Chapter 46

 Next Monday, Braxton was ill (and, by extension, Melody) so I moved my operation into the guest bedroom and hoped that cats couldn't spread disease. Nyssa still came by to review my individual pieces and technique, but I was able to focus more on schoolwork, which was nice. At the studio, I went straight in for Pyramid.

"It was a successful recital, so thank you for your hard work," Abby said to us. "This is the second-to-last week before Nationals, and I've made a few decisions. Joanne, you're undefeated, you are getting a solo at Nationals."

The group clapped for me, and I smiled. "Thank you."

"Ursula, you're close to undefeated, you've been strong, you are my Teen soloist for Nationals. Brooke, to reward you for your hard work, you'll be getting a duet with Joanne."

Ursula and Brooke both looked pleased at the prospects.

"I will have two more solos. Mackenzie, you must win the next two weeks, or you'll just be in the group. If Mackenzie does a solo, then I will only have one Junior solo. This week, we are going to iHollywood. This is Hollywood, this is competitive. I will be bringing in a new dancer to test out, though she will not be in the running for a Nationals solo. Joanne, I'd love your help. Onto the pyramid. On the bottom is Paige, I hear you're cleared to dance this week, that's great. Brooke, very sloppy in the group. Kendall, fine, no issues. Mackenzie, you did more dances than you're used to, you kept up in the group, good work. In the middle is Chloé, you were the Junior dancer of 2012, keep it up. The group dance wasn't your best. Nia, Most Improved, but don't rest on your laurels. Keep on improving. Ursula, you're the Teen dancer of 2012, I thought you were the standout of the group routine. On the top, once again, is Joanne. You stepped up when I needed you to and were a workhorse. That trick section with Ursula in the group was great."

Everyone clapped for me.

"This week, all my Juniors will have solos, including the new dancer who's ten. I will be teaching all of them. Mackenzie's solo will be taught by Joanne, it's Lyrical with no tricks. Brooke, you have a solo. Joanne and Ursula, I'm giving you a duet. You will have to do much of the work for it on your own, and you must win. The group dance is called 'I See The Kite Flying,' and everyone is in it. I'm going to introduce the new dancer now. Please give a warm welcome to Nicaya and her mother Kaya."

A Black girl and her mother walked in, waving shyly. I stepped forward to shake their hands.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Joanne."

"I'm a big fan," Nicaya told me.

"That's sweet," I responded rather awkwardly. "Welcome to the ALDC."

Nicaya joined us in line, greeting the other dancers.

"So, Abby, what is her position on the team this week?" Kaya asked.

"She is not on the team, she's on probation to see how she does. She will be in the group and have a solo." Kaya nodded, happy with that. None of the other mothers had a huge objection because everyone had a special dance this week. "I'm going to start with both Paige and Nicaya, for a brush-up on technique. I will call the rest of you in for the group after that."

Abby had me run the two through a basic barre exercise. It became clear that Paige was unbalanced in strength and Nicaya didn't know terminology.

"I require all of my dancers to know the terminology," Abby told the new dancer and mother. Kaya actually rolled her eyes.

"Why? She's a good dancer, why does she need to know vocabulary? I can't afford those classes."

Abby was about to say something harsh, so I jumped in. "I'm happy to provide a list of terms for free. Knowing them is useful when in an audition, because no one is going to be demonstrating the dance. They're going to just say the move and expect you to do it, and if not, you get cut."

"I suppose that makes sense. She can do the moves, though."

"Yeah, she's good," Abby said dismissively. "I wouldn't have called you in if she wasn't. Learn the terms, complete the test, and we're good. I hope that you can pick up choreography quickly, because you're learning a group and a solo in four days, Nicaya. Paige, you clearly worked to stay fit when you were injured, but your right side is reasonably weaker than your left. At least I have a sense of where you're at. Joanne, please get the others in for the group."

The group was about patients in an insane asylum, and it was a weird one. We basically just acted crazy and I had maybe forty-five seconds of real dancing in it. Nicaya didn't have many issues picking up the choreography, let's just say that.

Gia called Ursula and I in to learn our duet afterwards. "Abby's really challenging you two this week," she said. "The piece is called 'Bloodstains' and it's about the Hunger Games. You two were allies, but now it's the final battle and you need to fight each other. In the end, Joanne wins, but she's not happy about it. It's Dark Contemporary."

"That sounds really fun," Ursula said a bit too eagerly. "Why does Joanne win, though?"

"Honestly, Abby and I chose based on who we think would win the Hunger Games in real life. Sorry, Ursula."

I laughed. "I don't know if I could do it, though."

"You'd survive if you needed to. Let's start the dance."

Half the dance was battling with the same choreography, and the other half was partner work. It was one of the harder non-ballet competition dances that I'd done, and Ursula and I had a blast.

Later on, after dinner, I called in Mackenzie. "As Miss Abby said, this solo is true Lyrical, so you have to have great legs and feet. You also have to be very soft and pretty. This dance is called 'Rainfall' and it's about a little girl who's lost in the rain and is very sad, but eventually finds her way home. Start by kneeling on the ground, hands over your head like you're trying to block the rain. Do a toe rise into an arabesque, sending a sad glance to stage right where the judges will be."

