Chapter 78

Abby was back the next week, and I requested to speak with her privately, which she was fine with. "I was just about to ask the same thing. Gia said that the group dance was a problem?"

"The producers wanted me to be the lead and portray an abused child. I explained that they were exploiting my trauma, but they ignored that so I said that I would sue, which I plan to. I did the first performance fine but had a panic attack afterwards. As a result, I forgot the solo during the non-judged performance, but the judges scored the choreography I'd been given."

Abby shook her head. "Were you seen crying?"

"No, Ursula and Opal made sure."

"Okay then. Well, at least you won. Thank you for letting me know."

"How is your mother?"

"She's better, and insisted that I be here. I'm not looking forward to the mothers."

I nodded. "They'll probably give you trouble, which I don't understand."

Abby dismissed me, and a bit later, gathered the dancers and mothers in for Pyramid. "I'm back this week. My mother and I agreed that this is important," she began. "I've put the pyramid together through a combination of reports from Gia and James, as well as competition results. On the bottom of the pyramid, Maddie. You had a winning tap routine, you got third. Brooke, you couldn't get close to Joanne when you went up against her. That's not okay. Kendall, you haven't won either, but I hear that you've been improving, so that's good. Chloé, you've been fine. But is that good enough? Ursula, you can't beat Joanne. That's your problem. Other than that, you're great."

Ursula held back an eyeroll. Abby continued on. "Asia, you win the Mini category, and you won with Lyrical. That's an improvement. Mackenzie, you and Asia won the duet, and you've been winning. Nicaya, I watched that duet, you were beautiful and you looked good next to Joanne. Nia, you haven't lost, you beat Brooke, you're consistent and strong."

"Hold on, Joanne forgot her dance, why is she so high?!" Jill demanded to know. Abby scoffed.

"I'm getting to that. Joanne, you should be on top of the pyramid, and I understand why you forgot the solo, but I have to punish you a bit. I want to thank you for leading the team while I was gone. Jill, when a kid can forget a solo and win anyway, that's when I don't yell at them. Paige, however, was our big winner!"

We all clapped for Paige. "Okay. This week, we will be in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Powerhouse Dance. This is a national competition, so you'd better be your best. The group dance is a Musical Theater piece, it's fun, it's a winner. Paige is the lead since she's the best Musical Theater dancer here. Paige and Nia, you'll be going head-to-head in the Teen division. Mackenzie, you're a Junior this week, and Asia, you have a solo in the Mini category. Joanne, you're getting a break from a solo, but you will be teaching the solos this week. Any questions? No? Good, everyone spread out."

Abby then told Brooke, Ursula and I that we'd be performing with the Senior group off the air, and that I would be performing off the air for a national solo title.

I actually thought that a Musical Theater piece was perfect for Vegas, and Paige was a confident lead. This dance was a nod to the Rat Pack and had some good content in it. I was happy to, one, not be the lead, and two, have a lighter dance to do.

Nia was the first one that I'd be teaching a solo to, and I was excited for this one. "This is an Open piece, that will show off what you're good at," I told her. "It's going to require a lot of acting; it's about someone who's rising to stardom. This is hard, so you'll have to put in extra practice. Start lying on the ground, legs tucked behind you, right arm extended above your head. Back to the judges. Watch your feet there. Okay, now..."

Nia was determined, and even though it was pretty rough, she knew the full dance in an hour. After dinner, I was able to see Kenzie for her solo rehearsal.

"You're getting dark Contemporary this week, so you're really going to have to act. You're very flexible so I want to use that to unnerve the judges. The key to this dance is changing up the pace, so going from flowing to sudden. The story is mature, but I think that you can handle it."

I had fun with this solo, using Kenzie's growing technical abilities with her flexibility. She was trying to learn all of the choreography in an hour, but I wanted her to focus on her movement quality instead. The idea threw her off because she was so used to just rushing through solos, though she was no brat and didn't make a fuss.

"I feel like I'm behind," she worried to me afterwards, joining me for dinner. "I usually finish learning a dance in thirty minutes."

"Well, that's because your usual solos aren't as hard as this one," I responded. "This solo is different. Not better, but different. You'll get it, I liked what you have done."

I did have time to teach Asia her solo that night. She was doing another Lyrical piece, with no tricks, and had some trouble with picking up the choreography.

Paige came in early the next day to learn her solo, a cool, themed Contemporary about a 70's environmental rights activist. It required a lot of exact movement and great technique, which was still a bit of a struggle for her, at least by my standards. "Turn your foot out more," I reminded her for the fifth time. "Then when you flex it there's more of a difference."

Kelly was sitting in the room, watching and filming. Paige, a bit frustrated, turned to her mother, who just shrugged. "You wanted a harder solo, Paige, you got it."

Overall, I would say that solo rehearsals went well. I did manage to get a few run-throughs of my solo in, as I would be going for a title, and the group dance was also going well.

Competition came around a bit too quickly for my liking, as both Asia and Paige weren't where I wanted them to be. I got my solo out of the way first, then quick-changed for the Senior group dance. I stayed backstage to watch the rest of the solos.

Kenzie was brilliant to start off; she'd really worked hard and pulled off odd, difficult choreography well. The judges clapped for her, a great sign. Nia blew me away, as always, and I admired how consistently good she'd become. Holly had told me in private that she had different teachers for a few classes, and that was making a big difference for her.

Paige was definitely a bit rough, but she got through it and I was still proud of her. Asis surprised me with how well she did, proving to be an adaptable dancer. Abby had the four aired soloists stand in front of her as everyone else prepared for the Junior group dance.

"Nia, I loved your performance. That's a hard solo and you nailed it. Asia, I was pleasantly surprised, you did very well with Lyrical. Mackenzie, the people in the audience were gasping, you were so good."

"Contemporary is my thing. I'm proud of all of them," I smiled. Abby's gaze turned cold, and my smile faded.

"Even Paige?"

"Yes, she did make a few mistakes but that solo was hard for her and she did a good job."

Abby frowned. "You need higher standards. Paige, that was a mess. I'm disappointed."

Paige looked sad and lost, while Kelly immediately stepped up for her daughter.

"Look, she wasn't perfect as Joanne said, but she did her best and didn't make any visible mistakes. If I were a judge, I wouldn't take too much off."

"Yeah, but you're her mother, not a judge," Abby snapped. "Just when I was happy with you, Paige. You'd better excel in the group dance."

To Paige's credit, she didn't let the dressing room scene get to her, and was charming in the group routine. Awards brought good results, luckily.

"Your first place Mini soloist today is Asia from the Abby Lee Dance Company!"

"First place in Junior solos, with the second overall high score of 296 points, goes to Mackenzie from the ALDC!" That was the highest score that my cousin had ever gotten, and she was beaming. I cheered for her and hugged her when she sat back down.

"Your second-place Teen soloist today is Paige from the ALDC. Your champion Teen soloist today is Nia from the ALDC."

"Your overall high score soloist, with 297.8 points, your Senior Miss winner, is Joanne from the ALDC."

Both group dances won, wrapping up a week that would have been wonderful without the weird tension with Abby and Paige.