To say that the moms were stressed would be an understatement. To put it lightly, they were absolutely freaking out! Abby, in her infinite generosity, had given the moms ten minutes to prepare for their first duet rehearsal. All of the moms were spread into four different rehearsal rooms however, they were all experiencing very similar emotions. Panic. And more panic.
|| This is insane! Who does Abby think she is? This is crazy! || - Ann Colin
"Okay, Ann, we need a game plan," As the smooth jazz music filled the air, it was clear that neither Joanne nor Ann were confident. Ann was fidgeting with just about everything: her ring, her bracelet, hell, even her hair! And Joanne's eyes couldn't stay still, constantly shifting from one place to another, trying to appear calm. It was true though, they did need a game plan, otherwise they were simply proving Abby right. And that was the last thing they needed.
Ann took in a slow, deep breath, taking a moment to collect her thoughts, "I think we need to keep it simple," Joanne's eyes went wide! Was this the same Ann who yelled at Abby because Hannah wasn't getting harder choreography? As Ann continued, it became clear what Ann's plan was, "Abby wants us to try and jam pack this routine so our daughters fail, because if that happens, she's right. If we make the routine simple, but effective, I think we let our daughters shine rather than the choreo," It was a smart idea. No one could deny that.
|| If Abby thinks that this will prove to us that we need her, she's dead wrong! Nobody knows their children's abilities better than their own mothers! || - Joanne Paolintino
Joanne's smile grew tenfold as she added on, "Which also means we have to do less work!" She let out a little laugh as she realised this. Joanne took Ann's hand and dragged her to the middle of the room, "Okay, so if we start them here, on the clicks they can hit a different pose each time," The two began devising quickly, knowing that they were running out of time until their children entered the room.
|| Joanne and I make a really good team! We're bouncing ideas off each other and we both know that we have to win so that we can prove Abby wrong! || - Ann Colin
The two woman were smiling and giggling, until the door opened and in walked in GiaNina and Hannah. Both girls looked nervous, they knew that their moms weren't choreographers, but they had been around dance enough to at least pick something up, right? They gave their moms nervous smiles, as if to reassure them, but really they came off more as grimaces. Ann was the one to break the ice, "So are we ready to get to work?" When no one responded, she continued, "So, Joanne and I were thinking," As she went on to explain the ideas that her and Joanne had, it was clear that neither girl was particularly enthused. It was jazz, and even worse, it was low energy jazz.
|| I know my moms trying her best! It's just not what I want to be doing for a duet! || - Hannah Colin
|| I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this! || - GiaNina Paolintino
The united front that the older women presented was quickly crumbling, as more and more time went on it was clear the Joanne was trying to make sure that Gia was showcased more than Hannah. Whether it was making sure Gia was slightly in front of Hannah the entire time or asking just Gia what she thought of the choreo, Joanne was doing anything to make sure Gia stood out! And Ann was getting a little sick of it!
|| I get that she wants to make sure this is a good dance for Gia, but Hannah is also in the dance! And she deserves to be featured just as much! || - Ann Colin
Though Ann kept her mouth shut, everyone could tell she was upset. Her pursed lips were the most obvious tell, keeping her lips closed but glaring daggers into Joanne's back. Ann was trying her best to stick to the plan, but Joanne made it difficult! Every two seconds Joanne wanted to change the choreo that they had come up with because Gia was pouting, and it was driving Ann wild!
"And, maybe here, Gia can have a little floorwork solo while Hannah does," Joanne paused, trying to think of anything, "Something else! You know?" She turned towards Ann, only to see the most fake smile plastered onto her face and patronisingly nodded her head. But honestly, Joanne didn't care! As long as Ann was agreeing with her, who cared? It didn't matter that Ann was fuming, she was letting Joanne walk all over her, without saying a word! This couldn't have worked out better for Gia!
