Growing up as a little, introverted boy, dance was the only way I could communicate. For me, it's the greatest language - no words. Sharing people's stories through the art of movement is magical.

I always wanted to teach dance. I didn't know I'd have a TV career.

When you combine a Texas woman in a competition setting with her child, she gets very serious.

My kids stand out at competitions. They're products of me. And you can't come to Beyond Belief and have a flamboyant teacher like me and be basic.

My family moved a lot as a kid. We started in Colorado, where I lived for five years. We moved to Chicago for two years, to San Francisco for one year, Connecticut for seven, Oregon for a couple years, and then I went to school.

No family is sane, is it?

There's an assumption in many of these cultures that these children are mentally retarded, when in fact they're not at all. I saw how the operation affects the child, as well as the child's family and often the village.

My dad was in the Army, so what was happening internationally and nationally was always important to my family.