Dancing With My Eyes Closed :•: A DANCE MOM FANFIC:•:

Maddie's Mistake

This week, we weren’t in Pittsburgh because we were going to the Joffery ballet auditions in New York City.

We were also doing a competition. Our group dance was about jail and Maddie, Chloe and I all had solos.

It had seemed like forever since I had a solo, and I was excited to dance one again.

It was called “Jigsaw,” and it was a lyrical routine. Abby didn’t give me a whole lot of jazz dances anymore, and she told me it was because “cute doesn’t work forever.”

Plus, I had filming for The Christmas Trap Monday through Friday, but luckily, we were right by it, so I could go directly from there to dance.

I felt like it was a lot to learn a solo, a group, and an audition piece in one week. The same week I had filming. Plus, Abby said we couldn’t mess up and risk ruining her reputation at this competition.

Both the boys and Chelsea stayed with Dad an extra week, even though Mom offered to let them stay home with David.

Respectfully, no fricking way.

On Wednesday morning, Nate said that he was gonna talk to Mom about David while I was filming. And if she didn’t do anything, we were gonna tell Dad.

Asher and I were nervous, too, for no reason we could pinpoint. I was glad that I had Nate, to stand up for us.

It was the day of the Joffery audition, and my mom pinned my number on my back.

“813, Alice”

“Go, go in, they mean you. Tell them how to say your name, please.”

“Hello, are you Alice?”

“It’s, it’s pronounced Alyce,” I said nervously. My heart was beating. There were 3 judges in the room, and they looked like they could be mean if they wanted to.

God, I hated it when people were mean to me. Like my mom or David or Miss Abby.

My routine held a lot of turns and a straddle leap. My stomach felt weak, and I hoped my legs could hold me up.

I kept my dance face on, the one where you don’t show you’re in pain or that you want to quit.

“You seem like a very, very wonderful performer, honestly. You are definitely an actress,” the judge on the left said.

“Indeed. You were shaky at moments, I feel like the technique could use some work,” the middle judge said, looking at notes she had taken on her paper.

“The technical things really need to be focused on. Yes, your feet were pointed, and your legs were straight, but there were times when you could see that starting to fizzle out. Your transitions were honestly beautiful, though. You definitely could have a future in dance if you work towards it,” the last judge said.

“How was it?” Maddie asked when I came out.

“They called me an actress and said I had good transitions, but that I needed to work on keeping my technique strong the whole way through,”

Maddie smiled at me, “I hope you, me, and Chlo all get the scholarship. Then we can be ballerinas together.”

“We could have our own musical,” Chloe said brightly, coming into our conversation. We all hugged, and then Maddie was called back.

Finally, it was the day before the competition. Abby and I were doing the final rehearsal for my solo.



My dad, his fiance, and my brothers and sister were all going to come to the competition.

Layla had a daughter named Aleah, who was also a dancer. She takes dance in New York, but if they move down here, she might take classes at the ALDC. Layla also has a son, a year younger than me, named Avi.

Aleah’s 10, and she’s really good at ballet and hip hop (really strange combination). She’s really good at turning, but her acro isn’t good at all. We’ve been trying to get her to learn a proper form for back handsrpings and walkover, but she’s all over the place.

She’s really fun to hang out with, though.

We were backstage at the competition and were called on for our group.

My costume had the same top as Paiges, but all black, and the same skirt thing as Mackenzie.

The “jail cells” were honestly kind of falling apart on stage. Really, couldn’t they have gotten us better quality ones?

Our group got 10th, and Abby was humiliated, she told us. Cathy beat us with 1 point, and we were the national champions.

I felt bad because Miss Abby was crying, but we all did our best. It just wasn’t a good dance.

Then it was time for solos.

My category, the minis, was first, but I was the last one to go out.

“So I’ll wait for you guys in the wings when I’m done, and we’ll go back to the dressing room together,” I told Chloe and Maddie as we walked down the hall in our solo costumes.



“Now announcing number 627, Alyce with Jigsaw.”

I wall out on stage and lay down as I wait for my music to start.

If changin’ my clothes would make you like me more
If changin’ my hair would make you care
Then I’d grab the kitchen scissors
And cut myself to slivers
For you
If being more polite would keep you satisfied
If being less insane would make you stay
Then I’d be more like my sister
Say, “Thank you, ma’am and mister”
To you, for you
I’ve changed every part of me
Until the puzzle pieces aren’t me at all
I look in the mirror, now I’m just a jigsaw-aw
You take every part of me, all of the things you need
Then the rest, you discard
I look in the mirror, now I’m just a jigsaw-aw

During the dance, the part where I do my side aerial the music skips. I stumbled a bit on my next move, but luckily kept going.

The crowd cheers, and I run to the wings.

“Can I wait here? For my friends?” I ask the stage manager quietly.

He covers the mic he was wearing with his hand, “You have to be quiet, okay?” I nodded and watched the other girls dance with him.

Finally, it was Maddies solo. It was called “In my Heart,” lyrical obviously. It kinda sucked for Maddie. She never got to do anything new or different.

Maybe she didn’t make mistakes because she was used to how it worked.

Then the worst thing happened. She forgot. She stopped dead in the stage and started running off crying.

She was in the wings with us, begging the stage manager through tears to let her go again. He tried to comfort her while I hugged her from the side.

She squeezed my hand, tears pouring down her face.

After Chloe had gone, Me, Melissa, Chloe, and Kenzie were in the dressing room, trying to make Maddie feel better.

The moms got in an argument with Abby about Maddie’s special treatment again when they got back to the dressing room.

Chloe got first in her division, and I got second in mine.

We didn’t really get to celebrate it at all because Abby was still focused on Maddie.