Kenzie was almost through the dance after an hour, and I dismissed her for the day. Abby had me show Nia her solo, a Contemporary piece about a queen. It was a great solo.

My Classical piece for YAGP was quite a challenge, but I was finally getting the movements connected and smoothing them out. Braxton and Melody remained contagious through the week. Kenzie got the benefit of extra practice sessions in the basement, as she got up early to get half an hour in before my session with Nyssa.

Maddie stuck her head in on Thursday, frowning at the scene. "I was hoping to dance."

"You're grounded from dancing! Mommy said!" Kenzie said. Maddie scoffed.

"That ended three days ago."

"You have the space, then," I said tightly. "Good luck."

Aunt Melissa was looking for my cousin upstairs. "Maddie! Come on, you're in enough trouble!"

"She's in the basement studio," I told my aunt. "She said that she wanted to dance."

Aunt Melissa snarled. "When I said that she could dance again, I didn't mean during your lesson time." Maddie wasn't a fan of the idea of leaving the studio. "Joanne doesn't just have a monopoly on this space."

"She does when her teacher is here. You can dance later, you have the whole afternoon," my aunt said. "Hesitate and I'll add on to your punishment."

Maddie groaned and flounced out. Nyssa watched her go, eyebrow raised. "That's out of character. Is she alright?"

"No, but she won't talk to me," I sighed. "It's frustrating."

Abby was pleased enough with the group routine, but Nicaya and Paige were struggling to get their solos right. There was an unaired trio with Brooke, Chloé and Kendall, just adding to the chaos.

Nicaya was too slow on her Jazz solo, though I had to say her technique was very solid. She second-guessed every other move. "I think that you're losing confidence and rushing while simultaneously going slowly, but you know the dance," I told her. "I know that this is a lot for your first week, but you need to take a deep breath and dance like you're super confident."

Nicaya was better after a bit more practice, then it was Paige's turn. She simply wasn't overly fit for a fast solo and was very messy, she really just needed more endurance. There wasn't much that I could do to help.

A plane ride later, we were at the iHollywood national final. Abby had me entered with my Moulin Rogue and Skyfall solo for a Senior national title, none of which would be aired. I got the day going with 'Skyfall,' committing to the character, then it was Brooke's turn. She had a bad stumble out of a back tuck and was lucky not to hurt herself. Chloé went out and did a haunting Contemporary piece, followed by Nia who slightly one-upped her. Both were thriving off of a friendly rivalry, and my guess was that Nia would be the Junior soloist.

"You got this, Kenzie. Remember your emotions, remember your technique, be fluid," I urged my cousin, and she did all three of those things, charming the judges onstage. Abby gave a high clap. I performed my Moulin Rogue piece, then missed the next few solos for a masterclass. I had to rush to get changed for the duet. The trio before us was clean and cute.

Ursula and I did a great job, in my opinion, acting as if we were fighting to the death and pulling off hard choreography. I pretended to break down at the end, staring at Ursula as she pretended to be dead.

"That was really good," Ursula panted after the second performance. I got to see the Junior solos performed again, and thought that Kendall was great, Nicaya was a bit nervous, and Paige was behind the music. She didn't forget this time, and had great energy.

The next day, it was the group and callbacks for titles. I was the only one entered for a title and performed in the improvisation round before the group, with the results to be announced later. The group was as good and weird as it could be, I supposed, and both Paige and Nicaya did a good job. Awards came around soon enough.

"Your champion Mini soloist today, winning Miss Energy, is Miss Mackenzie with 'Rainfall!' She scored 287 points!"

"Fifth place for Junior solos goes to Miss Paige with 'Oh Snap', 278 points. Fourth place in Junior solos goes to Miss Nicaya with 'Alarm,' 281 points. Third place in Junior solos goes to Miss Kendall with 'Petals Fall,' 287 points. Second place in Junior solos goes to Miss Chloé with 'Ghosts,' 292 points. First place and your Junior champion today, winning Miss Energy, goes to Miss Nia with 'Reign,' 295 points!"

Chloé, such a nice girl, hugged Nia tightly. It must be hard for her to go from being second to Maddie to second to Nia. Paige was just happy that she'd placed, and both Nicaya and Kendall smiled brightly.

"Third place in Teen solos goes to Miss Brooke with 'Watch Me,' 281 points!"

"At least I placed," Brooke shrugged.

"Your champion Senior soloist, Miss Energy and Senior Miss, scoring a competition-high 298 points, is Miss Joanne with 'Skyfall!'"

I stood and accepted the trophy, sash and crown happily.

"Your first place Junior Duo/Trio is 'Writing All These Words,' 287 points!"

"Your first place Teen Duo/Trio is 'Bloodstains,' 294 points!"

"Your champion Junior group of the day is 'I See the Kite Flying,' 283 points!"

"Yay!" Abby cheered in the dressing room. "I asked for a clean sweep and that's what I got. I was happy with the overall level of performance. You're almost to where you need to be at Nationals. Nicaya, Kaya- Black Patsy, sorry- you are welcome to return next week and for Nationals as a probationary member."

"Sure," Kaya said confidently. "I think that Nicaya could have done better but can improve under your tutelage."

"Good choice. Let's pack up and go, everyone."