In Every Way

1

Yesterday, I said goodbye.
    To my parents. My friends. To the town I grew up in. To the dance studio I've been attending since I could walk. It wasn't an easy decision but I knew it needed to happen in order for me to get to The Motion Dance Academy in downtown Los Angeles, California. Its where the first page in my next chapter begins. TMDA is one of the most prestigious dance academy's in the nation and I'm lucky to be a part of the small group who were hand selected to train at the school this year. I'm trading everything and everyone I know for a chance to be one of the best.
    I have trained in multiple styles, every night of the week, hours upon hours for the past eighteen years. There were countless rehearsals and performances. Literal blood, sweat, and tears shed into this sport. I've danced for well known choreographers and worked hard to get to the top. Not to mention the weekends I gave up with friends to spend at conventions learning from the best in the industry. There is also the matter of my feet... they've sacrificed the most.
    From the very first time I saw the nutcracker I've wanted to be a professional dancer. That little girl is crying tears of joy for us right now. To be walking up the steps to our dream, it feels surreal. And scarily similar to the last college I was attending. The dorms are, at least. I spent two years after high school at a college back home while I trained on the side, so I know what comes along with living in dorms and having a roommate. I'm just praying she is clean. And normal. And hopefully doesn't snore. A closet to ourselves would also be ideal but beggars can't be choosers when it comes to dorm life. At least I learned something from those wasted years in traditional school.
    As I walk down hallway D, I think about how much further ahead I would be if I decided to enroll in a dance academy instead of trying to pursue my parents dream of me becoming a doctor or something really smart. I'm not book smart. I'm dance smart. I'm coordinated and flexible and can conjure feelings from a crowd of hundreds just by moving my body a certain way to a certain song. I don't know the first thing about anatomy and physiology. It was my acceptance letter to TMDA that convinced them I should dance full time and I am prepared to prove this was the right choice all along.
    Room 177 is up ahead on the left. It is a huge coincidence seeing as my lucky number is seven. I figure that means I'm already off to a good start, now we just have to see who-
    "Excuse me?"
    A long, angular girl with a fro of kinky hair is draped across what I'm assuming is her bed, looking at me like I'm a stranger opening her door.
    "Sorry," I say, "I didn't know whether to knock or not."
    She gets off the bed, noticing the struggle with my single box of belongings I'm trying to shove through the doorway. "I'm Avery." I set the box on the empty bed. "Are you Carmen?"
    "Yeah." She observes me head to toe. "Where are you from, Avery?"
    "Arizona. A small town called Queen Creek."
    "Wow, sounds very country. I've never been to Arizona before. What studio did you dance at?"
    "Club Dance."
    "No way." Her mouth pops at the same time she sits on her bed. "You danced there?"
    I knew when the other students found out what studio I danced at they would have something to say. Club Dance is either loved or hated.
Whether that be good or bad, it could go any which way. But it does attract enough attention for people to move from all over the country to train at. The choreography is new and innovative, technique is the best of the best. If you want to become a professional dancer, you train at Club Dance.
    But along with the dancers who would kill to be accepted to their company team, there are also those who claim the training is too extensive. That they make their dancers rehearsal schedules impossible. Most parents don't agree with the amount of time their kids spend away from family and their education. This is how I expected Carmen to react. I'm so glad she's not a hater.
    "Where did you go?" I ask for the same reason she did. You can tell a lot about a person by the studio they dance at. Mostly about their skill.
    "Larken. In Utah."
    Apparently there is someone else here able to name drop. Larken Dance Studio is one of the best as well. Just from learning she went there, I already know she will be a very technical dancer. Legs, turns, leaps. She will be able to do it all.
    The competitive side of me sparks to life with this information. Sportsmanship is something every studio practices but deep down you know you're trying to out dance them for the better title. Even within the studios there is an unspoken competition to be the front row center and in every dance. It was a constant internal struggle but it taught me and my peers to have tact, that's for sure.
    "I'm glad you're my roommate," Carmen says, "you're normal. I thought I was going to get someone who collects there fingernail clippings."
    "Ew," I laugh. "I was afraid you would sleep with one of those sound machines like my last roommate."
    She doubles over in laughter, kicking her feet sporadically. "I definitely do not do that. But I do have a habit of running out of toothpaste and not making my bed, so hopefully it's cool that I borrow some every once in a while."
    "As long as you don't care that I set my alarm two hours early so I have time to stretch before class."
    "Oh no, don't tell me you're the over achiever."
    "The over achiever? Why do you say it like that?"
