Sydney Magruder Washington facts for kids

Sydney Magdalene Magruder Washington is an American ballet dancer, actress, and blogger. She is also a strong supporter of mental health awareness. In 2017, HuffPost named her one of 21 Fierce Black Feminists To Follow. In 2018, Essence included her in their Woke 100 Women list.

Sydney's Dance Career

Sydney works as a ballet dancer and musical theater actress in New York City. She is part of the Resolute Artists Agency. She has performed in many famous ballets. These include The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, and The Firebird. She has also acted in musicals like Anything Goes, Godspell, Curtains, and The Wiz.

Advocating for Mental Health

Sydney Magruder Washington is a big supporter of mental health awareness. She especially helps women of color, LGBTQ people, and dancers. She started a blog called The Black Swan Diaries. On her blog, she shares her experiences as a Black, Catholic woman in dance. She also writes about living with mental health challenges. Her blog helps to reduce the negative ideas about mental illness.

On August 3, 2017, she created a private online group. It is called Warrior Swans (Ballerinas for Mental Health). This group helps dancers who are dealing with mental health issues. Sydney also uses her Instagram and YouTube accounts to share her message.

Public Speaking and Mentoring

On January 7, 2019, Sydney was a speaker at an event. It was called Open Spectrum: A Brilliant Darkness - A Conversation with Artists on Mental Health. This event took place at New York Live Arts.

She also helps young dancers of color. She is a mentor for the Brown Girls Do Ballet Ambassador Program. She guides them as they work towards becoming professional dancers.

Featured in Magazines

Sydney Magruder Washington has been featured in many popular magazines. These include Teen Vogue, Pointe, and Dance Magazine. She was also in O, The Oprah Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Health. Essence ranked her 44th in their Woke 100 Women list. HuffPost also featured her in their list of 21 Fierce Black Feminists.

Sydney's Personal Life

Sydney Magruder Washington has faced some health challenges. She was diagnosed with certain conditions. Before this, she was misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age 11.

Her Spiritual Journey

As a teenager, Sydney explored different faiths. She spent two years learning about Judaism and Islam. Later, she decided to become a Catholic. She took the confirmation name Magdalene. She attends St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan.

Sydney joined an online group for Catholic women called Blessed is She. However, she faced some difficulties in the group. She felt that some members did not fully accept her. She later wrote about these experiences on her blog. She explained that she did not feel like she fit in with the group.

Her Family Life

Sydney Magruder Washington is married to Elena Washington. They had a ceremony at Riverside Church in Morningside Heights on May 12, 2017.