Feature Article
The Beauty of Belonging
As she got
ready for her new class that week she put her black top on, paired with the
black dance pants she had worn for years, she had no idea what was about to
become of her. Worldwide travel, camera crews, meeting celebrities and getting
interviewed would soon be a big part of her life.
Their faces
were beaming as they all congregated for their weekly meeting. Beautiful smiles,
bright eyed and ready to learn, they felt more special than they ever had
before. Their uniforms worn neat and
tidy, their hair pulled back and their teacher briefing them on the film crew
that was shortly to arrive.
Jacqui, a beautiful
25 year old, was welcomed to the group with open arms. She had always loved
dancing, in a class environment and out, but had always struggled ever so
slightly to keep up with the others and never seemed to be in the front row.
As Jacqui
joined the e.motion21 team, she learnt that it is always possible to achieve
your dreams and her biggest dreams were finally being realised.
The Kew
location is one of many that embraces these beautiful young people and gives
them an environment to blossom and thrive. e.motion21, run by mother and
motivator Cate Sayers, is a volunteer dance program designed for children and
young adults with Down Syndrome.
Cate says of
the program “I started e.motion21 because my daughter really wanted to dance,
in an environment where she would grow and realise her potential.” Little did
she know, the demand for this type of program was enormous.
Dancers aged
from early childhood to young adult years are told at the end of their class to
have free dance time, to express themselves through their dance moves. One by
one they enter the circle, perform their own dance moves to the group, with
huge smiling faces beaming back at them. These beautiful young people are
celebrated and cherished for exactly who they are.
Jacqui comes
from a family that has always adored and appreciated her for exactly who she
is, a special but shy girl, who spends a lot of her time in her own space and enjoys being on the computer and Facebook. She has always updated her Facebook stating that she would love to be a dance teacher. Her two
younger sisters had always supported her dreams of becoming a dancer and teacher. As
Jacqui became settled at E.motion21, she realised these dreams could become a
reality.
Shortly after
the volunteer organisation was established in 2009, Cate realised the demand
for this type of program and the organization grew at an unprecedented and
rapid rate. Jenny, mother of Jacqui Wischer, says, “There was such a demand and
people were travelling such long distances”
E.motion21
now has classes that run in Kew, Pascoe Vale, Geelong, Cranbourne, Ballarat and
Bundoora, with a view to expand further.
The social surrounding of this organisation are rewarding to say the least. Jacqui speaks of her new friends with a big smile on her face as she reels off their names.
The social surrounding of this organisation are rewarding to say the least. Jacqui speaks of her new friends with a big smile on her face as she reels off their names.
One dancer in
particular who has really thrived in the e.motion21 program is Paul, a senior dancer. Anna, one of the teachers speaks of Paul and says “
Sometimes he can get a better result from the dancers than I can, because they
look up to him so much”
Paul says of
dancing “Every feeling every moment, every little thing that excites you, its
like lightning or a spark and to be in love with dancing”
Last year
Cate announced to the e.motion21 performance group that they had been invited
to the World Down Syndrome Conference in South Africa.
Jenny Wischer
explains the performance group, “It’s an extra class, they rehearse every
Saturday and there is an audition to get into the group, it is taken very
seriously, and you can’t miss any rehearsals”
Jacqui’s eyes
light up as she speaks of South Africa, she struggles to find the words to
describe the experience but says she has made some great friends and really
enjoyed herself and loved having the cameras around her all the time.
Jenny Wischer
speaks of the positive attitude of everyone at e.motion21 and how she
thinks it “surprises and shocks some people”. The e.motion21 Facebook page beams with the positivity they possess and shows the true spirit of this beautiful organisation.
In the future
the e.motion21 team look to head to India in 2015 for the World Down Syndrome
Conference, and look to develop their classes throughout Victoria and possibly
around the whole nation.
Kim, a close
friend of Jenny’s, speaks of Jacqui’s experience at e.motion21, "I have attended
all of her performances that I can, seeing all those beautiful dancers on stage
really brings a smile to your face, it is very infectious”.
“It is
astounding to think that no one came up with this idea sooner, but it is
amazing to see them all thrive and love what they are doing”
Through life
everyone has moments of greatness, Cate Sayers had a moment of greatness that
has allowed hundreds of children and young adults to have their moment of
greatness, their moment to shine, their moment to achieve their dreams.
Jacqui
Wischer has achieved many of her dreams in such a short 2 year period, she is
dancing to the best of her ability, front row and center, when fitting, she has made some amazing friends, she is
an assistant dance teacher, she has travelled to South Africa, and performed
with celebrities at Federation Square.
Jacqui and
her mother Jenny speak of the future with high hopes, happiness and relief that
Jacqui knows she can achieve anything she puts her mind to.
