Mareta of Kiribati — The Girl Who Dances Before the Song Starts
Mareta of Kiribati — The Girl Who Dances Before the Song Starts
Mareta of Kiribati — The Girl Who Dances Before the Song Starts
Age: 13
Country: Kiribati
Mareta has been told repeatedly that music must actually begin before a person can dance to it.
She disagrees.
There is always music.
Sometimes other people simply haven't noticed it yet.
A screen door slaps shut.
Four counts.
Someone chops vegetables against a wooden board.
Eight counts.
Rain hits the roof and suddenly Mareta is halfway across the room, sliding in her socks while her sister shouts:
“You are going to break your neck!”
“I'M REHEARSING.”
“For WHAT?”
Mareta hasn't figured that part out yet.
She dances when she's happy. She dances when she's nervous. She dances while brushing her teeth, which has resulted in toothpaste appearing in locations her mother considers scientifically impossible.
And Mareta doesn't particularly care whether she's doing it correctly.
She likes traditional dances. She likes the dances she sees online. She likes making up movements nobody has named yet.
Mostly, she loves the moment when a group of people begins moving together.
At school, Mareta started teaching dances to some of the younger children.
At first there were four.
Then seven.
Then twelve.
Then one very small boy who refused to participate but attended every rehearsal and offered criticism.
“Your turn was late.”
Mareta stared at him.
“You are six.”
“It was still late.”
He is now unofficially in charge of quality control.
But something happened while Mareta was teaching those children.
She discovered that she loves creating the dance almost as much as performing it.
Why should this movement come next?
How can a dancer tell a story without saying a word?
How do you take dances that have been passed from one generation to another, honor what they mean, and still create something new?
Someday, Mareta wants to become a choreographer, learning dances from across the Pacific and creating performances that carry old stories into new generations.
She already has approximately forty-seven ideas.
She also has homework.
Her mother has pointed this out.
Several times.
Tonight, Mareta is sitting at the kitchen table attempting mathematics when someone outside drops a bucket.
CLANG.
Mareta's pencil stops.
Her mother looks up.
“Don't.”
Mareta's shoulders begin to move.
“Mareta.”
“But did you hear that?”
Her Dream: To become a choreographer, creating new dances while helping preserve the movement and stories passed down through generations.
Her Wonder: “What if your body can remember a story your mind has never been told?”
Discover Mareta’s complete story in Girls Wear Crowns: Dreams Without Limits.
*****
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