|| You know what they say: If you're not willing to fight, you better be willing to take some punches! Or something like that! || || Nobody says that! Like, ever! || - Joanne and GiaNina Paolantonio
|| I can now see why Abby works alone! || - Ann Colin
The other rehearsal rooms weren't going much smoother, either. Michelle and Ashley were like the blind leading the blind! After listening to the song, neither of them had a clue where to start! They thought that the ideas would just come to them, but clearly they were not! After a couple moments of silence, Michelle decided to speak up, "Maybe, um, because the songs about, you know, friendship, they should like always be holding hands or something?" She was unsure, but she thought, even if it was a bad idea, at least it was a starting point!
|| Last time I checked, I paid Abby to teach and choreograph for my kid! If she's not doing that, why the hell am I paying her? || - Ashley Hosbach
Ashely, however disagreed, "Wouldn't that make it hard to do, literally anything?" Michelle paused, not having thought of that. She supposed it would, so she waited for Ashley to propose another idea. She waited. And waited, but either Ashley didn't have a better idea or just didn't want to share it.
"Ash, this is only going to work, if we actually work together," Michelle was shocked when the words left her mouth! Sure, she had been thinking them, but she didn't think that she'd actually be able to say them! Ashley was shocked as well! It wasn't like what Michelle had said was rude, or wrong, but she hadn't been expecting it. She also hadn't been expecting what came out of Michelle's mouth next, "Now our daughters are going to be in this room in," She checked her watched, then sighed, "Nearly six minutes, wanting to know what we came up with, so we need to make a start, like now!"
Ashley's eyes widened in realisation, "Okay, well, maybe we don't have them holding hands the entire time," Michelle deflated, clearly nothing she had said got through to Ashley! Quickly, Ashley continued, "Maybe instead we try to have them touching or connected throughout most of the piece! Like, not the whole time, obviously! But something!" From there the two began to work together, bouncing ideas off each other, never saying an outright no but instead building upon ideas, sharing what they thought their childrens strengths and weaknesses were.
|| Okay, maybe Michelle isn't as evil as I thought she was, sue me! || - Ashley Hosbach
Both women had grand ideas for this duet, and quite frankly, were excited to start choreographing it! So when the door opened to reveal their kids, they immediately started to explain it to them, hoping they would share the same joys! And it was working! Both Pressley's and Sarah's faces quickly shifted from apprehension to excitement the more their moms talked. It was thrilling!
|| I'm super excited because I know whatever our moms choreography will be nothing like what Abby does! || - Sarah Georgiana
And it was certainly not like anything Abby had ever choreographed! But not in a good way. Whilst both moms had good intentions, neither of them were choreographers, and it showed! The dance felt clunky and stagnant at points. It didn't show off either childs strong points, rather emphasising the weak ones. But if you just heard the room, you would've thought it was brilliant! There were giggles, and jokes coming out of the dance studio, sounds that had always been absent from the Abby Lee Dance Company.
Unfortunately, not everyone was enjoying themselves. Namely, Tricia. Stacey had completely taken over what was supposed to be a team activity and was running it like a dictatorship. And Tricia was most certainly not enjoying it. Not one bit. Especially, considering Stacey had decided that the style Abby had given them was more of a, suggestion. Which it was very much not.
|| Who does Stacey think she is? God! I just can't stand her! She's just so... bossy! || - Tricia Farrar
"So kids, Tricia and I were thinking that this duet would be a great opportunity to really showcase your abilities!" Now that was a sentiment that Tricia could get behind! The following statement however, "So, we've decided that the best thing to do is, ballet!" Stacey started clapping her hands and smiling, whilst Tricia could not hide the look of surprise on her face.
|| Is she crazy? Abby clearly said that the duet was supposed to be jazz! Ballet is like the total opposite of jazz! || - Tricia Farrar
|| Yes, Abby said they were doing a jazz duet but, Abby's not the one choreographing this dance, is she? For once, she can get a taste of her own medicine! || - Stacey Ketchman
As soon as the kids left the room to get their ballet shoes, Tricia turned to Stacey with a stunned look, "What was that?" Stacey looked at Tricia, questioning what she was talking about, "We did not decide that! You! You decided it would be ballet! We are supposed to work together, Stacey! We can't do that if you just do whatever you want!" Stacey just rolled her eyes and continued to ignore the other woman, enraging her more.
|| Lilli and I can both hear what's going on in the studio, so we're kinda just waiting for it to cool down before we go in, because honestly, we thought that a week without Abby would be calmer! || - Brady Farrar
"You can't just ignore me, Stacey! You kind of have to work with me," Stacey turned to face Tricia, eyes fixed in a glare. It was clear that she did not appreciate being talked to like that. Especially from someone like Tricia. Stacey knew what she was doing. She had experience that Tricia did not!
