Shadows to Stages

2 Feburary 2016

Dear diary,

Today was the first competition day of internationals. Today it was female solo, so today was on my shoulders. I was nervous but all the adrenaline from the competition it also made me excited.

I went to the practice room and rehearsed my solo.  I decided to do something fun and energetic that would bring a lot of fire to the competition. I knew with my solo I could win. I'm usually used to doing contemporary solos at competitions so I thought it would show the team I'm not just the contemporary dancer and can bring a lot more to the team. I was practicing my solo when Maya and Abigail walked in. They sat down and watched me practice. It was nice to see them. Though I'm excited I was also really stressed and nervous. Having friends like them calm you down. When I finished they came over and we all hugged. They said 'That was amazing. You're totally going to win with this solo. Don't worry, everyone won't know who they're up against when they see you dance.' What they said calmed me but I was worried, I knew something wasn't going to go right.

Me and my friends went to go see when I was competing and also just checking out the other teams at internationals. I said 'Okay, so I'm last.' Maya said 'Like they say, save the best thing for last.' We all laughed, then someone came round and said 'Well then I don't know why you're there Bella.' We all rolled our eyes at her. I said 'Hey Sasha,oh look you're first. You know what they say, first is the worst.' She shot back a dirty look. She said 'Well anyways, by going first, I will be setting the bar extremely high, so watch out. Gotta go practice. Oh and Abigail, enjoy being on this joke of a team while it lasts.' She winked and walked off. We all looked at each other and started to get worried. We can't lose Abigail, she's earned her place in internationals. I'm not letting Sasha win this time.

The competition started and I went to watch Sasha perform in the wings. As she said she was going to set the bar extremely high but I knew I could beat her. Her solo though, got me worried. She definitely improved at Beldovere when she left. Her legs were amazing and she gave such passion in her solo and mine is more fun and energetic so I'm really worried that I might lose to her. When her solo was done everyone went crazy. I definitely agreed with them. I looked out onto the audience and saw the two seats I requested, no one was sitting in them. I ran back to the practice room trying to not think about my parents and just get through this. Then the one person I didn't want to see came in. He stood by the door and watched. I continued dancing. I really hated him for leaving without telling me, though we weren't dating, still he did want me back. I finished and I went over to him and said 'What do you want?' He said 'I'm getting you back, you mean everything to me.' I said 'Well then, why did you leave if you wanted to get me back.' He said 'I don't know what I was thinking when I left.' I just rolled my eyes at that. It was totally a lie. I said 'You do know, so enlighten me. Why did you leave?' He said 'I left because, Sasha showed them a video of me dancing and said they'd love me to attend Beldovere.' I said 'But you attend Oatfield. What was the point of that? Scott can you just leave. Anyway I'm sure your team sent you here to distract me. Just go and annoy someone else.' He walked out then turned around and said 'Good luck, by the way.' I smiled and said 'You too.' He left the room. I know that's not the reason he left. He's obviously hiding something from me. I just don't know what.

The time had come. It was my turn to dance. I was the only female soloist left to dance. I knew I was going to finish the female soloist round with a bang. The two commentators said 'Now we are at the last competitor of the the female soloist round. The girl said 'That's right. Now with all the competition I just don't know how this soloist is going to beat any of the other competitors today.' I was going to show them and everyone that I can win. I looked out and saw my parents out there looking for me in the wings. I ran out onto the stage and hit my pose. I was ready. I was going to bring the fire to this competition and no one was going to expect it.(see above for Bellas solo.)
As the song started I felt the adrenaline pumping and the crowd cheering. I threw out my best tricks and of course my pirouettes, they're my best dance quality. Everyone was cheering and clapping. Near the end of my solo I saw both my parents smile at me and it made me push the limits and perform even harder. I finished and everyone went crazy, but mostly my mam and dad. I bowed and waved to everyone and I got A STANDING OVATION. I was so happy. I ran off stage and Maya and Abigail ran over and we all hugged. Sasha just stuck her nose up and honestly that didn't bother me. I wanted to win fairly and she doesn't except winning fairly.

Me, Maya and Abigail walked back to the house and we had a blast. I know it was just a boring road but you can cartwheel down the road. We reached the house and we came to the door. We looked in the windows and all the lights were off, so we were worried that we were late home. We opened the door and everyone jumped up and I got a big fright. But Maya and Abigail were in on it. I walked in and everyone from the team was there. They all congratulated me on a job well done. We had a massive party and it was so much fun. Nathan came over and lifted me up. We both hugged and it was amazing. He said 'You were amazing today.' I said 'Thanks, of course you're going to do amazing tomorrow.' We both laughed and hugged again. We joined the rest of the team and danced for hours. I was really excited for Nathan tomorrow. He was going to be amazing. Scott you better watch out for Nathan.