we arrive at the studio for another week and everyone seems excited to perform
|Chalkboard|
" i want talk about this upcoming weekend it's regionals everybody knows how important that is" Abby says
Abby turns the chalkboard around and i beam with my placement this week
Maddie
Chloe Camila
Paige Brooke Nia Vivi-Anne Mackenzie
"we are going to Star Power, you know that's one of the toughest competitions out there." Abby says
"this is what's going to happen for this weekend, Maddie new solo, Brooke new solo, Chloe new solo, Camila new solo"
i smile
"now the age categories are a little different so we wanna make sure your dances reflect you as a dancer now not the beginning of the season" Abby says
"we are doing a new group routine this week and everybody is in it the entire cast it is called Where Have All The Children Gone"
i gasp
the older girls and Brooke did this dance a couple of years ago!
"this is a routine about children who become missing you've all seen the children faces on the milk carton it's contemporary it's mature and it is very dark you have to be great actresses to pull it off and they're all in white like their angels, i don't want any discrepancies, moms i'm going to go ahead as dismiss you now we have lots of work to do up let's get moving" Abby says
|Group Rehearsals|
we learn the group routine and it's really creepy and i'm nervous i won't be able to be like the big girls
"come in close listen to me, you're doing steps you're trying to listen to the words you're not interpreting the story correctly and this is very serious because maybe people in the audience have had a child that's gone missing so you're going to touch somebodies heart so this has to be a very serious routine and right now you're just doing the steps and we need to get past that and we need to perform, do you two understand? it's very serious" Abby says
|Three Days To Competition|
|Solo Rehearsal|
this week my solo is a new one so i'm a bit nervous but i'm excited because it's a Tangled theme routine
to the song I See The Light and it's lyrical
"you missed a turn there" Abby calls out
i fix myself and i do the routine
"alright that looks good, now you're going up against Maddie which you've never done before let's see if you'll rise to the occasion" Abby says
i nod
i hope i can beat Maddie
|Two Days To Competition|
before rehearsal mommy is taking us to visit our great-grandmothers house because she's really sick at the moment..
"thanks for coming with me kiddos" mommy says
"it's no problem" Chloe says
"i'm excited to bring you guys here, this is the base" mommy says
mommy parks the car in the driveway and we go to the from lawn
"i used to make Jodie my sister do recitals in the front yard all the time" mommy says
"we used to do this wait come in i used to go i'm going to bring you out and spin you back in..my poor sister and i used to try to do this crazy lift..you ready" mommy says and she lifts Chloe up i laugh
"wait Cami come here" Chloe says
Chloe does the dance with me and i squeal when she lifts me up
mommy laughs
"go get in the car" mommy says
me and Chloe laughs and we get in the car
|One Day To Competition|
|Group Rehearsal|
"you ran and you ran nod you stop, give me a hand" Abby says to Chloe
"Paige figure out where you're supposed to be"
we continue the dance and i really like all my bits
|Competition Day|
we drive to the parking lot to get on the bus
mommy helps us with our luggage
"yous two go on the bus" mommy says
me and Chloe get on the bus and i sit beside Paige
mommy and Kelly then get on the bus and we head to the competition
me and Paige watch some movies on the bus
we get to the competition and we head to the dressing room
mommy helps me with my hair and Chloe does my makeup
"can i have everybody gather up so i can talk to everybody i want eye contact here, there's people here from all over the place and the reason is it's the last regionals to qualify for their nationals so i need to be on the A game today you have a new solo today, you have a new solo today, you have a new solo today and you have a new solo today" Abby says
"i was going to have you dance in whatever the next age group is nine to eleven, you've had a really easy year you're eight and under, you're eight you're on top of the age group yes? everybody else is at the bottom of their age scale so i'm going to bump you up and put you on the younger age scale just so we see how it is alright?" Abby says to Maddie
so now i'm not against Maddie but Chloe is now against Maddie and i don't think that's fair
we start getting ready for the solos
Camilas solo costume with the hair clip around the bun:
"where is Brookes costume?" Kelly asks
Brooke gets her costume out
"that looks like Mackenzie would wear that" Melissa says
Abby soon gets Brooke to wear Vivis top
we head backstage for the solos and i hold Chloe's hand
Chloe enters for her solo first
i really like her solo this week
she finishes her solo and i give her a huge hug
Maddie enters for her solo
and her solo so really really good
Maddie finishes and exits the stage
i give her a quick hug
i hand my jacket to Chloe before i go on for my solo
"good luck, remember use your face and technique" Chloe says
"yup" i smile
"in the eight and under category this is Camila with I See The Light" the announcer says
i enter for my solo and my music starts and i try to make everything clean
to show i can do mature dances
i finish my dance and i exit the stage and Chloe and Paige hug me
|Solo Awards|
"the top five eight and under category" the announcer starts
Chloe takes my hand as the places get announced
"your first place eight and under soloist that is Camila Lukasiak from Abby Lee Miller" the announcer says
i smile and Chloe cheers as i get my award
for Chloe and Maddies category
Chloe got second
and Maddie first
Brooke then does her solo without the costume she was given but whatever
Brooke got sixth with her solo
|Day 2 Of Competition|
we get to the dressing room and we get ready for the group routine
Camilas costume and hair:
we go to the hall to go over the routine
then we head backstage and i'm a bit nervous i won't be able to do it like the big girls can
"please welcome to the stage, Where Have All The Children Gone?" the announcer says
we enter the stage and Brooke starts the dance off
i try to make my emotion as good as possible
and one by one we all exit the stage and Brooke is the last one who exits the stage last
|Group Awards|
"ladies and gentlemen the highest scoring routine of the day goes to entry number 250 Where Have All The Children Gone?" the announcer says
we all cheer
we're going to nationals!