Dream Dancer Research Paper

Han Sung Kim
Madison Priest
New York City Transit System
Ever since high school, my one and only dream is to become a professional dancer. I practiced hours every day after coming home from school, and it is without a doubt my strongest passion. It was not until my senior year however, until I realized how improbable my chances were of succeeding as a dancer due to the competitive nature of it. With this in mind, I finished my academic career in high school on a strong note, which was enough to get admitted into a business college in New York City. I am now a student studying in the library by day, and a street dancer dancing in the New York City by night.
As a competent dancer, I have performed as background dancer for a show called
It has to be exactly 6:00 P.M at Friday night because that is when I schedule my performance with other artists who perform in the same spot as I do. Upon entering, I spot a couple homeless men, with their ragged shirt, bloodshot red eye, and matted hair, but I am grateful that they are not dozing in my performing area. When I reach my “stage,” I plug in my oversized speakers into an outlet. While I’m setting up I detect the popcorns and hot dogs cooking around me. The LIRR station, I must say, is the best smelling part of any New York City transit, which makes it an enticing place to perform. At this time, the station is crowded with commuters, but having performed here for a while, I know it is only temporary. As I am adjusting the volume of the speakers, I already see people gather around me to see what I am about to do. Many times, I hear a group of friends asking, “Is he going to sing?” or “Is he going to play an instrument?” I wonder at that point if they are actually curious as to what I do, or if they’re just fascinated by the fact that a Korean teenager is about to perform in a transit station. After tuning my speakers, I take on the most crucial step. I check to see if I am violating any rules of performing within a New York City Transit system. By law, I must be 25 feet away from a ticket booth, set away from a NYCT office, not anywhere near an escalator, and not perform during a public announcement. Once I confirm everything, I wait for the 6:27 PM trains to leave while observing the disappointed looks of the people who just missed it by mere seconds. The crowdedness is nearly gone, and this is the perfect time to start my