for uri sands and toni pierce- sands, it's been an unusual journey to get here.h rose to prominence in the '90s, seeming to reach the pinnacle of storybook careers with new york's alvin ailey dance company. uri sands grew up poor in miami who got accepted into a fine arts public school and studied ballet. toni pierce, the daughter of teachers, was hired by ailey, left it to tour europe but returned to new york and the company, where the pair met. >> i remember seeing toni and uri both as dancers and they are two of the nations best dancers. >> reporter: ben johnson, director of northrup dance center at the university of minnesota remembers seeing toni pierce sands in a piece called cry by alvin ailey, one of the 20th century's giants of modern dance. >> he created the piece to celebrate all mothers and women around the world and only an elite few dancers are allowed to perform this particular solo and that's the piece i first saw tony pierce perform. and uri in the same way, he's considered one of the most exquisite movers and one of the most beautiful dancers. >