Dance, Sing, Love. Book 1 (english)

Prologue

We also danced in music videos, stage musicals, and films that required extras with our skills.

I loved my job, though sometimes it was really hard. We rehearsed for hours for Sylvia Clarke's new song because it was such a different style of music and had a awkward pace. Mistakes were easily made, and they were often not tolerated. Yet, the pressure wasn't unwarranted, because we were the best team out there and we were expected to be the best.

"Alice, more emotion! Kelly, dammit! Did you eat breakfast today? You're moving like you have no energy in your legs!" Among the many rips our choreographer, Miranda, barked at us. A tall blonde, no-nonsense, middle aged woman. After hearing her, girls pulled themselves together and properly danced various choreographed sequences.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the music. I felt the rhythm inside of me, becoming one with the accelerated pulse. In that dance hall, despite the open, it was hot and stuffy. I felt sweat rolling down my skin, and the muscles tense in my arms and legs. Fatigue weighed down on me as I focused intently on dancing with my group. We were like a single organism. Everything was perfectly synchronized.

I opened my eyes and looked at the huge mirrors extending along the walls. My long, brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, but quite a few wisps had fallen along my hot neck. My skin was usually pale, but now had become flushed with the exercise. Especially my face. I've never had a tan. The sun never liked me, and any attempt to get a good tan ended in sunburn. I stopped trying to sunbathe long ago. I wore minimal to no makeup to keep it from smearing down my sweaty face.

I was glad that I only lived a kilometer away from the studio i trained at. I hated to go out into the streets without makeup. I had a fairly sizable nose, unfortunately, which I got from my father, who is Italian. Without the help of contouring, there was no way of hiding it. I was not too happy with my mouth either, as my lower lip was slightly higher than my upper lip. The only thing I seemed to like about my face was my eyes. Chocolate brown with spots of gold. I was just an average looking girl, and nothing stood out about me among the other dancers.

Well, at least, I am better than most when it comes to rhythm.

"And again! Keep the rhythm! Kelly, if you make one more mistake, you'll be doing sit-ups again! And one, and two, and three, and turn! And one..." Miranda directed, watching us intently.

Immediately, I pulled out of my thoughts and came back to reality. I know this choreography by heart, and my body knows where to go without thinking consciously about it.

"Dammit, why is it that only Livia can dance this right? That's all for today. Tomorrow we will meet again at 9 am. And you all better be rested."

I smiled modestly as Miranda praised my efforts. She turned off the music. The rest of the dancers began to exit the hall. I craved a cold shower. I was starving, and only then did I realize it. When I dance, I tend to forget everything. Ordinary things like hungry, thirst, and fatigue become trivial and unimportant.

Suddenly, our manager walked into the room with a big smile on her face. Alexis was in her usual attire, a smart black suit and her short, fiery red hair artfully tousled.

"People, I have great news for you!" she announced, grimacing as the smell overpowering the room reached her nose.

Well, we definitely didn't smell so nice.

Everyone stopped and looked at her expectantly. I leaned against the wall, as my heart rate began to relax. I kept thinking about rinsing off in the showers of the locker room, and then enjoying a long, hot bath later at home. Yes, that idea was wonderful.

"I just received a call from an agent of a very famous singer. He wants to hire us for his entire tour. We're going to Europe!"

My best friend, Kathy, a tall, dark haired, freckled girl, looked at our agent and frowned. "Who?"

"Hmm, I forgot. One second..." the somewhat scatterbrained Alexis said, flipping through her notes on her tablet.

Kathy rolled her eyes, and a few people laughed.

"If he's so famous, how could you forget his name?" Mike exclaimed, amused.

For me, it was inconceivable, but Alexis did have an overwhelming number of responsibilities, and if that weren't enough, she walked with her head in the clouds. I had no idea how she coped with being a manager, but she really could organize everything well. Appearances could be deceiving.

"It's emotional. You know, soon we'll have loads of money and visit Europe," she said, distracted as she continued searching her notes. "Oh, here it is. His name is James Sheridan!"

Soon after, everything turned upside down. My whole world. I couldn't stop it. I tried to resist it. To fight the feelings that were rising inside of me. Day to day. Week to week. Month after month. But unsuccessfully. Until finally, I was lost.

Dancing meant everything to me... Until James came into my life.