Not The Same (sequel to "Abby Ultimate Dance Competition: Season of Love")

Chapter 24

Ricky decided to teach me a new solo, in order to give the segment a sense of reality. We started working on Ballerina, by Jeremy Shada, which I had actually been really looking forward to starting. We talked about story, and even though it is a love song, Ricky really wanted this to be a solo. We talked about the elements of the dance, but in the end decided that the transitions and technique would be the most important aspect to this piece. We wouldn't focus too heavily on actual ballet, but there would definitely be some incorporated. With such a present beat throughout the song, we would play with isolations into my standard pretty lyrical, overall giving me a contemporary dance, something I was really excited about.  The cameras sat on us for the whole discussion, which felt weird, considering this is usually a private, intimate, moment. 

"Should we try it?" Ricky stood up and sent me to the center of the room. "Do you want to improv and feel the music first, or jump right in?" He asked and I decided to feel the music first, to which I jumped right into. I relied heavily on ballet and technique, being sure to show that four years at Joffrey paid off. When I finished, there was a smattering of applause, and Ricky nodded slowly. "Do you want to use some of that? I really like that turn sequence you did in the center, for the heavy guitar part. Show me it again." He stood slightly in front of me, so we could see each other in the mirror, and I did the turn section again, and we were off. The cameras came close to me, almost invading my personal space. They filmed a lot of my feet, so I paid extra attention to my technique and lines. 

By the time Zack, Brianna, Hadley, Jordyn, and their moms all walked in, I had almost finished the routine. All the moms were dressed up so nicely, ready to be on TV again. The girls hair and makeup were all done up nicely, and Zack had definitely put some gel in his hair, most likely at the request of his mom. They were all ushered out by a production manager who was carrying a stack of clipboards filled with photo release waivers. Ricky was swept away to the next studio to do his interview with Kevin, and as everyone came back in, I continued to run the solo. Brianna sat in front of the mirror, playing the music for me, fully invested in the dance. Jordyn slid in next to her, and Zack and Hadley stood off to the side, watching intently. I got to the turn section we used from my improv, which is where we had ended.

"Mads, that's so good!" Jordyn clapped and I smiled, walking over to the moms, who nodded eagerly in agreement. Mom handed me my water and smoothed out my hair.

"Probably one of my favorite dances to date. It's different than what you usually do, but not too different that you're afraid of it." Mom smiled and she was entirely right. That's always been my greatest weakness as a dancer, and Ricky knew that, so I'm guessing that's why he chose today to show it off and learn it. I walked over to Hadley and Zack, who gave me a hug and rub his hand on my back in small circles.

"About how much do you have left on it?" He asked as I took a sip of water.

"Probably like thirty seconds? We did most of it, it's relatively short." I guesstimated and he nodded, impressed. He kissed my temple and I dragged them over to Brianna and Jordyn who were reviewing Party in the USA, which we learned the other day. Hadley and I jumped in, trying our best to work through the problem areas without Ricky. Hadley took charge, since that was her style, and did a pretty solid job of correcting us as needed. 

"What's the plan today? What are we running?" Brianna asked me as we stretched out on the floor. 

"Ricky said earlier that we'll learn a group dance to Levitating for about an hour, which will be hip hop, and then the little kids will come in and we will learn Shake it Off and vibe for about an hour and a half, and then be out around 6:00, and then the segment will air at 8:00 tonight." I explained, and they had the same reaction I did to the oddly quick turnaround time. "I know, I know. But we aren't the editors!"