also keeps my upper body loose, so I don’t hold so much nervous tension in my shoulders!"