Stella Skye Swift!

Dancers Gonna Dance

We arrive at the dance studio, and Delilah and Sarina thank my mom before going inside. We get out of the car, and Delilah and I go to one room, and Sarina goes to the other. Our dance studio has two rooms.

We slip on our Ballet shoes, put our bags in two cubby slots, and find two spots next to each other at the barre. We chat for the next five minutes before class starts. Then we snap our attention to our teacher. Ballet teachers tend to be strict. Twelve girls, including me, are in this class based on counting in the mirror. This class is maxed out! We start with a few simple barre warmups such as demi and grande Plié in all five positions, Relevé, Tondues, Dégagé, Frappé, and Rond de Jambe.

Our teacher, Mrs. Dennison, shows us a combination and starts the music. We follow along with her until we get on tempo. Then Mrs. Dennison walks around correcting us. I hold my breath when she gets to Delilah, who is in front of me, because that means I'm next. She fixes Delilah's turn out and has her stand taller. Then she moves onto me. She has me fix my arm and stand up taller. Then Mrs. Dennison moves on to the next kid. We finish barre work slower than I would prefer.

Well, I'd prefer if I didn't have to do Ballet at all, but I do it because I need it to improve my technique. That's also why I do a normal Ballet class and a Ballet technique class.

After barre work, we do Sauté, Changement, Echappé, and Pas De Chat. Mrs. Dennison makes a combination, and we do it after she turns on music. Then she reviews spotting, and we do Pirouettes. We start with two flat-foot holds, two holds on Relevé, four quarter turns, two half turns, and four single turns. If we want to, we can try to do four double turns after the four single turns. If not, then we can do another four single turns. We'll repeat this on the left.

The holds are easy, and I slightly nod to myself in the mirror as I lift my foot into Passé. My issue with quarter turns and half turns is that I have too much momentum, making it hard to stop. Somehow, I make it through the quarter, and half turns without over-turning and ending up a half or a single turn ahead of everyone else. I'm on fire as I do my single turns. Soon enough, it's time for our optional doubles, and of course, I do my doubles. Delilah and I are the only two kids in the class who are doing doubles, and based on the impressed look on Mrs. Dennison's face; we must be doing pretty well. My right side is my better side at almost everything except my scorpion. I'm a lefty for that one.

My left side is rough. I manage to nail my last two singles, and I see how my doubles are doing just for the heck of it. They're way better than my singles. I'll say that much.

After floor work, we do Chassés, Chaînés, and Piqué Tour across the floor. Yet again, Mrs. Dennison leads us through some combinations, and we follow her. We start with Chassés across the floor and switch legs during each one. We're lined up in two lines. I'm first in my line, and Delilah is first in her line. We're going to do the Chassé combination on the left and the right. Delilah and I high-five when we reach the other side. We were perfectly synchronized, unlike a pair who are going across the floor right now.

They're going up and down at different times. Mrs. Dennison pauses the music and says, "Girls, please watch each other and listen to the eight counts in the music. Please go back and try it again." The girls go back and start with their arms in an L shape and the opposite arm as leg out. Mrs. Dennison unpauses the music and shouts, "5, 6, 7, 8! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!" When they make it to the other side, the girls are bright red. Delilah and I give them sympathetic looks, and they return grateful smiles. Then they turn to face Mrs. Dennison. "Much better! Thank you! Let's do it on the left!" says Mrs. Dennison.

Delilah and I nail it as we have done all class so far! The two girls who weren't doing so well on the right make sure not to make the same mistake on the left. Delilah and I give them a thumbs up when they reach our side. They smile in exchange.