Dancing with the Player | Book #1

Dance Competition

I paced back and forth, nerves filled my body as I waited to hear my name be called next. I shook my sweaty hands as if I was trying to get all the sweat off of it. I felt a deep pit in my stomach open up as I watched my opponent perform their solo. I rightly clenched my fists not even noticing that I was digging my nails into the palm of my hands.

We already performed our group contemporary piece and jazz piece. Both group pieces were well done and rehearsed. I couldn't really tell if the judges had liked the routine since their faces were stone cold, but it didn't matter. What mattered was we felt like we did our best and we worked well as a team.

"Are you okay? You don't look too good. You got this okay," Zen reassured me.

"I'm nervous, I don't want to mess -"

Zen cut me off not wanting to hear the rest of my sentence,"You won't, I have faith in you Stella."

I smiled at Zen and was about to say something until I heard the announcer call my name. The sound of my heart loudly throbbed against the cage of my chest. It's time. I've done this a million times before; go out there, do the routine, show some expression, then walk off. I didn't know why I was so nervous now. Maybe because I didn't want to let down Ms Saunders or maybe because the team was counting on me. Whatever it was, I wasn't going to let it ruin my chance.

"You got this!" Zen whispered and lightly pushed me towards the stage.

I looked back to see Zen giving me a thumbs up then I turned my head forward. I took a deep breath in and walked out on stage. My eyes landed on the five judges before me. I got into position and waited for the music to start. Once the music started I began my routine.

I kicked my right leg up with pointed toes and flexed calf muscles as I briefly stood on my left leg. I then ran to the front of the stage and continued on with my routine making sure to show a pained expression throughout the dance. I let the song Lovely by Billie Eilish flow through my veins and swirl in my head as I danced. As the song came to an end I slowly went to the floor, turned on my side, looked out into the audience with a sad expression, and laid my head down.

The audience clapped and cheered once I stood up. It brought a smile to my face. I exited the stage and went straight into Zen's arms. Zen hugged me back then let go of me. His lips stretched into a huge smile.

"You were fantastic, amazing, wonderful, just wow!"

I laughed,"Thanks."

"I told you, you got this," he pointed out.

I playfully rolled my eyes,"Yes, yes, you did."

Zen and I walked back to our dressing room where our class was. Some of them were doing dance moves while the others were talking or on their phones. Ms Saunders was currently talking to our hair and makeup lady, Penny. I looked around the room to see that James wasn't here at all. He was most likely changing into his costume.

"Stella there you are! We have to get you ready," Penny said as she grabbed my arm and sat me on the chair.

She quickly re-did my makeup for a more natural look and fixed my hair into a regular bun. After my makeup was finished, Penny handed me my costume to get changed into. I went into the changing room and got out of my solo outfit, then changed into my duet outfit. My duet outfit was a plain purple dress that had thick straps and flowed down from my waist.

I stepped out of the changing room and looked at myself in the mirror. The dress fitted perfectly on me and my makeup was minimal yet beautiful. I hadn't noticed that everyone's eyes in the class were on me, including James who intensely stared at me. Everyone's stare made me uncomfortable and caused me to fiddle with my fingers.

Ms Saunders clapped,"Show time!"

Everyone in the class walked out of the changing room to watch our performance. Ms Saunders guided James and I to backstage for us to get ready for our duet. As we walked there I felt myself get nervous again, but I shook my hands to get rid of my nerves. I glanced at James who had no expression on his face, not allowing me to know what he's thinking. He didn't look as nervous as I was which was a good thing.

Once we reached backstage, we peeped at our opponents dancing to a song I don't recognize in the style of modern. They were good, but I knew we could do better. Ms Saunders cleared her throat to get James and I's attention.

"Dancing is a skill, a hobby, a sport, but it's not about having a skill to do something. It's about having the will, desire, and commitment to be your best. You two are amazing dancers and I have faith in you both. You were born to dance, to win but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. So go out there and show them a competition."

I smiled at Ms Saunders' speech. Everything she said was right about having the will, desire, and commitment, however she was wrong about how we're born to just dance. We don't just dance, we preform, breathe, and watch the world disappear. We release our feelings, lead with our hearts, and tear our walls down. We stop feeling sad and lose the pain. We find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. We do more than just dance, we make art.

Ms Saunders left to go join the others in the front row, leaving James and I alone. The only thing that could be heard was the music from the stage and the dancers feet shuffling on the stage floor. The longer we waited for the performance to be done, my heart began to speed up and my hands began to get sweaty.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" He looked at me skeptically, observing me rub my sweaty palms onto my dress.

"Yes," I gave in, not bothering to lie since he caught me being nervous.

"Being nervous isn't something you should be ashamed of. You're never going to be one hundred percent ready and it's never going to just be the right time, but that's the point. It means that every moment is also the right moment. If you want it, you just have to do it," he expressed.

"Thank you, James," I thanked as he brought me into his arms.

We pulled apart,"Plus it's cute."

I felt my cheeks heat up and quickly looked away from him so he couldn't see, but I failed. He quietly chuckled at my bright pink cheeks. I hit his arm which only made him laugh harder. The music from our opponents duet died down and the audience clapped for them. A few seconds later, James and I's names got called for us to perform.

"You ready, Maxwell?" I asked James.

His head turned in my direction and looked down at me with a smirk,"Born ready, Johnston."

We stepped out on stage and got into our position, me sitting on the floor while James is standing far from me. The music began to play and we did our routine. As we continued to dance, each of us were aware of what the other was thinking and where one wanted to go. Just like my solo I danced as if no one was watching, but I didn't do it alone, I had James by my side.

//

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

The first video is Stella's solo while the second video is James and Stella's duet.

Do you agree that James and Stella make great dance partners?