>> reporter: at her houston ballet school allen was the only black student. by 16 she had her heart set on attending the north carolina school of the arts >> they used me to demonstrate in the audition and then when it was over i said, so when would i start? and he says, you need to go into something else your body's not right for dance. >> reporter: for lots of young women that would have been the end of that. >> well, it almost was the end of that except for my mom she said, you failed, debra. you failed and that was so hard ooh. i could cry about it right now. it was hard. mama was not letting me let some man dictate my life. >> strong. crisp. >> reporter: the lesson learned, she not only continued to dance, she added choreographer and director to her accomplishments. when you think about what you want people to say about you one day, what would it be?