Elizabeth Roden September 26, 2013 Literacy Narrative

I feel that I have become proficient in dance a a !ro"in! !irl# $ I e%panded my &no"led!e in the di cipline of dance, I "a ta'!ht important life &ill other than ho" to e%ec'te a perfect triple piro'ette# Spon or 'ch a my mom and my in tr'ctor have

ta'!ht me all of the ba ic , and alon! "ith dance, ho" to have a tron! mental bac&# I have learned many different tyle of dance, and from each one come a tory# Each tory ha it o"n "ay of e%plainin! life and "hat i and i not important# (rom ballet to hip hop, all &ind of dance have their o"n "ay of teachin! omeone ho" to !ro" a a per on, and not )' t a dancer# I be!an dancin! in a mall t'dio )' t a fe" mile do"n the road from "here I lived a a toddler# I too& a collaborated tap and ballet cla at the t'dio "hich "a

in tr'cted by a yo'n!er "oman# She ta'!ht ' every *'e day and (riday , preparin! ' for o'r ne%t bi! recital# *he dance mom dre ed ' in bri!ht leotard and fl'ffy t'+t' before the ho" and made ' !ive a bo','et of flo"er to o'r intr'ctor# -e "o'ld tand on the ta!e and dance aro'nd aimle ly, tryin! o'r be t to copy the the motion of the "oman tandin! 'p front# Even o, every per on in the a'ditori'm, me merized by o'r cher'b face , !ave ' a tandin! ovation# Individ'al dancer m' t have their o"n voice, if they "i h to 'cceed# Even !ro'p dance m' t have a certain per onality to it that ma&e the motion intere tin!# I tr'!!led "ith findin! my voice in dance for rea on I till do not 'nder tand# I repeatedly tried over and over a!ain to tand o't from my peer , b't omeho", I till "ent

'nnoticed# I cried co'ntle

ni!ht beca' e I "a !oin! thro'!h a ma)or platea'# Nothin!

"a chan!in!# I tayed in a con tant tr'!!le for a lon! period of time# I pent an 'n!odly amo'nt of time in my !ara!e practicin! dance and &ill 'ch a forte and leap # I

tho'!ht my &ill "ere the only thin! that needed to be "or&ed on, b't I "a "ron!# $fter month of bein! h'nned by my coache , I tarted "or&in! on the tren!th of my move and ho" I co'ld ma&e them my o"n "itho't ta&in! a"ay from the fl'idity of the dance# (inally, near the end of my dancin! career, I finally fo'nd "hat my per onality "a # I ' ed to be the ,'iet and hy type, b't a my career of dancin! contin'ed, I became a little lo'der, and a little more darin!# I p't in a li!ht tyle of f'n& into my dancin! and it mirac'lo' ly made a "orld of difference# I "a noticed by my peer and my coache , and I became "hat I felt li&e "a a 'per tar# $nybody co'ld teach them elve ho" to dance, learn all of the ba ic , and choreo!raph their o"n dance # .o"ever, it i the people "ho p' h their dancer to do better that really ma&e a difference# *he e people "ill thro" omebody in the lion/ den to ee if they co'ld fi!ht their "ay to victory# *hey "ill be demandin!, har h, cr'el, and even ma&e their dancer !o home "ith ab ol'tely no hope# 0nly at the very end "ill a dancer realize that everythin! they did that eemed o tort'ro' "a act'ally re"ardin!# *hey ho" to'!h+love, b't for a !ood ca' e# *hey "ant their dancer to e%cel, o they "ill ho" no mercy# *he e horrible yet "onderf'l people are called the coache # 1y eventh !rade year of chool, I tried o't for "hat "a &no"n a the 23om *eam2, a dance tyle that mi%ed cheerleadin! and ballet# I danced in front of every coach, from the ei!th !rade coach to the 4ar ity team coach# It "a fri!htenin!, b't I p'lled thro'!h# I performed the minimal a pect of pom, in hope that I had made the team# *he

day after I learned I had been accepted a a member, I at in front of my t"o coache # I remember bein! o e%cited to !o to my very fir t practice for the ei!hth !rade pom team# I didn5t &no" m'ch abo't dancin! e%cept for the hort period of time I did ballet at a t'dio "hen I "a a toddler# I had heard that the 6nion pom team "a one of the be t team in the tate, and I "a ready to be an important a pect of the team# I tho'!ht that o'r fir t practice "a !oin! to con i t of meetin! o'r coache and learnin! o'r fir t dance# It didn5t happen ,'ite li&e that# I met my coache , Leah and 7olleen# Leah "a a thic&, hort and "eet "oman, "hile 7olleen "a &inny, tall, and intimidatin!#

7olleen "a the head coach, o he tal&ed to ' for mo t of the time# *he "ay that 7olleen tal&ed to ' "a li&e ho" a meat mar&eter "o'ld tal& to an animal that "a abo't ready for la'!hter# She told ' that pom "a not a )o&e, and if "e "ere cared of the conditionin! that they "o'ld p't ' thro'!h, that "e ho'ld leave# I "a cared, ho"ever

I "a n5t ball y eno'!h to !et 'p from my eat and "al& o't# In tead, I at there 'ntil the end of her peech# She made ' r'n the trac& for an ho'r after her lect're, and many of ' "ere in tear by the end of o'r fir t practice# $fter a fe" "ee& , "e became ' ed to r'nnin! for an ho'r every practice, the one "ho 'rvived the fir t "ee&, that i # 0'r coache drilled o'r dance co'ntle time 'ntil it "a perfect# If there "a even the malle t error in a dance, they "o'ld top the m' ic and ma&e ' tart from the top "ith no brea& # $fter "e "ere too tired to

po ibly contin'e, they "o'ld then let ' have a "ater brea& that la ted for maybe five min'te , if "e "ere l'c&y# She conditioned ' to the ma%, ma&in! ' "or&o't after every practice# *hey "o'ld contin'e dance 'ntil the end of the econd ho'r, and then ta&e ' to the trac& to r'n for the ne%t ho'r# Rain or hine, "e ran t"enty lap aro'nd the trac&#

