The Eldest Ziegler

Ballerinas to Showgirls

I am so excited because we are in VEGAS!! This is going to be a fun competition.

"Welcome to Las Vegas!" Miss. Abby says as we walked into our studio for this week, "I want to reflect on Starpower last week. Some of you did really well-- however, as a whole, not so great. I brought Brandon in, I thought that would do the trick, and the dance was a mess. The competition in Las Vegas this week is Thunderstruck, and we have four days to prepare. As a group, this particular group has never not placed in the overall high scores. So you need to be flawless this week."

Then Miss. Abby started on the bottom of the pyramid. She removed the red piece of paper to reveal a headshot of Vivi-Anne, and we all knew that she was off the team.

"Vivi-Anne. Not here. Her mother made it quite clear she was not traveling to Las Vegas, so you know what?This poor little girl is going to suffer. Her mother didn't follow the rules. Let this be a lesson to all of you, and to all of your mothers. If you don't follow the rules and you don't give me 100%. I will jank your number from the competition."

I was somewhat happy that Cathy and Vivi were gone because they only brought trouble to the team. Without them, things can be somewhat normal around here.

"Next up, Mackenzie," Miss. Abby continued, moving up the pyramid, "Honey, I'm sorry you lost your duet partner. However, I want you to practice on all of your jumps and all of your tricks, because next week, you will definitely be competing."

"Okay."

As we continued up the pyramid, I realized that it looked different. There are three on the bottom, three in the middle, one of top, and one to the side.

"Paige, your performance is good, but you're not winning and you're not placing in the overalls. And I feel that you should be placing definitely in the top ten. This is your city, you have the look, yes? Because of that, Paige... you're getting a solo. Understood."

"Second row. Nia," Miss. Abby continued, "Last week in Orlando, you finally won your category. I think you need to do that all the time. So, I hope that your mother now trusts me and doesn't question my every move. I've had it with that. It's what you do on stage that matters. Not the choreography, not the costuming. It's you and your technique that is gonna win first place. It felt good to win, didn't it?"

"Yes."

"Yes. This week you get another solo, and I expect you to win again."

Miss. Abby continued with Brooke, who was next on the pyramid, "Brooke, you did a great job, but you didn't make the top three. Yes, I understand the girls were a lot older, but you can't make excuses. You should blow them away. Monica is two years younger than you and she was able to get second place in the teen division. But you are doing a solo, and just like Paige, this is your city. You've been talking about Cirque for years, since you were a little kid. Certainly, somebody from Cirque is going to be judging you here. So you need to step it up and make sure they know your name at the end of the competition."

"Next, we have... Monica," Miss. Abby says as she reveals my headshot, "Good. Good. Good. This has been your competition season for sure. You are going to nationals and that's where you will be doing a solo against your rival. You are getting a solo."

I nodded as Miss. Abby revealed that Chloe was on the top of the pyramid, "Now, at the top of the pyramid-- Chloe. Now, you're probably wondering why because Chloe didn't dance last week. I keep hearing, 'Nobody can win because Maddie wins.' Well, you know what? This is your shot. Maddie, I'm giving you the week off."

Chloe

Monica Brooke

Nia Paige Mackenzie Vivi-Anne