Chapter 65

I was still blinking sleep out of my eyes at Pyramid, but was happy to be back with the team. Abby nodded at me, as she'd seen me for a Mini ballet class earlier.

"As you can see, Joanne is back this week. Joanne, how were the Oscars?"

I beamed. "The whole week was just incredible. I loved being there and performing."

"Good, I watched your performance, it was strong. You looked like a professional out there."

Holly raised her hand. "Why is there an extra spot on the pyramid?"

"I'll get to that, Holly. Last week, we lost to the Crab Apples. They got a perfect score. Why did four boys who have never danced together before beat you? You all need to step it up. We're staying local this week, and we're going to Powerhouse Dance Competition in Philadelphia. We must win. I'll skip the person on the very bottom of the pyramid for now. Then it's Mackenzie, she's injured and resting at home. She should recover soon. Maddie, you were in the group dance, you blended. Kendall, same thing. Joanne, you performed at the Oscars, but you weren't here."

Abby moved onto the middle of the pyramid.

"Paige, second place, you did well but not well enough. Nicaya and Nia, that was a great number, you performed admirably. Brooke, you won the Teen division, but you lagged behind in the group dance. Chloé, you won the Junior division, you were great. But on top of the pyramid is Ursula."

I hugged Ursula as everyone else cheered for her.

"Ursula, you had the overall high score of the whole competition. You were wonderful. This week, I'm going to challenge you to stay on top. I know that you and Joanne are dating, but this week you're going head-to-head in the Senior division."

Ursula and I nodded in understanding.

"Now, I'll get to that new person. Kristie, Asia, come on in!"

A woman and her daughter, a little girl that I remembered being on AUDC, entered the room. Asia ran right up to me and hugged me. "You did so good at the Oscars! Mommy let me stay up late to see you."

I smiled at the cure kid. "Hi, Asia, I'm glad that you enjoyed my dancing."

This was Asia Monet-Ray, a seven-year-old firecracker with a fierce mother. She wasn't very technically trained, which may be a challenge for her, but her performance quality was unmatched.

"I see you already know Joanne. Everyone, this is Asia Monet-Ray. I want Mackenzie to move up to Juniors, so she's our Mini competitor, and we can have all three teens in the groups with Asia and Mackenzie in the dances," Abby explained. Kristie was greeted politely, as was Asia. "Neither Asia or Joanne will be in the group this week. You will both have solos and a duet together. Maddie and Kendall, you're on the bottom, you'll also have solos this week. Nicaya, Nia and Ursula, you have a trio. You'll be in the Teen division, so not against Asia and Joanne. You two, go work with James for the duet, the rest of you will start with the group."

Asia was clearly excited to learn the duet, and James was a good choreographer and teacher. "Okay, you two, this is a big week. Asia, you're new, so you'll have a lot of work ahead of you. This dance is a Jazz routine called 'Watch me Fly.' It's sharp, it's sassy, but it has technique in it. Welcome to the ALDC, Asia."

Asia started to struggle right away, and we'd only finished sixteen counts by the time Abby came in. "How's it going?"

"Not well," James reported. "Asia just isn't picking up the choreography, and she's rushing the part that she knows. Joanne's doing good."

"I would hope that Joanne can learn this dance quickly, Asia's almost seven years younger than her. Let me see it."

Abby was frowning a few beats in, and sighed deeply when Asia stopped and fumbled after sixteen counts. I kept going and Abby actually let me finish.

"Asia, I understand that you're new, but that wasn't good," Abby said gently. Kristie stood in the back disapprovingly. "I don't expect you to be up to Joanne's level, but you do need to be better than that."

Asia pouted a bit, but her mother backed Abby up. "She's right, Asia, this is what you signed up for. We will work on it later, Abby, I know that you have to teach solos."

"I'll be better," Asia promised. Abby nodded.

"Get the choreography down tonight. Actually, Asia, I'm going to teach Joanne her solo very quickly, so you should watch and see how she picks up the choreography so fast. She's a good example of someone who isn't a natural but has mental tricks."

I did learn the dance, a Jazz/Musical Theater piece called 'Sing,' in just half an hour, making my little tricks more obvious for Asia's sake. Then I headed out to work on my ballet and eat dinner. I was a bit nervous about doing a non-Lyrical or Contemporary piece against Ursula, who showed me the start of a beautiful Lyrical dance.

I wasn't actually that pressed about it, as my focus was beginning to shift totally away from competition dances to my ballet. Not only was I going to my dream ballet company in just a few months, I was also doing four dances at the YAGP Final, and knew that I would be the favorite to win Juniors; not to mention that the pas de deux also had the potential to win. That's what I cared about, and I tended to perform better when I was dancing to enjoy myself and not to win anyway. Abby would never give me actually bad choreography, in any case.

Asia came into duet rehearsal with more confidence the next day, and had the dance down... or, at least she had the steps down. Her timing was really off.

"You're kind of sloppy," I told her. "For example, when you do that leg hold turn which is very impressive, you're flexing your top foot. You also do everything fast. Good job learning the dance, though. It can't be easy."

Abby watched the next run-through, and was getting visibly frustrated with Asia, who was doing her honest best. I thought that the dance was advanced for her level, and she'd clearly been taught that performance trumped technique. That wouldn't just go away in two days.

"Asia, you can't be sloppy in general, but especially next to Joanne," Abby said strictly. "You've seen her dance, she's able to be technically sound and perform well. That's what I need to see from you."

