Hand of destiny guides young gymnast
- Judy Bird | February 25, 2014
When nine-year-old Rema Buschow-Pander took to the floor to perform her rhythmic gymnastics routine at the Saskatchewan Winter Games in Prince Albert earlier this month, she was honouring a grandmother she never knew, melding art forms of two very different cultures, and potentially bringing home a winning title.
That might seem like a lot of pressure for a nine-year-old, but Rema's mother says it is a labour of love.
"She is very passionate about it, and wants to do it all the time. This isn't driven by me," said Carmen Buschow, Remas mother. "She works so hard. She trains 20 hours a week. I don't know how she does it, she amazes me all the time."
Rhythmic Gymnastics features four types of apparatus that athletes use in their routines: the ball, hoops clubs and ribbons, and also has a free style routine that is choreographed.
"The free routine is pretty much a dance but there are certain elements of difficulty and execution they have to follow. Each coach will script a routine that falls in the level of difficulty for their division," said Carmen.
Rema's dedication is inspiring. Along with Rhythmic Gymnastics, she takes ballet and jazz dance. Last summer, she trained for two weeks in Los Angeles, then went for two weeks to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and two weeks to Toronto.
Her hard work pays off. At the winter game trials, her free routine scored 9.55. A national-level competitor who is a few years older scored 9.8.
Rema's free routine will feature the song Electric Powwow by A Tribe Called Red. She belongs to Wascana Rhythmic Gymanstics Club and studies under coaches Julie Lavasseur and her sister, Julie.
Carmen said that according to Rema's coaches, it will be the first time that powwow music is being incorporated into this Russian- and European-dominated sport, to their knowledge.
The way this all came together was like a bit like the hand of destiny. Rema's coach, Jenny, had a piece of music with powwow in it, but didn't think there was anyone in the club who was First Nations.
"I told her that Rema learned to dance powwow," said Carmen. Both she and her daughter are members of Thunderchild First Nation. They all realized the piece was for her.
Jenny and Rema choreographed the piece, and Rema performed it in competition for the first time in Prince Albert February 19 - 22 where she represented Team Regina.
The powwow music isn't the only connection to her late grandmother in Rema's life. There are so many instances and connections, it's uncanny.
Carmen's mom died of breast cancer before Rema was born. Carmen had been adopted as a child and only learned about her birth mother and her siblings when she was an adult. She was four months
pregnant with Rema when she got a phone call that her birth mother was terminally ill, and the family wanted her to come. She explained that she was having complications from her pregnancy, and the phone went quiet. Her mother had insisted that one of her daughters was pregnant. She was on her death bed, and her daughters thought she was delirious. None of them knew Carmen was expecting.
On the way to North Battleford for the funeral, Carmen and her husband were trying to think of a name for the baby. Theyd just learned they were having a girl.
"We couldn't come up with a single name. Our minds were completely blank, we thought how strange is this that we can't even come up with one name?" said Carmen.
A truck passed by with the name Rema on it, but they dismissed it. They arrived at the funeral and read the memorial card for her mother, and saw her middle name was Rema. They knew theyd found their daughter's name.
Carmen told her sister that she planned to let Rema dance powwow when she grew up as a way to honour having her grandmother's name. She took lessons, learned how to dance and how to smudge. Having a busy gymnastics schedule didnt allow much time for powwow dancing, but Rema enjoyed it. When her coach created her gymnastics routine with the powwow music, she also needed a new outfit. Only after talking to her sister again did Carmen learn that Rema unknowingly picked her grandmother's favourite colours: purple, aquamarine, and a gold/silver tone.
When she was preparing to perform her routine at the Winter Game trials, she asked her mother if she should smudge.
"I don't normally do that because I wasn't raised that way," said Carmen. Recognizing that it was a protocol Rema had learned, she encouraged her daughter to smudge, but didn't expect her next question.
"She came to me and said, 'Mommy, do you think I should smudge my feet?' I said, 'sure if you want to.' The next day Carmen spoke with her sister and told her about Rema wanting to smudge her feet. "My sister told me that mom always reminded them to smudge their feet," she said. "There is such a strong powerful force happening with this little girl, it blows my mind."
Rema was definitely one to watch in Prince Albert, and will be at a competition in Ohio in April, where she will go up against gymnasts from Russia, Italy, Spain, Japan, Bulgaria, Ecuador, and other international places.
With her grandmother cheering from the other side, something tells me that this girl is going to bring home that winning title someday soon.