Gideon the Street Urchin: On Broadway

The Dance Call

"Gideon, your mother told me you've been doing good in your auditions for Street Urchins," Miss Berry said after music class a couple days later. It was getting colder outside so she wore a bright yellow sweater with nice dress pants and brown leather boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail. She was a young teacher, not even out of her twenties. She was Gideon's favorite... and the one to give him the audition flier back in September.

"I guess I am," he nodded along. Miss Berry sat down at one of the tables in her room by the poster of solfege. Gideon trudged over and sat with her.

"You guess? Or you are?" she pointed her gaze. Gideon smiled.

"I am. They really like me. I actually have another callback next week. It's the first dance one."

Miss Berry glowed. She folded her hands on the table and said, "I bet you're going to do great. You know, I was a big fan of the movie when I was a teenager. It came out before my time, but I loved it nonetheless. I assume you will be swing dancing at some point."

"Swing dancing?" Gideon cocked any eyebrow.

"It's a type of partner dancing. They did it a lot in the 1940s and 50s. It was a big part of the movie," she explained. He nodded along but was secretly terrified. He didn't even know what swing dancing looked like.

"I don't know how to dance," he whimpered. Miss Berry put a hand on his shoulder and looked right at him.

"There's nothing to worry about. At dance auditions they teach you the combination there. None of the other kids will know what they're doing either. As long as you listen and pay close attention, you'll be okay."

"Okay."

That dance audition came up a whole lot quicker than Gideon would've liked. The email said he was to wear nice pants, a polo shirt, and nice shoes- not sneakers, sandals, or jazz shoes. Mrs. Tucker sat him down in front of the bathroom mirror and slicked his hair back. He looked rather good for a nine-year-old. He brought a water bottle just in case. They walked to Meacham Casting, said their hellos to the office lady, but didn't go to the elevator. The woman behind the desk told them to go down the hall and make a left. Gideon was confused. Why weren't they in the usual room? When they entered the hall, he immediately knew why.

There had to have been 50 kids in there. They were all between the ages of 9 and 13. Girls were fretting, brushing their hair, and stretching. The mothers were louder than the kids.

"Kimberly! Try your split!"

"I told you not to worry, Anna. You've got the part in the bag."

"When you get in there, make sure you dazzle, Ellen!"

Mrs. Tucker snickered under her breath. She tried to get Gideon a spot against the wall, but it was hard. It was almost impossible to breathe. Gideon couldn't see over the dozens of heads. Other boys had the same slicked back hair he did. They wore nice clothes like they came out of some 1950s teen movie. Gideon had to take some deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I'm nervous, Mom. I haven't danced like this before," he tugged on her arm. Mrs. Tucker sat down beside him.

"Swing dancing isn't popular anymore. None of these kids know what they're doing. You're all on an even playing field," she told him. Gideon breathed a sigh of relief. So, when all the kids were called into the expansive audition room, all was well. It was almost the size of a high school gymnasium. The floors were a shiny vinyl. Not a single window adorned the empty room. There was no furniture, no pictures, only floor to ceiling mirrors on one wall. Inside, an older woman and young man stood. The woman held herself up with a cane. She had flowy grey hair and wore a lovely yellow dress that fell to her knees. Gideon guessed her to be 70 years old at least.

"Ladies, please sit on the far side. Gents, closer to the door," she announced in her older but wise voice. The 25 girls and 25 boys separated themselves. Gideon sat in the very front. He didn't mean to, it just sort of happened. When the kids quieted in down, the woman began.

"Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Arlette Manning. I am the assistant choreographer for Street Urchins: The Musical. This is my dance partner for today, Liam Clark. I can safely assume most of you are too young to have seen the original Street Urchins movie. So, I'll explain what's going on. In the movie, one boy named Edward is a swing dance teacher. The only dancing we plan on having in the stage show is swing. It's a form of partner, social dance that was popular in the 1940s and 50s. Today, we're going to spend an hour teaching you the basics. And then, we will send you upstairs in smaller groups to audition in front of Janice and her people. Sound good?"

It was a lot of information to take in at once. Gideon glanced around him at lots of glossy eyed kids. The boys were fiddling with loose threads on their sweaters or their shoelaces, anything to let out the nerves. Mrs. Manning had them stand up. Gideon's heartrate quickened when he realized he was one of the shortest boys there. He stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. Then, Mrs. Manning said something that made all the boys in the room want to run and hide. She said, "Ladies! Go find a gentleman!"

Gideon's eyes bulged as a sea of pretty girls wandered over, gradually picking them off one by one. He broke out in a cold sweat. The last thing he wanted to do was be hunted by a terrifying girl. As the boys around them got partners, Gideon made eye contact with one girl. She was just his height with the same dark hair as him. Except hers was longer. She had rosy cheeks and wore a bright purple dress. She bit her lip, looked around at her fellow girls, and strolled on over to him. Gideon wanted to run. He eyed the door hungrily, but his feet were stuck. He knew in his head the worst thing he could do would be to leave. The girl got closer, within feet of him. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. She stood right in front of him. They didn't say a word.

Gideon took in her appearance. While he didn't see the appeal of girls yet, he couldn't deny she was pretty. The girl refused to look at him. Mrs. Manning had all the pairs spread out in one big circle with the two adults in the center. He wanted to run and hide when Mrs. Manning told the boys to put their hand on the girl's back. The hour went by at a snail's pace. The kids learned how to rock and triple step, but it was all the turning that got Gideon flustered. He couldn't remember the difference between an over-head and a tuck-turn. The girl helped out as best she could by turning herself, even though it was supposed to be his job.

By the end of the audition, Gideon did the combination with his partner as best he could, but let's just say his spirits weren't in the clouds this time around...

I told my ghost writer to leave most of the dance auditions out of it. It's hard to write about swing dancing without repeating, "Rock step, triple step, triple step" a dozen times. It gets boring.