    "Because there are roles to fill."
    "Roles?"
    "You'll understand in about a week. After you meet everyone and see how they take class."
    "Who assigns these roles?"
    "I do, of course. It's a game I started last year. There's the over achiever, the teachers pet, the favorite, the best technical..."
    "And you think I'm the over achiever?"
    "You danced at Club Dance, you're an over achiever," she smirks. "Not that that means you're not good. I'm sure you're amazing. I can't wait to train with you."
    Well this feels different. I thought there would be some cattiness the first few weeks. Carmen seems more interested in getting to know me than sizing me up. "Me too," I grin. "So this is your second year?"
    "Most of us are seconds. You newbies are the only first years."
   That thought terrifies me.
   "Don't be worried." She lays back on her bed and grabs a magazine I assume she was reading when I first came in. "I'll show you the ropes. I know all the ins and outs. The instructors love me. Speaking of which, prepare yourself for Olga's class. She's brutal."
    "I heard she has a stick she uses to correct alignment."
    "As long as you overextend every battement and don't drop your relevé, you'll be fine. Trust me, you do not want to be on the other end of that stick."
    "I had an instructor who made us do ninety sit ups every time someone missed a count."
    "Oof." She flips a page. "That sounds like torture."
    "It was. And then if we lost count of the sit ups she would single us out and make us do it all over again in front of the class. Her name was Gina. We called her Meana Gina Gy-na."
    She throws her head back to laugh. "That is amazing. Guarantee you Josh and Natasha will be worse. Their barre sequences are close to impossible. Plus the two of them teach class as a team so you have double the eyes on you, which means double the criticism."
    "And double the chance to be noticed," I add.
    She rolls her eyes until they land on me. "Careful, your overachiever is showing."
    I shrug with the little care I have for that opinion of me. I'm sure she's not the first to think it and won't be the last. "It's true. How else will you get a good spot in the showcase."
    "You're talking about the end of the year showcase?"
    "Yeah. Isn't it what we're all going to be working toward?"
    She sits up with a fling of paper. "Let me fill you in on a little secret about the showcase... It's rigged. They already know who is doing what piece."
    I bristle at that information. "How do they already know if some of us haven't even started yet?"
    "I hate to be the one to tell you but first years are nine times out of ten overlooked for any lead parts. Lawless, the pas de deux teacher, he likes to use you as fillers or background dancers. Don't take it personal. It's like a right of passage."
    She has my head whirling. I didn't come here to be a filler or back ground dancer. I don't want to be written off because of the fact I'm new. All students should be judged fairly on skill level and ability to partner and nothing more. If she's right, it means I'm going to have to work that much harder.
    Directors from professional dance company's come from all over to watch the showcase and choose who they want to join them when they graduate. That's where the real dancing begins. That's the ultimate end goal. The end of the year performance is the whole point in coming to TMDA in the first place. Everyone knows if you don't have a lead role and a killer solo you'll have to try again, which I don't plan on having to do. I've already wasted too many years.
    I wonder, "You really spent all of last year in the back row?"
    "Not exactly. I was an under study and the lead hurt herself a few days before the showcase. I got lucky."
    It sounds terrible but... she is lucky.
    "But you're getting wayyyy ahead of yourself. We still have to get through the fall showcase."
    "Wait, there are two?" How did I not know about this?
    "There's the fall and spring showcase. The one in October is so they can evaluate us for the spring. Basically we're constantly being watched and compared to ourselves. Yes everyone else is competition but really we're competing against ourselves."
    "So we do multiple group dances at each? What about a solo?"
    "The solo in the fall you choreograph yourself and then if they like it they will pair you with an outside choreographer for the next. All I have to say is stand out. The directors love dancers who take a chance. Just make sure it's not too out there. They could cut you from the program completely."
    "Seriously?"
    "Yes." Her blank stare breaks into a full on grin. "Calm down, I'm kidding."
   "But what about-"
    "Okay! I think that's enough of twenty questions. They'll explain everything at one point."
    "Sorry. I like to be as prepared as possible."
    "Well enjoy your last night of normalcy. Starting tomorrow you're entire life is going to change."
    I smile wide for the first time since getting to TMDA. "I can't wait."
    She scoffs. "I'll check back in a few months." She flips a page in her magazine. "We'll see how you feel then."
    I would bet everything I have on the chance of my life changing being the best thing that's ever happened to me. With Carmen being my roommate she will be right there with me. Hopefully she can deal with my "overachiever" behaviors because I can already feel myself wanting more and more and more of this place.