Her arms swayed like a
                                                            Wave
                                                Her feet stomped and
                                                            Shook
                                                        The ground
                                            She was an African Princess
                                                    She twirled in the
                                                            Wind
                                               Her smile brightened the
                                                             Room
                                             She was an African Princess
                                                                           ~ Ivyona CM

I wanted to be like that princess so badly.I wanted people to be amazed by my talents.I wanted my smile to beam like the sun.’’You’ll get there. You will be that princess. No you will be better. You will be a queen. Yea that sounds good,a queen.” I thought to myself.
                                                                                        

Dance. A worldwide communication.  I can tell the story of slavery, the story of hate in Nigeria. I can tell of my hate against world disaster. I can tell of my favorite subject, world politics. I can tell my life in a few moves . I can feel special.                                                                            

The music relates to me , as if the artist knows my story, the dance gives me the happiness.
                                                                                         

Dance. Dance is the form of nutrition and keeps me healthy and powerful. Dance was a form of escape for my mind. It helped me improve my self esteem by making me feel like a queen and helping me proud of myself.
                                                                                         

The way my soft brown skin moves brightens the world. I will be the next Misty Copeland.
                                                                                          

My name is Ivyona. No, not the Ivyona dancing on the big stage, but soon to be. I am the Ivyona stretching on her room floor and dancing every saturday in a small rental room. You have to smart small to get big. Dance expresses my heart and who I am. I will not tell them but I will show them. Critics will know my story, famous people will know my story ,everyone will know my story.
                                                                                           

For example,one friday night when I was about nine years old, I had a dance recital I had to perform for my parents. At the time my parents were seperated and still are but I thought that they hated each other and that made me feel miserable and I sometimes thought it was my fault. However as I started to dance ,Ii saw a big smile on both of my parents faces and they even smiled at eachother. This made me extremley joyful and excited. However , that was only the beginning.
                                                                                            

Another situation was in 6th grade when I got a low grade on one of my test. When Ii came home I was crying so hard but then I listened to music, closed my eyes, and I started to dance and dream that I was in a whole different world ,a world full of greatness.After I came back from that world I realized that no matter what, I have to work hard and push myself even harder.
                                                                                          

Dancing is my way to get away from my life’s problems. I have a chance to escape life. As a teen in Brooklyn life can be really struggling. More specifically, as a girl  u have to deal with several situations in your daily life. Stress is built up on you constantly. However,as soon as I jump and i twirl , it is as if the stress falls to the ground. I love to dance , it gives me freedom. One day i will be an African Princess …. Wait no…… an African Queen!