Featured feature
The Big C and Me –
Posted 5th June 12.53pm
Jill’s
first person account of her battle with cancer gives a raw and detailed
description of her internal struggles with coming to terms with this
devastating news only weeks after her husband has passed away. The fact the
Jill tells her story from a first person perspective gives the reader a much
easier time relating and realizing the extent of her struggles with the
disease.
The
language used is very simple yet descriptive and allows a the reader to create
a vision of the story in their mind. Although it is assumed that most people are aware of Cancer as a disease, however,
Baker understands that people may not understand the actual disease and what it
is, therefore she is very careful to explain all cancer related phrases to an
in depth extent, allowing all readers to relate to her story. In the beginning
of the story her anguish and desperation is shown through her need to talk to
anyone and she talks to one of the surgeons in the operating theatre about the
paper underpants that one must wear when having an operation.
The story represents Bakers journey of Cancer, the sub
titles set the mood for the following section and each section represents one
section of Jill’s journey through battling this disease. The ups and downs are
explicitly communicated to the reader to allow them a full picture of her
struggles with this devastating disease.
Children Overboard
– Posted 5th June 2.48pm
The author, David Leser, begins this story by painting
the picture of a very normal young girl, a university student, a friend, a
daughter, but then goes on to slowly bring to light the horrific events that
have occurred in her life. Leser tells the story of Hawraa, at the time a 12
year old girl involved in the “children overboard” incident. Leser uses quotes
from Hawraa reflecting on the day she got on the unstable boat in Indonesia.
The author also goes into details about how Hawraa has
been silent for 6 years, however, once her permanent visa was granted, she had
the confidence to tell her story. This reiterates to the reader the terrifying
country they have fought to leave and the fear she has of returning and fear of
reflecting on that awful day that has emotionally scarred her so deep.
The story then swaps to Laura Whittle’s point of view, a
navy officer who was instructed not to help any of the immigrants on the boat.
This drastic change creates an even greater sense of need for all the people on
the boat. The language used in this story is simple and graphic, the pictures
aid in the reader in creating a vivid image in their mind. Leser uses quotes
from Whittle such as “Just go away”, then goes on to follow Whittle in her realization
that these people are real people, who simply need a helping hand, and her dive
into the water is a huge turning point in the story.
Review of Feature
Review of Crusade for Kaitlin - Posted 5th June 3.15pm
Review of Crusade for Kaitlin - Posted 5th June 3.15pm
In the article Crusade for Kaitlin the reader is taken
on a journey. The journey begins with Debra, a mother, working away in her busy
salon. The opening section of the article expresses her regret over the
happenings of that day so the reader is suspenseful as to what is about to
occur. The author immediately appeals to the readers sense of empathy by asking
them to reflect on receiving bad news in the past. This immediately creates a
deep sense of empathy for the reader to relate to Debra the best way they know
how, whilst still feeling in suspense about the story.
The language used in this article is very descriptive
and very raw. Reading the article takes you back to that moment, you can see
the ambulance driving past Debra, you can see her running after it. The writing
is extremely graphic, to the point that you can see the story unfolding in your
mind, with the fear of tearing your attention away, that you might miss what
happened to this little four year old girl.
The story follows Debra through the beginning of her
stages of grief and explores the journey from anger, to sadness, to
desperation.
When the author explains how Debra’s family thought she
was going crazy because she took her daughter home for days and lay in bed with
her, the reader feels defensive of Debra, we understands her feeling to an extend
and wants her to succeed.
I learned through this article that simple and concise
descriptive languages can be used to create a vivid picture for a reader in
their own mind and this make every story individual to each person and no two
people would imagine the story the same in their mind. I have learnt to include
very raw and obvious descriptions in my writing because this adds to the
atmosphere and vision for the reader.
This article taught me how simple quotes and simple
language can prove rewarding in the reader relating to the story and feeling a
part of the outcome and feeling a sense of real feeling for the outcome.
The types of research that would have been conducted for
this article would have been a very in depth interview with Debra
Chittleborough and her ex husband Mark Gubanyi. Rule would have also visited
the Tatty’s head salon to get a feel for the little room that Kaitlin used to
sit in and write cards and pictures for her mums clients. Research would have
also been carried out
Sedorkin, in their article ‘Getting Started’ speaks of how
imperative non verbal cues are for journalists. In the article Crusade for
Katilin, the author uses detailed accounts which aren’t direct quotes,
describing the situation, describing Debra, her look, her fear, her anguish.
This articles graphics also contribute to the story. In ‘A
practical introduction to feature writing’ the authors discuss the importance
of graphics in relation to a feature story and the additional dimension they
give.