"Abby, she can't do that in a day, and frankly she's below Joanne's technical level," Kristie protested. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Of course she is, Kristie, I don't expect her to do a pointe duet. I gave her choreography that I thought that she could handle. Do it again, and cleaner."

Asia did improve rapidly, and then Abby had me watch some of her solo rehearsal. This dance suited her a lot better; it was a cute Jazz piece, without much of a story.

"I like it," I said. "You seem very confident, and your feet are pointed, so that's good. I do think that your face is too much, especially in the middle. You're already such a good performer that the next step is for you to refine your facials to match the dance, not just make large faces."

"Joanne's right. This may be a Mini dance, but you want to dance maturely," Abby backed me up, and Kristie nodded. "There are a few technical things. Let's keep working. Thank you, Joanne, please go help Maddie now."

I sighed a bit as I went; I wasn't her employee. Still, I was happy to help Maddie, who had a Contemporary piece about coming back from hardship. I thought that it was appropriate, even if the hardship was self-inflicted. My cousin brightened when she saw me.

"Hello, Joanne. Maddie was just about to do a run-through, so you can give her some advice."

Maddie had a strong dance and was fiery this week, looking a bit like her old self. I grinned and clapped for her at the end. "That's great, Maddie, I really like how you're performing and telling the story. Your technique is strong, just make sure that you don't rush the end. It looks good, though."

The rest of the week passed quickly, with most of my rehearsal time being spent with Asia and the duet. I did manage to get my solo down and help out all the other soloists with their dances.

The competition was early but it was barely a drive, so we were pretty relaxed walking in. The solos were up first, and I was the first solo of the whole competition, so I got dressed in my fun costume and headed backstage with Ursula. Dancers from other studios were definitely staring at me more, much to my discomfort, but I blocked it out and focused on my dance.

"Please welcome entry number one, Joanne with 'Sing!'"

I had fun onstage and performed the dance the best I could, twice. The judges were smiling at me so I took it as a good sign. Ursula performed beautifully after me, so she would definitely stand a chance of beating me.

"You looked beautiful," I told Ursula backstage. One of the producers frowned. "You're supposed to be unhappy."

"Unhappy? Why?" I tilted my head.

"Because she had the more competitive solo."

"Oh, so it was set up. She'll probably win anyway," Ursula shrugged. "I care that I did well, not what place I get. Same for Joanne."

"You'll never go anywhere with that attitude!"

"No, just New York Ballet and the Cirque du Soleil," I responded blandly. The producer backed off after that.

Asia performed her solo half an hour later, and looked great onstage. She definitely needed to work on her technique but I definitely thought that she'd win her division. Maddie and Kendall, meanwhile, were well-matched. Both had Contemporary solos that highlighted their strengths, and did very well with them. They hugged each other backstage, so I guess they'd worked out their differences. Good, they were old enough to learn that lesson.

Asia and I had cute costumes for the duet, and the older trio had stunning blue Lyrical costumes. Abby gathered us together in the dressing room. "First, my younger duet. Asia, you didn't look good in rehearsal, but you're a performer. You need to step it up onstage. My trio, you have a beautiful dance, so you need to be in sync and be expressive. Nicaya and Nia, your technique needs to look good against Ursula's."

The trio went first, and I thought that they excelled with their story about three sisters who were reuniting after a long time. Nia in particular shone, I had to say.

"You got this," I told a nervous Asia backstage. "Go out there and dance like you know that you can."

Asia kept up through the dance, but barely, though she definitely made it up through her facials. She was quite tired by the end of the dance.

"I feel like that was bad," she pouted to me.

"It was a bit rough, but it's just your first week. You'll get better," I assured her, and she nodded.

The group dance was nice, if a bit boring, and there was a gimmick with an American flag that didn't quite work. Asia was supposed to run across the stage with it but the timing was off... I just didn't like it. Eventually, awards came around and we all sat together.

"Hey, Joanne," I heard an unfamiliar voice whisper. I turned to see a dancer from another studio looking at me.

"Hi," I said unsurely.

"How rude- I'm Lyra," the girl, who looked to be around fifteen, said, shaking my hand. "I just wanted to say that I loved your Oscars performance. It was really striking."

"Thank you," I smiled. "It was an incredible experience."

Duo/Trio awards were up first, and Asia shifted nervously beside me through the whole top ten.

"Third place Junior Duo/Trio, that's Joanne and Asia from the Abby Lee Dance Company."

I stood to get the award, putting on a smile. It wasn't too bad, but Abby would certainly be upset. The trio won the Teen division, which wasn't a surprise.

"First place in Mini solos, that's Asia from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

Asia grinned, relieved, and Abby looked a bit happier with her.

"Second place in Junior solos is Kendall from the Abby Lee Dance Company. First place in Junior solos is Maddie from the Abby Lee Dance Company."

Maddie was thrilled, and she and Kendall congratulated each other. Good, much better than last time.

"Second place in Senior solos, scoring 296.7 points, is Ursula from the Abby Lee Dance Company. First place in Senior solos, the overall high score of the day with 298 points, is Joanne from the Abby Lee Dance Company."

Ursula and I took the awards gracefully, happy for each other. Those were high scores.

The group dance placed third, and Abby was fuming in the dressing room. I tuned her out, too tired to bother, and looked forward to a few weeks at home and not traveling to LA for anything before a break in filming.