Maika
Saturday, the day of the Towa Dance Competition
As my alarm rings, I quickly get out of bed and change into my black leotard, pink tights, and gray sweatpants. I head to the bathroom and wash my face and brush my teeth. "Big day. This will be my last dance." I sadly sigh but then breathe in and weakly smile. "I need to smile so I can get points for expressions,"
I head back to my room and get my duffle bag and grab my costume on the hanger. As I exit my house, I start sprinting towards Towa Hall. "Dang it, I missed the bus!! If I miss barre I'm screwed,"
"Hey, Maika!" I hear a voice shout behind me.
"Wait up!!" Another voice yells. I stop and turn around to see Watari, Tsubaki, Kaori and Kousei on bikes riding towards me.
"Hey guys!! Sorry but I'm running late," I explain out of breath.
"Hop on and we'll get you there in no time!" Watari says. I quickly stand on the back of his bike. "Hold tight!" He starts peddling at full speed as the rest of them follow.
"Why do you have to be there so early?! Doesn't the contest start around two?" Tsubaki asks.
"Yeah but they test us on barre technique before the actual competition," I clarify. I look down at my phone to check the time. 11:00 a.m.
"Thirty minutes till barre!! I still need to stretch!" I announce.
"Almost there!!" Watari says as we approach the building.
The contest hall becomes clearer in view as we approach it. His bike comes to a sudden stop as we flip off and land on my feet. "Thanks for the ride!! I'll see you inside!!" I yell and wave back at them.
"Good luck!!" Kousei and Watari yell back.
"Break a leg!" Kaori and Tsubaki cheer.
I head inside and run to the dressing room. The other girls are already ready and stretching and practicing. I put down my stuff and put my hair up into a bun. I get my assigned number which turns out to be five and start stretching and warming up. Around me, girls surround me, all in their own cliques. Many of them are from local dance schools. Because my mom is the only one that can pay for my classes, I opted to not enroll in a dance school ever since last year, but obviously, that doesn't deter me from competing still. They help each other warm up and talk amongst themselves. A part of me misses studio life but another part is thankful--if I had to say goodbye to my friends at the studio in my condition, my heart would break even more.
• • •
After the barre section concludes, I change into my dress for my dance and tie the ribbons on my pointe shoes around my ankles. The deep crimson velvet hugs my figure and baby pink silk covers the upper chest area, roses lining the top where the straps are. At the bottom of the deep v-cut neckline, another rose meets in the middle and a rose gold applique trails down to my tutu. The tutu is adorned with layers of tulle that resemble rose petals. On the inside closest to my body, the tulle matches the red of the bodice, then fades to a pale pink on the edges. I look around at the sea of contestants in their costumes after examining mine. Girls in dresses for Swan Lake, Cinderella, Giselle, Red Shoes, etcetera, surround me. I stick out like a sore thumb since I'm not doing a popular ballet.
I exit the dressing room and practice alone in the empty hallway. "Okay, arabesque step through chassé, preparation attitude turn... Ugh, I should've practiced more..." I mumble in frustration.
"Are you okay Maika?" I hear someone ask.
I turn and see Watari standing in front of me. "No, I'm so not prepared, this dance is going to be horrible," I reply. "Just leave now before I make a fool of myself in front of everyone,"
"That's not possible for you. Your dancing is amazing," He compliments.
I blush and step back. "Thanks, Watari... But, um.." I start to say when a couple of girls come out of the dressing room.
"Oh my gosh, he's hot!" One of the girls exclaims.
"Why is he back here?"
"Who cares! Hey, what's your name?" The girl shouts out.
"You should get going," I say.
"Yeah," Watari says. Before he leaves, he pulls me into a hug. "You don't need any luck to win. I know you will," He whispers into my ear and leaves the hallway.
"Intermission is now over. Please head back to your seats." A person over the P.A. announces. The two girls head back into the dressing room and leave me alone in the hallway. I stand there frozen for a couple of seconds when I snap back into reality and continue to rehearse.
After four performances, I get called up for my turn. In the wings, I peak out as the fourth performer walks backstage. Seeing the hundreds of people in the auditorium makes me start to sweat and I can hear my heart beating louder and faster in my chest. I breathe in and out before I head out onto the stage. As I walk out from behind the wings, the audience begins to hush. I take center stage, kneeling on my right knee with my left foot stabilizing me in the front while turning out. My arms are rounded on my sides and I lift my chin. After locking into my starting position, I freeze. My mind suddenly goes blank, as if my entire routine was wiped from my memory.
"No, no no! This can't be happening, I knew I wasn't prepared at all!" I look out into the audience and see my four friends in the middle section. They quietly cheer me on in the hushed crowd and I catch a glimpse of Watari.
