Discourse Community Analysis
One of the key requirements for one to be accepted into any discourse community is to learn the basic and typical ways that define communications, arguments, and interactions within the community. The benefits of mastering rhetorical skills are far reaching and ultimately necessary for any person who seeks to become part of any discourse community notwithstanding the many differences that exist between people at any given time. This paper goes ahead to prove that I managed to earn a place in the discourse community of my high school ballet dance team through gathering the much-needed knowledge about ballet as an art, establishing my trustworthiness and credibility and mastering how to influence fellow members of the community. It gives me a lot of pleasure that as a person, I have already earned some experience of joining a discourse community and through this paper; you my esteemed classmates and instructor have an opportunity to not only learn more about me, but also appreciate the usefulness of mastering rhetorical skills in our day-to-day lives.
Knowledge is an important consideration that determines whether one fits to be part of any discourse community or not. My love for dancing started when I was still a young girl who enjoyed watching different dance groups that participated in the city dancing competition take on each other in our neighborhood. At ten years old, I got attracted to ballet dance work that was being aired every Friday on TV and I soon found myself imitating and trying out different basic ballet moves. This was the time it dawned on me that it takes more than what meets the eye to become a dancer, particularly a ballet dancer. It was easy and equally hard at the same time.
The Red Adventurers as popularly is the name of my high school ballet dance crew that I was recently a member. My ability to learn new dance moves with ease and flexibility earned me a place in one of the best ballet dance crews in public high schools. The chemistry that characterized the team was unmatched and admirable. For the four years that we danced together, we not only became best friends but also grew into a family that could withstand both harsh times and joyful moments. The fact that at one time, I picked up a serious ankle injury during the Interschool Annual Competition with my team failing to make it to the finals did not water down our spirits and determination.
In any community, knowledge and a sense of responsibility are always shared and members are always bound together with a clear goal that the community wants to achieve. I knew that to be accepted and maintain my membership to the team, I had to make a commitment to carry the spirit of the team as a dancer. I knew that interacting with my fellow teammates calls for a proper knowledge of the team and proper communication skills.
Every discourse community thrives on trust and thus establishing credibility, trustworthiness, sincerity and reliability is crucial if one is to be accepted into any community. It all started just after I got an admission into high school knowing very well that no matter how good I might have been in ballet, the challenges of being a freshman were inevitable. As the rule of thumb, freshmen are always looked down upon with those in higher grades always blaming them on any fault.
I had to use the pathos and logos appeals to prove to members of the team that I deserved a chance in the team notwithstanding my status as a freshman. Freshmen shouldered all the dirty work in the team, right from collecting ballet slippers after training, picking up trash, sometimes cleaning the training hall which would go for a week without being swept, carrying drinking water for the seniors during training, amongst other responsibilities that seniors deemed inappropriate to them.
To me, this was more of a test to measure the commitment that my fellow freshmen and I had in order to be accepted into the team. I knew that ballet calls upon one to learn how to communicate with others effectively. Right from calling each other out, apologizing after a mistake during training, training once every day all the way to taking punishments positively together as a team became part of us. This was always hard year in year out because of losing dancers and new ones replacing them.
I practiced, perfected, and soon the six beginning positions necessary for one to perform ballet dance work became automated and ingrained in my muscle memory. Our trainer cultivated the culture of positivity, teamwork, and selflessness. He frequently reminded that he would rather have poor dancers who care about the team than good dancers who think only about themselves.
I gave myself the much needed motivation after being accepted into the team. I knew I was not the best dancer, but the thought that practice makes perfect kept me going. The ballet barre became my best friend knowing very well that I had to build on my strength, flexibility and agility. I learnt how to deal with both male and female dancers in the team (it is interesting that my favorite dance partner was Trevor, was male), how to stretch for more than 30 minutes in order to strengthen my muscles, elongate my posture, and how to perform Pointe work with ease.
As a junior, I did not know how close the team had grown until I saw tears roll down everyone’s eyes when we lost in the finals of the Best Ballet Group of the Year against our all-time rivals and neighboring school, Maryland. It had taken a lot of effort and perfection to get to the finals and the loss shook our team to its core. However, that fact that our school made it to the finals for the very first time after so many years not only consoled us but also gave us so many supporters. The reality that the community had established itself in me became apparent when I shared in the experience of losing with my fellow team mates since through shared struggles, a community becomes close.
Finally, in any discourse community, members must learn the art of appealing to the feelings and values of fellow members. For all the time I spent as a Ballet dancer for my High school team, I realized we became a family. Every one learnt the importance of appealing to the emotions and values of each other within the team. We would meet up every Friday night after practice to watch latest ballet moves from renowned ballet dance groups such as the New Adventures, evaluate our progress and enjoy bonfires at our trainer’s house. We would discuss how to make our team better, how to improve on our academics, and empower ourselves. I realized that by the time I was completing my high school educating, The Red Adventurers did not want me to leave the team as I had established myself one of the best ballet dancers in the team.
Being a member of the Red Adventurers ballet discourse community is one of the best experiences that I have had so far. Through performing ballet dance moves with my fellow dancers, I learnt how to work in a team, how to communicate effectively and how to live with emotional human beings. To get a privilege of being part of any dancing discourse community demands that one should be committed, dedicated, flexible, and patient enough to not only build strong relations with one another but also with the community at large.
I probably would not have learnt how to be determined and dedicated if I would not have taken upon myself to join the ballet dance team. I succeeded in this discourse community because I enjoyed both happy and sad moments no matter how hard they hit the team. The team gave me an opportunity to develop skills and tools that will be crucial in joining any other discourse community in future.
