Feature Article - The Beauty of Belonging

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. 

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 5^th 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 5^th 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

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.