Leading Ladies

VI. Dying to Dance

"I wanna talk about this upcoming weekend," Abby commences the meeting. "Everybody knows how important that is. You know that's one of the toughest competitions out there. This is what's gonna happen this weekend. Sabrina, new solo. Elsa, new solo. Bianca new solo. Maddie, new solo. Brooke, new solo. Chloe, new solo. Now the age categories are a little different, so we want to make sure that your dances reflect you as a dancer now and not at the beginning of the season.

"We are doing a new group routine, and everybody's in it, the enter cast. It is called, 'Where Have All the Children Gone.' This is a routine about children who have gone missing. You've all seen the childrens' face on the milk carton. It's contemporary, it's mature, and it is very dark. You have to be great actresses to pull it off," she looks towards the moms. "They're all in white like they're angels. I don't want any discrepancies; I don't want any opinions. Moms, I'm gonna go ahead and dismiss you know, we have a lot of work to do. Girls, let's get moving; let's get moving. Come on."

Getting off the floor, Elsa and the rest of the girls follow Abby out of the room and into studio 'B.' As soon as they were all in, Abby wastes no time starting the routine.

This is dark, Elsa thought. She was used to Abby doing a light, lyrical routine or a cheesy jazz routine with this group. She never thought they would be doing such a dark routine.

They spent an hour and a half in the studio before Abby beckons them over. "Come in close, listen to me. Alright, you're dancing, you're doing the steps, you're trying to listen to the words. You're not interpreting the story correctly. And this is very serious because maybe people in the audience have had a child that's been missing, so you're gonna touch somebody's heart. So this has to be a very serious routine. And right now, you're just doing the steps, and we need to get past that, and we need to perform," she glances at Mackenzie and Vivi-Anne. "Do you two understand? It's very serious."

After that, they work on the routine for another hour before Abby dismisses. Throughout the day, Sabrina attends classes with her sisters. She was a little disappointed that Abby didn't start on the solos, but she understood that the team weren't her only students.

"What do you think of the group routine?" Bianca asks on their way home.

Sabrina buckles her seat belt before looking towards her moms; she wanted to know too.

"I think it's dark," Ileen responds, pulling out of the parking lot. "It's not something I'm used to Abby doing."

"And we're committing suicide in it," Sabrina points out.

"Yeah, I'm not pleased about that," Ileen says.

Elsa shrugs. " There are kid actors that do suicide pieces all the time."

"Yes, and I'm sure their mothers don't like it either. The thought of any of you committing suicide is heartbreaking. Nevermind my sensitive feelings as your mother. How do you three feel about tomorrow being their last day of school."

Instantly Sabrina raises her hand to the air. "Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!"

"Party, Party, party," Bianca chants.

Elsa laughs at both of them, but she was just as excited as them. Because they attend a private school, they don't follow the regular school year schedule. They start the third week of August and end the third week of May.

Feeling mischievous, she starts to sing, "The bell rings. School's done. Time for eight straight weeks of summer fun!"

"No shirts! No shoes!" Bianca joins her. "Beatin' kids up any time I choose."

"The beach! The mall!" Sabrina belts. "Family visits to the Tadj Mahall!"

Elsa grins; she knew her sisters would join in. "You can do the things that your parents forbid. Like streak. 'Cause summer, not a bummer...