In he won a scholarship to study at Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, where he studied contemporary dance, character dance, dance history, history of art, acting, pas de deux and piano.
In , he was awarded a trainee program with Eglevsky Ballet in New York. After completing high school, Santiago moved to Miami and continued his training at the Miami City Ballet School on scholarship. In , Santiago joined Miami City Ballet as an apprentice.
Rickey continued his training with Mr. Flagg has choreographed solos for the Youth American Grand Prix and World Ballet Competition, several of which placed in the contemporary category. This gave him opportunities to perform works such as Sleeping Beauty and work with esteemed choreographers including Alexei Ratmansky and Jessica Lang. He began his dance journey at Kirkwood Academy of Performing Arts.
Diyah began his professional career as a Guest Soloist with the City Ballet of Boston, performing numerous classical ballet projects.
In , Diyah continued earning his degree as a company member with The Philadelphia Dance Company aka. She then danced with Charlottesville Ballet in Virginia for 3 seasons, where she performed various roles in the Nutcracker and in works by Keith Lee. She performed in many works including Pretty Is… by Ray Mercer and the lead role in Paquita in addition to choreographing many works. Thomas, and South Korea. She looks forward to inspiring and mentoring young dancers while continuing to break barriers herself.
