~v~ \

ex.i
Between Practice and Perfection, \ cs Ashley Anders has rung the "success gong," a desk gong fU0 f le ·v ,
-~-~5 I
1
\ \Ci {0~ that is sounded when a gymnast achieves a goal, three times .,pfSt r,..J5l_1.'
AZIZAT DANMOL.E cl;<;; · I_- 0 . j\t/ in the past week for being the first in her class to land a vault , 1 \ ' _1-.

..-/ '{'
,', !'\ ,{' (j-JJIO
J)
. C.,11\'. r
I),
,rJ ' \ ,1~,1\
_,
('I~\ . -,A'> .
"S
1

\ \ \ (JI'
J, ¼1\
(J
combination, a successful landing after dismounting from
her bar routine, and for getting to perform at talent night ~\!-er
W\.P .->'::; /I Cl":1''

Wlr1)
f ·V ,..- ,-, , ,, {<!,' { I -\v re<-\ with the Elite girls. The smaUest girl on your team rang the ~ I ' PA_!
°'--._ ( ) ( ,,.. ~( ur' 1kf, ,: ,\S gong for landing her round-off. Another girl on your team iJ :
.. -'I°" ~~\I j rang the gong for her handstand on the uneven bars, which yi~ J'1
At thirteen, the other g ls in your gymnastics cla; s are '- she did only one week after recovering from a broken foot. J / /
,) - strong and graceful whil you are not. You even used to You rang the gong when you learned to stand on the beam Y) 11V1J l,,J ,
take ballet, but no one w °\ld believe it, looking at you. without falling off. "(oJ' ~l:. -11 •,~
The way you flop around, avykwardly moving your hands When it is time tp start practicing aerial cartwheels, ii
and feet as you attempt each exercise. The older girls are you pu ll Ashley Anders aside and ~sk her to explain it to ,L
\
on the uneven bars, and they swing from one bar to the you. Maybe watching movements is not the way you learn.-:,) ~Gf,..)
other and then back again. Their long bodies are extended, Maybe you learn differently. '-'~. .
their toes pointed, and their hands never miss the bar "How do you do this?" you ask. ,/tf.X. J /11 1
even when they back-flip in between. The younger girls i~ "Like this," she says, putting her hand behind her back and /'
your class are not as graceful, but fast and energetic. They cartwheeling like she had springs on the balls of her feet. (£1,IIV\ ).- 11

tumble and twist. They do forward and backward rolls and "Just put a hand behind your back," she says. ;I h)\\ l,'~i\1
stay inHne. You cannot do a cartwheel. You cannot You try, but your hand touches the mat during your ""\). ff> 1.

\
pull up and you cannot roll forward or backward without half-cartwheel. . >• ~"""jlf
going sideways. She offers to help and supports your waist while you put \
If': Ashley Anders, the best girl in your class, is an ex-ballet a hand behind your back and try again, but your one hand f
L.-dancer, five feet even, an inch shorter than you, and~ light is not used to supporting all your weight, and you go right r, ·\ ~ t'(? l
over, kicking her in the nose in the process. When you right7,7)l,lt~
on her feet that she sails from one move to the next.\lf there
i
I'.

were a way to do an entire floor exercise routine where only yourself, you apologize profusely, but Ashley is holding her AS~ft
one foot touched the mat the entire time, she would be the nose and frowning. She walks wordlessly away from you, 1•
\ . , , ,. I •L Jirstto figurej_t_ ou_t}You watch her hanging out with the girls and the two of you avoid each other, and you are back to f\\J r,'\...--t' p
, r from the Intermediate team as they eat yogurt and graham being on your own. r,e\ f'{, ¥
\ \ crackers and watch the girls from the Elite team, picking out School is a welcome break from the gym. In art class 111·
who has the best landings and routines and chance for going you are asked to choose a picture to copy for your first \
pro. Ashley Anders is nice to everyone, and occasionally she assignment, and you choose a picture of Ashley Anders ·
has tried to help you, but to no avail. _ _ that you stole from the Rising Stars bulletin board at the I-

17-4 _
-: · 1 , I,r ,i .,,r
1/JJ c,1
'{ II I
/µ l\ f
.rl)l' Utlt1

h'
.5,
((,,, V\
r
.•·
_ ,75 I~
r-, i:.or" I: 1v;~v(f
0 (
1
',- G!
lu
 o\~ 1)1'1
,,.--., -.,LCJ 0l-Y. \ .a•'~
• ,, .\, 'i!- \ ~L \(. • \ a l• \

. , ·r-
- '
x-J.
,...
Cl"~"' ,
\111(
.\:{)
,~
i.
l _gym. A.\though the picture is hard to copy, you learn that Your teachers tell you that the way you capture actions in
with a brushstroke or pencil mark you can give the pic- a series of strokes is beautiful, and at the end of the night,
ture an appearance of flying or flipping or twisting-the
kind of grace that you only have in your dreams. When
when you see your self-portrait in the dim ligh t of the dis-
play case, you don't look·so awkward anymore,
t
\

L,' r ,, s,-1 kv ,,.J

1
you have finished the body with only the face left to copy, 1,
~ ""' ~
(\ -
you copy your face instead of Ashley's. You look graceful
and perfect.
You go home and practice in the backyard, using the soft,
'i(.fl 5Jo tr.5 f-<;,.ch 41
. t' ve w- 1/J J
1
'f
".•
fJJ.:, ' ,.
thick grass as a mat and an old, long block of wood as a I t:
balance ~a"m. When you go back to the gym, you still can- =>r,~uli c.e5 (Y't 't..< f .;..,.,f'° i.,e.-M \
not do a forward roll or a cartwheel. When you 'try a floor h ,J,lJJ\i \ vi ~ ue-+ , ~-
I r~v-.~ trs\11l.v+
exercise, you sprain your ankle. When you try the vault, you
break your nose.
Your mother assures you that you are at an awkward age,
~ \~ ,
and she buys you a new leotard and purchases a •Gymnast
on Board• sign at the gym's gift counter. She sticks it in the
rear window of the mini-van that she takes you to practice
in. You assure yourself that with practice you will get better.
You buy mats and wrist guards, thinking that with the right
equipment, anything is possible.
During every class, you strain muscles or fall awkwardly
off equipment, and when you overhear the Elite girls laugh-
ing, you think they are making fun of you. When you come
home, you work out your frustration in your sketches,
which even you have noticed are improving. A few months
later, when the Elite girls are getting ready for their com-
petition, you are getting ready to enter your paintings into
the school's annual art fair contest. When Ashley Anders S\( '::' LuJI Y\JL
wins a medal for floor exercise, you win three out of five
categories in the art fair for your Dreams collection, where ,i ,\:;.,t\ v-ew,1,t.v oT
your pictures of Ashley Anders are included among pic-
tures that you have sketched of children in the park, your
father at work on the garage, and your own self-portrait.
''1' rov,J 1
~ireJ
o.t t er ~ Y- ~ t,;v
L, 5't,<. v-,t,1 - ""f rc> ve I ker- \J::i,d i,e- '77
176 -
V. ( I
hettr- 6