DANCING THROUGH LIFE, dance moms

Chapter 9: Another Competition

CHAPTER NINE

The next day, I waited in the studio for Abby to come teach me my solo. I bent over and touched my toes before Abby walked in.

"Okay, Hailey. This week, your solo is called "Can Anybody Hear Me?". You need to bring yourself to a really deep, dark place inside your mind. I need to see that emotion on your face. Can you do that?" Abby asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

I nodded. "Yes, Miss Abby."

"Then let's get started. Okay, so you're gonna start down on the ground, with your knees pulled up to your chest and your head in your hands. You're gonna lift one of your hands away from your face and bring it out to the side." Abby explained.

I nodded and got down on the ground, doing as she said. "Good. Okay, now get up. And I wanna put a set of a la secondes in there. Five of them." Abby said.

I got up off the ground and did the turns. One, two, three, four, five. Learning the rest of the dance took about an hour, and by the end, I felt confident that I knew all of it.

Miss Abby looked at me. "That was great, Hailey. I have a feeling this could be one of my favorite solos I've choreographed yet."

I grinned. "Thanks, Miss Abby!"

"You're dismissed. Send Nia in." Abby said, smiling back.

I skipped out of the studio, happy with Abby's comments on my solo. Saying that it might be one of her favorite solos yet was a big compliment, and I didn't want to let her down by getting anything less than first place.

-

Later, Abby - well, the producers, not Abby - told all the kids and the moms to meet at her desk. I wondered what could be so important that she wanted us to meet together with our moms. Paige and I walked to the desk together, arms linked together.

"Okay, girls. And moms. I have some bad news. The competition director just called me and told me that...Dance Explosion has been canceled." Abby said, putting her head in her hands.

I frowned, and so did Paige. I knew that she really liked her solo this week, and she obviously didn't want to give it up.

"Well, can't we find another competition to go to?" Paige's mom, Kelly, asked.

"I'm trying to find one right now. Just sit tight and we'll figure something out. But no matter what, I'll find you girls a place to dance this weekend." Abby reassured us.

We all nodded. I ran back to studio B with Paige, where we were taking an acro class. Kendall was there, too, but I guess Paige didn't want to hang out with her today.

Speak of the devil, Paige walked up to me with the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her face. "Guess what?" She asked excitedly.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

"My mom's letting me have a pool party at my house on Sunday!" She exclaimed.

"Awesome! Who all's going?" I asked, smiling.

"Pretty much everyone. You, Chloe, Maddie, Nia... The only not-so-great part is that Brooke and my brother, Josh, get to invite some friends too. I like Brooke's friends, but they're all older and they'll just ignore us. And Josh's friends are all boys, so..." Paige trailed off.

I smiled. "I think it's gonna be fun!"

"Me too!" Paige said. We moved up the line, closer to the mat that was serving as a tumbling track.

Soon enough, it was my turn. Right now, we were working on front aerials. It was one of my favorite tricks - one of the things that the choreographers would consistently put into my solos at my old studio.