3ractice "ere al"ay before r'n # -e "ere drippin! "eat before "e even tepped foot onto the trac&# Some day they "o'ld r'n over time and ometime contin'e to drill dance 'ntil the end of practice# Every day I "o'ld pray that they "o'ld let ' r'n and not !o over time on the dance portion# *hey har hly criti,'ed ' on o'r dance &ill and mane'ver # $t the end of each fe" et of dance , they "o'ld pic& o't certain people and criti,'e their dancin! &ill # It "a n/t the feel !ood &ind of critici m either# Not the 28o' co'ld "or& on thi 2 &ind of critici m# It "a more li&e 28o'/re &ic& 'c&# -hy haven/t yo' been tretchin!9 8o'

probably aren/t even tretchin! at home# :on/t be lazy# ;o do fifty &ic& , then come bac&#2 If omeone "ere late, 7olleen tood them in front of the team and had them ma&e a formal apolo!y# *hen that per on "o'ld do t"o h'ndred hi!h &ic& "itho't a brea&# Even tho'!h critici m happened to everyone, nobody "anted their name to be called o't in front of the "hole team# It "a embarra in!, and nobody "anted to be 2that per on2 "ho "a !oin! to hold the team bac& from fir t place# *he coache had their favorite to pic& on, and it "a n/t hard to di tin!'i h the 2!ood2 dancer from the 2bad2 dancer # 1y favorite part of the pom year "ere the "ee&end of competition # *ho e "ee&end "ere the "ee&end "hen "e realized that all of the tort're that o'r coache p't ' thro'!h "a "orth it# *he e%citement of the cro"d "hen "e "al&ed onto the floor "a e%hileratin!# -e &ne" that "e "ere better than many of the team beca' e o'r coache p't ' thro'!h hard trainin!# -e o"ned the floor, applyin! all of o'r &ill and dance &no"led!e onto that one floor# It "a o'r la t tretch before "e reached o'r 'ltimate !oal# -hen "e "ere fini hed "ith the dance, it felt li&e an eternity before a"ard "ere anno'nced# -e held eachother/ hand ti!htly a the anno'ncer "a !ivin!

o't the top three place for a"ard # -ith each place n'mber decrea in!, o'r !rip became ti!hter and ti!hter 'ntil o'r &n'c&le "ere "hite# (inally, "hen the fir t place "a anno'nced, and "e heard o'r name bein! called, that "a "hen everythin! that "e had "or&ed o hard for "a ab ol'tely "orth the hell o'r coache had p't ' thro'!h# -e made it to tate competition ea ily# 0'r team too& home fir t place in every competition before tate# -e "ere the team to beat, and all of the other team "ere afraid of ' # -e did a "arm 'p dance in the practice room, and all of the team "ho "ere "aitin! to be on the floor came to "atch li&e ti!er eyein! their prey# Nothin! came to be a 'rpri e at the end# 0'r team not only too& home fir t place, b't al o too& home a en e of )oy, &no"in! that "e had finally ati fied 7olleen# 0'r coache techni,'e "o'ld typically be con idered cr'el and 'n' 'al, ho"ever it "a a method that "or&ed# If they hadn/t p' hed ' to o'r limit , "e "o'ld not have been one of the be t team in the tate# If they "o'ldn/t have made ' r'n every day, "e "o'ld r'n thro'!h o'r dance "ith no ener!y# If they didn/t nit+pic& o'r dance techni,'e , "e "o'ld have loo&ed loppy in front of the )'d!e # -e "o'ld not have been a very or!anized team if it "eren/t for o'r coache # *hey played the main role in o'r team e%cellin!# *hey made ' into the dancer that other team "o'ld come to idolize# I pac&ed 'p all of my &no"led!e of dance the 'mmer I moved to North 7arolina# Not only "a the &ill in dance pac&ed 'p, b't life &ill had omeho" lipped them elf into my ba! a "ell# I learned &ill 'ch a "or& ethic, re pon ibility, and p'nct'ality, all

from the har h pon or in pom# I al o learned caref'llne , preci ion, and the importance of ,'ality, "hich came from the di cipline of dance it elf# Everythin! abo't dance ha haped the per on I have become today, and I do not re!ret one event# Even my har h

coache , "ho I once hated, I no" re pect# -itho't them, "e "o'ld not have been the be t of the be t# -itho't them, I "o'ldn/t be a driven a I am today#

3eer Edit + Literacy Narrative <y 7ha e .an en I li&ed ho" yo' ' ed vivid de cription that formed clear pict're in the mind thro'!ho't the paper# *he tory eemed to chronolo!ical and ma&e it ea y for the reader to follo"# *here "ere ome !rammatical error b't overall very "ell "ritten# I thin& yo' co'ld have !one more into other torie thro'!h the paper b't the tory that "a mo t "ritten abo't ho"ed importance# 8o' al o co'ld have !one more in depth of ho" yo' fo'nd and refined yo'r 2voice2# It "a very catchy and I "anted to &no" more abo't thi 2voice2# ;reat paper, I en)oyed readin! it and had a hard time findin! "ay to improve#