Smirking, Stacey decided that simple yet cutting would be the best way to deal with this, "Tricia, Lilli's been here for almost four years and never been kicked off and Brady wasn't even on the team when he was sent home, so maybe you should listen to me? I actually know what I'm doing," Tricia was left dumbfounded. Everyone knew it was best not to bring up Brady being sent home, because it was nasty and it still hurt his feelings, so to hear Stacey bring it up so nonchalantly was shocking!
|| I don't know who this woman thinks she is, but if she thinks I'm just gonna sit there and take it like she does with Abby, she's got another thing coming! I am no punching bag! || - Tricia Farrar
Both Lilli and Brady knew that if they didn't get back into the room quickly that they would not have a duet! They burst through the door, trying not to make it obvious that they had been listening to the women through the door. Neither Stacey nor Tricia seemed to care, however, as they were more focussed on not exploding at the other, especially in front of their kids. So, Tricia went along with Stacey' stupid ideas for possibly the world's most boring duet to the most fun music, even if she didn't like it.
Realistically, there was one mother who was fine with the task assigned, Sandy. Not because she was a choreographer! Not by any means, but she had watched Amelia and Max dance together for almost a decade, and you tend to pick up a few things. Whilst she somewhat wished that she had someone to bounce ideas off of, if she had to spend that much time with any of the other mothers, she might have lost her mind!
|| Do I have a clue how to start? No, but I know that my kids pick up quick and make things look effortless, so at least that's something! || - Sandy Hatchet
Sandy knew that if she tried to choreograph this routine from scratch that it would look like a dog's breakfast, so instead she thought back to other duets she had seen Max and Amelia do and parts that she liked. As she thought she had the music playing in the background and it hit her! She knew exactly what to do!
"Amelia! Max! Get your cute little tushies in here right now!" She called into the hallway, and very quickly heard the sound of quick footsteps as her response. When the kids entered the room, Sandy sat them down and put the music back to the start as she began explaining, "Okay, so I was thinking for this duet, you're going to play yourselves!" The kids looked confused so she continued, "But not yourselves now! Yourselves from three years ago!" Everyone in the room knew what Sandy meant by that.
Amelia tried to interrupt her mother, "Mom, do you really think it's a good idea to do a dance abo-"
Sandy very quickly shut her daughter down, "Not like that you ninny! Amelia, you're going to be the younger sister, who thinks growing up means that you have to keep your emotions to yourself while Max, you're going to play the older brother who's trying to show her that you have to smile through life!" It certainly didn't sound anything like what Abby would do. And that interested the kids.
|| I'm a little nervous, but more excited to see what my mom does! || || It does sound like Sandy has some good ideas! || - Amelia Hatchet and Max Fevoro
With that being done, the three of them made quick work of choreographing, working like a well oiled machine. And while Amelia and Max wouldn't choreograph for Sandy, she would rather give them a loose idea of what she wanted and they just took it to the next level. They just didn't know if they were ready for tomorrow.
Tomorrow they would have to show their dance to Abby.
authors note!
Hi guys! I'm back! Bit of a slow chapter, but don't worry next chapter Abby is gonna go feral! While it is very long I am so happy that you have read this far! Since the very beginning of writing DDD I knew I wanted a chapter like this, so I'm so happy that I can! It's so crazy to me that I've been writing DDD for like 3 years now! Like my mind is blown!
I love you all and hope you all have a happy and safe holiday and an amazing new year!
Question: How do you think the duets are gonna go? Which one are you most excited for?
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