A Dream Chaser in a Wheelchair
Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That dream nearly ended in 2010 when Hill was in a car accident, which put the 17-year-old girl in hospital for 51 days and left her paralyzed (瘫痪的) from the waist down. For most people, that would have destroyed any hope of a dancing career. But for Hill, it was the beginning. "I want to prove to everyone including myself that I'm still normal," she said, "whatever normal means."
Normal for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her wheelchair alongside her nondisabled high school dance team. Half of her body was taken away from her, so she had to move it with her hands.
It took much learning and patience.
After graduation from high school, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to include women like her. She met people online who were fighting for the dream of dancing against various spinal(脊柱的)injuries, and invited them to dance with her. To reach more people in a larger city, Hill moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and formed a team of dancers with disabilities she called the Rolletes.
Every year Hill holds a dance camp called the Rollettes Experience for wheelchair users to help them bring out their acting talent. In 2019,173 participants from ten countries attended. For many, it was the first time they'd felt they belonged. Edna Serrano said, "I didn't know I could do so many things that my fellow teammates had taught me. It's so powerful to have my teammates in my life, because they're my teachers. I have more confidence. "
Chelsie Hill got what many of us never will: her childhood dream. She has been chasing her dream in the wheelchair. She's a dancer. The Rolletes have helped her find something else just as fulfilling.
