`` Showing What Is Possible, By Jacques D Amboise

In â€Å"Showing What Is Possible,† Jacques D’Amboise reflects on an experience when a teacher helped him discover ballet. Madame Seda helped D’Amboise fulfill his talent. With ballet, he overcame the pressure to join a gang like his friends. D’Amboise was able to become a well-known ballet dancer with help from his teachers. When it was time to retire from dancing, he started the National Dance Institute. This project enabled D’Amboise to influence his own students around the world. An influential teacher can affect one’s future by challenging pupils to move past their comfort zones, teaching them to actively control their future, and setting up an environment where they can improve together. An influential teacher often challenges students to move outside of set comfort zones. They continue to challenge their students to try different hobbies and excel in school. Maya Angelou experienced this when she met Mrs. Bertha Flowers who gave Angelou her â€Å"first life line† (87). Angelou had a traumatic experience which had led her to believe she should never talk again. No was able to get her to talk except for one influential woman. Mrs. Flowers challenged Angelou to move past her fears and speak again. D’Amboise finds his challenge when he has to spend every afternoon in ballet dance. Madame Seda challenged him to learn ballet instead of disrupting her class. D’Amboise confirms this when he concludes that, â€Å"she challenged me to a test, complimented me on my effort and then immediately