The dancer’s reputation preceded her.

While a dance student at the Ailey School in New York, Arcell Cabuag was flipping through a book of Jack Mitchell photos of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performances. In one image, from 1992’s “Shelter,” a female dancer stares intensely at the camera, at the height of a split jump — powerful legs extended, hands in fists, wavy black hair defying gravity.

“I’d known about her, like, ‘Who is this dancer?’” he said. “My roommates and I talked about her all the time. We were huge fans. One day, I saw her walk into the building and was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s Toni Pierce-Sands.’”

After growing up in St. Paul and taking classes at Minnesota Dance Theatre, Pierce-Sands moved to New York to join Ailey’s dance company. For a decade, she danced profess

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