The First to Believe: Dance Mogul and Destiny Wimpye
How Dance Mogul Magazine recognized a young ballerina's promise early — and documented the journey before the wider world caught up.
By Dance Mogul Magazine
The World Premiere cover — Destiny Wimpye, Dance Mogul Magazine, January 2017.
Every so often, a young artist crosses your path before the world fully understands what is in front of them. For Dance Mogul Magazine, Destiny Wimpye was one of those artists.
We did not meet her story as a headline to chase. We met it through the dance community itself — through relationships, trust, and the kind of cultural connection that allows a publication to see promise before it becomes popular. What we saw was a disciplined teenage ballerina with focus, faith, academic excellence, and the courage to pursue ballet in spaces where young brown ballerinas were still fighting to be seen.
That is why Dance Mogul Magazine gave Destiny Wimpye a World Premiere cover. It was not about claiming ownership of her journey. It was about recognizing her light early, documenting it with dignity, and giving the story room before the larger dance world came calling.
The First Teenage Dancer on Our Cover
This is part of DMM history, and it is supported by outside documentation. In January 2017, the Middle Georgia Informer reported on Destiny's homecoming visit to Macon and noted that she would appear in Dance Mogul Magazine in a full feature story — as the first teenage dancer to grace the publication's cover.
That outside newspaper clipping matters because it shows the moment in real time. It confirms that Dance Mogul Magazine was already documenting Destiny's journey when she was still a young dancer stepping into a much larger future.
Middle Georgia Informer, January 2017 — independent press documenting the Dance Mogul feature.
We Documented Her First
In September 2016, Dance Mogul Magazine published our first interview with Destiny, Leaping Hurdles to Your Destiny. A few months later, we expanded that recognition into a full feature magazine built around her journey.
That is the heart of this story. DMM was not responding to a trend. We were listening early. We were looking at the work, the sacrifice, the family support, the training, the faith, and the representation behind one young dancer's path. We understood that her story was bigger than one performance. It spoke to every young dancer who needed to see that their dream was possible too.
The Anthony Burrell Connection
Our exclusive sit-down with Anthony Burrell.
Around that same period, Dance Mogul Magazine sat down with Anthony Burrell — the Philadelphia-born creative director and choreographer connected to major productions, tours, and televised stages.
That relationship is part of what makes DMM's coverage different. We were not observing the culture from a distance. We were building relationships inside it. Through those relationships, and through the trust of the dance community, Destiny's story came into our orbit. We saw a young ballerina whose discipline and purpose deserved a platform, and we treated that moment with the seriousness it deserved.
December 2016 — The Mariah Carey Stage
Destiny's television debut in December 2016, connected to a Mariah Carey holiday performance, became one of those early professional moments that can change a young career. It arrived during the same window when Dance Mogul Magazine was telling her story to our readers.
For us, the timing reinforced what we already believed: Destiny was not simply a talented student. She was a young artist stepping into the professional world, carrying a story that needed to be recorded with care.
Debbie Allen and The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
Special issue — Destiny & Jalyn with Debbie Allen, starring in The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.
Our coverage also placed Destiny alongside one of the great mentors and cultural forces in dance: Debbie Allen. Through The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, Destiny became connected to a production that celebrates imagination, representation, discipline, and the power of young dancers seeing themselves in classical forms.
For Dance Mogul Magazine, that connection mattered. Destiny's story was never only about ballet technique. It was also about lineage, mentorship, opportunity, and the doors that open when a young dancer is surrounded by people who believe in her gift.
The Story Spread
The Pretty Brown Dancers community carried our Destiny cover.
Once the exclusive was out, the dance community responded. The Pretty Brown Dancers platform shared the cover, helping the story reach young dancers and families who understood why representation on a dance magazine cover mattered.
Years later, other dance publications and platforms would also recognize Destiny's talent and growth. Those later acknowledgments are important and deserved. But DMM's role was different: we were part of the early documentation. We were there while the story was still being built.
Built With Purpose
I Rise — a note to our future brown ballerinas.
This was never a quick post. It was a full editorial production created with the depth and care that young artists deserve. The feature was a love letter to brown ballerinas who rarely saw themselves centered on a cover, and a reminder that ballet belongs to every child willing to work, dream, and rise.
Dance Mogul Magazine with Destiny Wimpye and Jalyn.
Thank you Dance Mogul Magazine! Make sure you guys subscribe to their magazine.
— Keisa Glover, mother of Destiny Wimpye
We Told Her Mother's Story Too
Keisa Glover, Dance Mom — The Day My Daughter Was Born, a Dance Mogul Magazine exclusive.
We did not only tell Destiny's story. We also gave her mother, Keisa Glover, space for her own Dance Mogul exclusive — The Day My Daughter Was Born — the raw, faith-tested story of how Destiny came into the world.
That kind of story requires trust. It reminds us that behind every young dancer is often a parent, guardian, teacher, or mentor making sacrifices that the public never sees. DMM's responsibility is to honor the whole journey, not only the stage moment.
What Is Destiny Wimpye Doing Now?
Destiny Wimpye's journey has continued to grow. Her official Pacific Northwest Ballet profile lists her as a member of the Corps de Ballet. The company notes that she became an apprentice in 2022 and joined the corps in 2023.
That progression matters. The young ballerina DMM documented as a teenager is now part of one of America's major ballet companies, carrying her training, her story, and her representation into professional classical dance spaces.
Her work has also expanded beyond performance. Through the Destiny Wimpye Foundation, she is helping provide access to ballet and dance education for underprivileged youth. The foundation's work includes classes, community programming, and resources that help make dance more reachable for young people who may not otherwise have access.
That is the full-circle beauty of Destiny's story. The young dancer once needing access, support, visibility, and belief is now using her platform to help create those things for others.
Why This Matters to Dance Mogul Magazine
This matters to Dance Mogul Magazine because it proves why early documentation is important. If we wait until the world agrees that someone is worth covering, then we are only recording fame. DMM exists to document purpose before it becomes obvious to everyone else.
Destiny Wimpye's story represents the heart of our mission: inspiring self-empowerment through dance culture. She was a young brown ballerina with a dream, a family behind her, mentors guiding her, and the discipline to keep going. DMM recognized that story early because that is what our platform was built to do.
When we look at where she is now — dancing with Pacific Northwest Ballet and building a foundation to help young people access dance — the original coverage becomes more than a memory. It becomes proof of why these stories must be preserved.
For DMM, discovery is not about ownership. It is about responsibility. It means seeing the gift, honoring the journey, preserving the record, and making sure the next young dancer can look at the story and say, there is room for me too.
Why We Tell These Stories
Dance Mogul Magazine has never measured success only in clicks. Since 2010, our purpose has been to find dancers living out their purpose and put them in the light with dignity, context, and care.
Destiny Wimpye is exactly why we exist. We were honored to recognize her early, proud to document her journey, and even prouder to see how far she has carried the story forward.
Explore more of our work: read our exclusive dancer interviews or visit the Dance Styles hub.
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