A Little Ambrosia For Your Day (Percabeth One-Shots)

Feel the Beat

Percy's POV

Percy couldn't tell whether he wanted to laugh from excitement or puke from nervousness.

"Welcome to the final round of auditions for New York's Academy of Dance! We are so excited to meet all of you and see what talent you can bring to our academy. If you have made it this far, then you are an exceptional dancer, and our academy would love to take you."

A tall woman wrote something down on a sheet of paper as she spoke. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a tight, neat bun on the top of her head, and her wrinkles hinted at her older age. She seemed pleasant enough, but Percy knew that she was strict as well.

"Of course, you all have gotten to the final stage of our auditions, so we have seen versatility, energy, expression, and passion in each and every single one of you. Today, however, we will be looking for more than just how well you can dance. We need to see how adaptable you are and how well you can work under pressure. We need to test your cooperation and communication skills since this an academy where we support one another and dance together."

The lady stood up and handed the sheet of paper to a man beside her. The man read something from it and started whispering to the other adults who were seated at the table.

Percy made sure to stand up straighter as she walked around us, but his ADHD made it rather difficult. The lady ensured that she made eye contact with everyone as she spoke. "Today, we will be testing your ability to dance with other people. We have already looked at group dances and how well you all can handle formations and transitioning, but we would like to test your partner-dancing abilities."

Percy noticed everyone turn around and begin choosing partners with their eyes. He was trying to get Grover's attention, but his best friend didn't notice.

"Now now, hold on a second, kids. You must dance with a partner of our choosing."

A few scattered groans were heard, but most of the kids remained quiet. Percy didn't really see this as much of a problem since everyone in the room was an incredible dancer. Obviously, some were more gifted than others, but they were all good. He wouldn't be tripping over anyone's feet.

"Settle down, everyone. You cannot be in this room if you are willing to groan and complain like that. We have no problem giving your audition spot to someone else who is willing to work for it. Also," the lady paused, "We are testing your ability to have chemistry with your partner. No matter who you are dancing with, a friend or foe, on stage, you should be able to create chemistry and a spark that stuns the audience."

Percy heard everyone around him intake a sharp breath.

He did as well.

Percy had no idea that they were supposed to be dancing with partners today in that sense. He could dance romantically, sure, but he didn't prefer to. His style was more contemporary group dances and jazz and a bit of hip-hop. Waltzing and the tango were not his strong suits.

"But..." the lady trailed on. Percy was getting tired of hearing her voice. His restlessness led him to sway back and forth on his spot. "You can dance in any form you would like. Ballet, lyrical/contemporary, hip-hop... the list goes on and on. I know that you all have come to this audition having learned a few routines in a couple of different genres. We would like to see you all incorporate those routines into your dance."

Whispers were heard all around the room. Percy was not excited about this audition anymore. His ability to adapt was not very good.

"So basically, we need to see routines you have already chosen to learn from our variety of options in last week's email. But now, you need to add steps to it. You need to change the steps up a bit to involve another person. Most of you imagined dancing these routines solo, but now, you need to include someone else. We would like to see interaction and chemistry and passion in one another, not just in the dance. Even if you don't choose to waltz or dance in another form like that, we need to see you interacting and not just side-by-side. Watching the duos should make us feel like you two are meant to be together."