Chapter 21

The summer flew by, and before I knew it, Ursula and I were flying out to London for the James Bond music video. Misty came along too in her cat carrier.

A man met us at the airport and it turned out that Adele had sent a full-on limousine for us. Ursula squealed and ran towards it. "This is cool! I've never been in a limo!"

The man, George Newman, chuckled. "I'm glad to see that you're excited. I will take you to your hotel suite, as it's the evening already, then take you to set at eight hundred hours sharp tomorrow morning. I hope that you like early mornings."

The suite at King's Hotel was just as amazing, and pet-friendly, with a full kitchen and two bedrooms. Ursula and I just shared one, though, and agreed that I could have the second one for homeschool and she would take the living room to do her make-up work from school. Neither of us did well with other people while we studied, it was distracting for her and I liked to walk around and make noise while I worked. Not a great combination.

Ursula and I rewatched "Casino Royale" that night before heading to bed. I got up a good hour before my alarm, heart racing with excitement. I'd had a calm fall, mostly preparing for this video, YAGP and keeping up with school, and now I was being thrown into the fire. While I didn't want to be an actress, appearing in something like this was an incredible opportunity.

"Are you ready?" Ursula asked from her side of the bed while she was waking up. "I'm ready to meet the stars and watch."

"I guess I am," I replied. "I mean, I know the dance, I've practiced it blindfolded in case there's light in my eyes, and I'm at least used to having cameras on me. I am quite nervous, though. I'll just be getting a rehearsal and introduction to the process today."

"Anyone would be nervous." Ursula rolled over and squeezed my hand, then laughed when Misty tried to get our hands apart with her nose. "Aww, she's jealous."

"I won't stop paying attention to you," I promised the cat lovingly. "I'll get some breakfast going."

Our driver pointed out the sites of the city, and soon enough we were on set. It was a big studio, bustling with activity, and had a multistory set that was clearly going to be used for stunts. There was one platform with a dance floor, so I assumed that I would be up there. There were fences around it for safety, luckily.

I recognized Adele right away, and she recognized me, walking over with a wide smile. "Joanne! It's so lovely to meet you in person. This is the girlfriend that you told me about?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm Ursula Green," Ursula introduced herself.

"It's Adele, dear. I'm glad that you were able to be here, and very timely. As you know, Joanne, today is about getting you acquainted with the set and the process. You won't need to do intensive makeup, as your face won't be clearly seen, but you do have a dress to get fitted into and I want you to have plenty of practice with the machinery we'll use to throw you into shadow so you don't hurt yourself. A few of the actors are visiting today, so you'll get to meet them. Daniel will be doing some stunts on set, so he will be around for most of this week."

Ursula's face lit up, and she barely stopped herself from squealing with joy. I laughed and squeezed her hand. "She's a huge James Bond fan," I explained. "She's made me watch all of the movies, from the beginning."

"Do you have your cat today?" Adele asked. I blinked.

"She's at the hotel at the moment, I didn't want to have her trigger anyone's allergies."

"I have a side room set up for her, I adore cats. You must bring her tomorrow," Adele replied.

My costume was very similar to my "Goddess" solo costume; it was a long gray dress that was big enough for me to turn and do leg extensions in without getting in my way.

"Is this the guest of honor?" Another British voice asked, and I turned to see Daniel Craig approaching. I laughed a little nervously.

"Pretty sure that my cat will be when I bring her. Nice to meet you, Mr. Craig."

"Lovely to meet you as well, dear. That is a lovely dress."

"It is," I agreed. "Great for dancing in, too. How has your return to Broadway been? I saw you this summer, I did ballet school there."

"Ah, that's lovely. I love being on the screen, but theatre will always have a special place in my heart," he replied. "I understand that you will be practicing with the shadow machines today?"

"First I'll do the dance on the platform, but yes, I need to get used to them to be safe."

I was called to get on set soon enough, and saw Ursula start talking with her favorite actor as I went. There was a staircase to get up to the platform, and I was thankful that I wasn't afraid of heights.

The producer of the video had me warm up then perform the dance without any machines. There were speakers everywhere, and the recorded song began as my cue to start dancing. This was a Lyrical/Contemporary dance that was quite long, and had a long turn sequence of a la secondes into pirouettes, a Russian switch leap, lots of dramatic movement, and lots of leg extensions and balances. I was quite out of breath by the end.

There was a lot of clapping below, and I stuck my head over the side of the fence.

"Fabulous," the producer said. "The dance is great. Would you be able to have your hair down, or would that get in your way?"

The shadow machine was actually quite clever; they had bright lights that were blocked by boards, so I was shown as a shadowy figure. That day I just did a few moves with the lights on then was able to leave in just a few hours. Ursula and I had rented studio space at a nearby studio and practiced our respective pieces for the upcoming competition seasons (Ursula was going to compete at YAGP this year too) before heading back to the hotel.

The week passed by much to quickly for my liking. The producer was happy with how the dance looked on screen after only a few days so Ursula, Misty and I were able to watch the rest of the video be produced, with me jumping in and doing my role every so often. There was a cool moment with Mr. Craig doing stunts as James Bond and me dancing while Adele sang live. Ursula and I got to meet amazing actors and actresses such as Dame Judi Dench, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Finnes, Raoul Silva and Naomie Harris. Ursula kept her cool relatively well, but I think that she had a better time than I did.

I walked away with not just a big check but a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a promise for the future.

"I really enjoyed working with you, thank you so much for this opportunity," I told Adele when we were saying goodbye.

"Oh, you're so lovely. I very much enjoyed working with you as well. Tell me, what will you be doing on the 12th of February next year?"

"I'll be nearing the end of the competition season back in Pittsburgh, and likely be preparing for a YAGP semi-final."

"Well, I'd love to work with you again. I will be performing at the Grammys for my most recent album, and would love for you to dance onstage with me."

My jaw dropped. "Really?" Beside me, Ursula hugged me tightly, grinning widely.

"Of course, really. Only if you're able."

"I'll be there," I promised. "Thank you so much!"

I was still buzzing on the flight home. What an incredible experience, and there was more to come.