Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition nearly ended one night in 2010. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school senior in California, was in a car accident that left her paralyzed ( 残 疾 的 ) from the waist down. For most people, that would have ruined any hope of a dancing career. For Hill, it was the beginning. Far from being an obstacle, her wheelchair encouraged her. "I wanted to prove to my community—and to myself—that I was still 'normal. '"
Normal for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her wheelchair. "Half of my body was taken away from me, and I have to move it with my hands. It definitely took a lot of learning and patience. " After graduation, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to include women like her. She met people online who had suffered various spinal cord (脊柱) injuries but shared her determination, and she invited them to dance with her. "It was such an amazing experience. "
Hoping to reach more people in a larger city, Hill moved to Los Angeles in 2018 and formed a team of dancers with disabilities she calls the Rollettes. "I want to show that dance is dance, whether you're walking or you're rolling. "
Dancing on wheels, the Rollettes discovered, can be just as fast-paced, graceful as dancing on foot. Edna Serrano says that being part of the Rollettes team has given her the courage. "I didn't know I could do so many things that these girls have taught me, " she says. "They're my teachers. I have more confidence. "
