This Isn't It (A Michael Jackson Story)

Chapter 5 - Fitting In

Suddenly, the door flies open. Everyone in the room turns around. Standing there is none other than Kenny Ortega, with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Alright, dancers!" He shouts.

He motions with his hands for everyone to come to him. Daniel and I stand up in sync and walk over to Kenny, just as the other 500 people in the room do.

"If you don't already know, I'm Kenny Ortega, the show director and a co-choreographer for Michael Jackson's 'This Is It'." He says.

We all clap and cheer.

"I will be bringing you all onto the audition stage in just a moment, and the auditions will start in approximately 10 minutes. The judging panel will consist of myself, Travis Payne, Stacy Walker, and of course...Michael Jackson."

Without even thinking I start to scream and cheer in excitement, but it doesn't matter because so does everyone else. Ten minutes. I will be in front of Michael Jackson in ten minutes. I have never been more excited in my life!

"Now if I have one piece of advice for everyone: raise the bar on yourself right now! Remember, the dancers in a Michael Jackson show are an extension of Michael Jackson. They're not an ensemble, they are an extension of the man." He articulates. "I wish everyone the best of luck!"

I clap and cheer once more along with Daniel and the rest of the dancers. Kenny walks out the door, and everyone eagerly follows him in a single file line.

"I honestly can't believe this is happening!" I whisper to Daniel.

"Well let's make sure we're not dreaming, Dani." He teases, pinching at my side.

I find myself laughing, but I'm trying my best to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. We walk down a large, long hallway where there is a man and a woman sitting at a table. I immediately recognize Travis from 'The Making Of Michael Jackson's Ghosts', which I watched a few days ago. He was one of the main choreographers for that music video. As each dancer reaches the table, they hand in their audition form and receive a pin-on identification number. The line slowly moves so that Daniel and I get closer and closer to the table. We get there after a couple of minutes, and we are immediately greeted by Travis and the woman.

"Welcome to the auditions." The woman says with a smile. "I am Stacy Walker and this is Travis Payne." She motions to the man sitting beside her. "We are the choreographers for 'This Is It' along with Michael Jackson."

I smile and hold out my form. Travis takes it. He picks up a identification number and hands it to me.

"Thanks." I say quietly.

He smiles and nods.

"Best of luck to you." He says.

Stacy takes Daniel's form and hands him his number. She is slightly shorter than Travis, and has large hoop earrings and sleek black hair. I continue walking as I struggle to pin the number onto my shirt. Once I succeed, I look down at my number. 346. I look behind me at Daniel, whose number is 347. I twiddle my fingers out of nervousness. I can't stop myself from rehearsing the dance in my head over and over again, and walking becomes a subconscious act. Before I know it, we are about to be divided into two doors.

"Dancers, may I have your attention!" Kenny calls from the front of the line.

I snap out of my thoughts and poke my head out to the side of the line in an attempt to see him.

"You will now be separated through male and female doors that lead to the same stage. To begin, we will have all the men perform their routine, and then the women."