Feeling exhausted yet accomplished, Holliday walked out of the audition room with confidence. She knew that she had just given the best performance of her life. She let her love of dance take over any feelings that she may have been experiencing and lost herself to the music.
She had been dreaming of dancing Giselle since she was a little girl. It was her number one goal and she knew that she had to remain focused and determined. Even though, Holliday knew that Natasha would probably dance the role of Giselle, she couldn't help but keep a small ounce of hope that she would be cast as the lead character.
If she danced in the Jazz version of Giselle then doors would be wide open for her dance career that she could never even imagine. It's the most sought after performance and is considered a high honor to be selected to dance any lead character.
Holliday could barely contain her excitement. All the years of training and hard work had prepared her for this one performance and she was more than ready.
Walking back into the dressing room, she saw Madison already dressed in jeans and texting on her phone. Madison had already auditioned earlier that morning.
As Holliday sat next to Madison, she questioned, "Why are you already dressed to leave? I thought you wanted to stay and practice for the Halloween performance?"
Madison jumped as if she didn't notice that Holliday was sitting right next to her and quickly hid her cell phone.
Looking nervous and embarrassed she answered, "I was but my mother is back home and demanding that I go somewhere with her tonight. Just make sure to stay in my wing and only text the cook if you're hungry."
"Why are you acting weird and hiding your phone?" Holliday asked knowing that something didn't feel right with her best friend's behavior.
Ignoring the question, Madison asked, "So, how was your audition?"
Holliday knew Madison was attempting to change the subject but she didn't care. Talking about dance brought joy to her life. She would question Madison about her mysterious texting later.
"It went amazing! That was truly one of my best auditions in my entire life! I nailed every part and could see that the judges were very pleased with my solo."
"That's great! I know you're happy especially after everything that has happened."
"I am. I probably won't get to dance as Giselle but I'm hoping for another character lead."
"You never know. Natasha is great and all but they may want to go in a different direction."
"You may be right but anyways, how was your audition this morning?"
"Mine was ok. I have no complaints but I also didn't do any complicated techniques," Madison stated nonchalantly.
Horrified, Holliday immediately questioned, "Why wouldn't you go over and beyond for your solo audition? This isn't the damn Nutcracker, this is Giselle!"
"I'm starting to think that you're not listening to me. I could literally give two fucks about any of this. I'm just hoping to be one of The Wilis because they come out in the second act. I will get to have my moment in the spotlight so my parents can see me then brag to their friends. Afterwards, I get my trust fund and I'm free."
"Damn Madison, you sure do know how to kill my vibe. I thought you were just stressed but I can clearly see that you really don't give a shit. I get it. But can't you at least be supportive and happy for me?"
"Are you serious right now? You live with me and eat my food! How is that not being supportive? Especially since I'm also giving you money since your dad cut you off and your mom won't even talk to you."
As much as Holliday's pride didn't want to admit it, she needed to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Madison. You've really had my back and I shouldn't have said that."
"Thank you. Well, I need to go but I will probably see you later tonight."
Holliday smiled and waved goodbye to Madison but low key, she was upset. She was tired of everyone always throwing it in her face what they do for her.
Doesn't it take a village to raise a child? Doesn't it take a team to make a superstar? Why couldn't everyone stop pointing out her flaws and help her achieve her dream!?
****
Later that evening while watching the recorded performance of Giselle, Holliday couldn't help but wonder if she should call her mom. It had been several weeks and she did miss her. Holliday then decided to text her mom instead to avoid the awkward tension.
Me: Hi mom. Just checking on you.
Mom: I'm fine but what do you really want?
Me: I don't want anything. I'm just speaking.
Mom: So you're not trying to move back or asking for money.
Me: No, I'm not. I have a place to stay AND money. I truly didn't need anything. I'm sorry, I didn't know that I couldn't check on you since you live alone now.
Mom: Where are you living? Your grandma told me that you aren't staying with your dad. I guess you and your new best friend didn't get along.
Me: I'm with Madison but I'm sure you knew that as well since grandma knows. And if you're talking about Mendall then you should also know that she's not my best friend.
Mom: Well she must be because I heard that everyone came to your performance except for me.
Me: Are you serious right now??? You haven't been to any of my performances in years and you're mad that you weren't invited to ONE performance which happened to be the one performance that dad's girlfriend was at. I didn't even invite her!
Mom: Don't catch no attitude with me because I will still beat that ass. You're never too old so don't forget that.
Me: You know what? Forget it. I was reaching out because you're my mom but you're too bitter to see that you're hurting your ONLY child. I won't bother you again.
With that, Holliday turned off her cell and threw it across the room. She couldn't understand why everyone was against her with her mom being the worse of the bunch. How could any parent treat their child that way? She would never understand nor could she accept everyone's selfish intentions.
****
Over the next couple of weeks, Holliday remained focused on dance. She wasn't speaking to her mom or grandma due to the text conversation. She still wasn't speaking to her dad and Madison had been M.I.A. When Madison wasn't at CC's, she was gone but would never disclose her location. She always appeared secretive so Holliday just stopped asking.
During classes, Holliday made sure to fix all corrections given and even showed improvement in her dance abilities. Her focus and determination was undeterred. Everyone seemed to noticed and often made comments about how well she was doing even Ms. Dee. Holliday felt great and knew that she would be dancing a lead role in Giselle. Even though auditions were over, everyone was still being judge on the daily. Holliday couldn't wait until the characters were announced.
Although, Holliday wasn't performing at the grand opening of the Superdome Stadium, she was supportive and offered to assist in any way. She knew Ms. Cylla was watching her closely and she didn't want to make anymore mistakes that could cost her the certification. She continued to teach her students and went out of her way to provide additional assistance.
Holliday even helped Ms. Dee with rehearsals for the Halloween party at the Superdome Stadium due to her limping and constant headaches. The sudden weather change brought a chilly climate which caused Ms. Dee's knee to painfully ache often.
Andrea Mills, simply called Ms. Dee, was one of the original students of The Conservatory of CC. After graduation, she toured the world as a very popular dancer and guest performer. Ms. Dee also choreographed a few music videos and won many awards. She only came back to Diecedue to get married to her long-term boyfriend.
Rumor is that after returning back home early from a trip, she caught her fiancé in bed with another man. They started to fight and she ran out of the bedroom in an attempt to leave the house. In her distress state, she tripped and fell down the stairs. She suffered fractured disks in her back, a broken arm, broken ribs, head and neck damage which also caused vision impairment, and a busted kneecap with an torn ACL. Ms. Dee was twenty-five years old and would never dance again. At times during performances, Ms. Dee would appear sad. Some has even stated that they have seen her crying backstage.
Holliday used Ms. Dee's tragedy as a life lesson to never get involved in a serious relationship until her dance career was over. Being engaged or involved in an intimate relationship was career suicide. Holliday wasn't a virgin but she did have more dance shoes than sexual partners. She had made a vow to herself years ago to never allow anyone, including a guy, to rob her of the success that she would achieve. If only she could stop distracting her own self then everything would be back on schedule.
VOCABULARY
ACL: the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) form an X on the inside of the knee joint and prevent the knee from sliding back to front and front to back respectively. An ACL tear or sprain occurs when a sudden change in direction or pivot occurs on a locked knee.
Corrections: positive critique to ensure that the dancer is using proper safety while dancing. It's also guided instruction to fix a certain movement or step during a dance. The corrections should motivate the dancer to perform better as an individual and/or within a group performance.
Technique(s): the basis of all fundamentals of dance and to have some of these in your performance; Strength, Stamina, Expressive, Extensive, Posture, and Alignment.