"You don't need any luck to win, I know you will,"
His words bring ease to my heart and I close my eyes. At this point, I'm not here to win. I'm here on this stage to make myself proud. Dance isn't just about memorizing choreography, it's about emotion and expression. Showing the audience how you feel through movement when words aren't enough to convey that message. I have to make this last dance count, it's now or never. The fruits of my labor over my entire life will show now.
I open my eyes and the entire auditorium is empty, except for Kousei, Tsubaki, Kaori, and Watari in the middle of the auditorium and I smile.
Kaori's first note fills the auditorium and I move by instinct, crossing my arms over my chest in an X on the first note and then releasing them on the second to mimic wings, and then raising them above my head with my elbows rounded. On the four long notes, I bring my arms down to my sides again, starting with my right while looking to the side, and repeating on my left, and then stand up on my leg. I use my left leg to rond de jambe to the back, the step up to sous-sous, my left foot meeting my right. For the remainder of the slow intro, I turn over my right shoulder while I bourree and continue to use my arms to mimic wings.
"Now for the hard part," I look at Kaori in her seat and her eyebrows furrow with anticipation.
On the first note of the allegro section, I plie and then spring up to pique while en pointe, following with a battement of my right to create a vertical line with my legs. Once my leg comes down, I swing my right leg to the side and jump to point my left as I travel forward, then repeat for the other side. I go back up to sous-sous, then step out on my left foot and plie, extending my arms to create a diagonal with my body. Using my left foot, I push off to go into a coupé turn, then a piqué turn, and finish with an attitude turn while holding my pose until the last note ceases in that succession.
During the pianist's part before the song kicks up the tempo even more, I run to the back left corner of the stage and prepare in b-plus with my right leg in the back. Once Kaori starts playing again, I begin a waltz-turn combination, my pointe shoes brushing across the floor and I lean back and forward as if someone is pulling me by my feet and hands as I travel. I follow up with three soutenu turns and then balancé to the right, and then the left before glissade and pas de chat. I start to travel to the left as I tombé, step into pas de bourrée, glissade again, and then finish with a grand jeté.
My body moves like a brush coloring an empty canvas. To the audience, I will paint this stage red with my blood, sweat, and tears of my youth as a dancer, I will mark myself into your life so no one here ever forgets the end of Akiyama Maika, the ballerina whose career ended before it could even start. As the end of the song approaches, I do countless amounts of fouettés that match each note's length. On the second to last note, I step out on my right into another attitude turn, then slide my left foot through into b-plus, raising my right arm above my head and placing my left hand on my hip.
The last note rings throughout the auditorium as the song ends and I pant for air while maintaining my pose. I blink once again and the audience reappears for me wide-eyed and stunned. The crowd gets on their feet and roars and cheers fill the auditorium. In the distance, I see Kaori, Tsubaki, Kousei, and Watari cheering and clapping loudly, I can actually distinguish their voices in the crowd. I smile widely and curtsey deeply. The blinding stage lights shine in my eyes once I straighten up and my father's face fills my mind, him smiling down upon me.
Tears well in my eyes at the thought of my father. "Did you watch me, dad? I hope you're proud,"
After thirty more acts, all of the competitors line up on the stage. The other girls whisper to each other, nervous about what place they got. I ignore everything and breathe in. It doesn't matter what place I got. In my heart, I did well and that was my best dance. Although it was improvised, I gave everything I got. I've made up my mind, after this, I'll leave my pointe shoes and the stage behind in the past.
"All of you girls did a fantastic job with your dances, but only one of you will win and be able to attend the Accademia Teatro Alla Scala for the summer course." The announcer says. "Will these three competitors please come forward."
After she says the two names, I hear her announce, "And Akiyama Maika." Girls around me start to whisper as I walk up to the front of the stage.
"And the winner of our 2014 Towa Dance Competition is..." As the announcer opens the envelope with the winner inside, I can feel the tension rising. She smiles and looks at the three of us. "Akiyama Maika. Congratulations."
Everyone applauds and my eyes widen in shock. My entire performance was improvised on the spot but I still won? I slowly walk towards the table on stage with medals and trophies lying out for display.
The director of the competition shakes my hand and hands me a bouquet of lush flowers. Another sponsor of the show places the medal around my neck and grants me the golden trophy and I hold it in my free hand.
I look towards my friends who are cheering for me and I smile. My last performance... It's hard to believe this is really it, but it's for the best. I pray that in the future I'll be able to return to the stage, but for now, I'll leave this paradise behind on a high note.
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The costumes that inspired Maika's ♥