Empire - The Next Step

living up to the legacy

Each and every part of Harper's body was trembling with nerves as herself and Michelle walked into studio one which was a new studio for the dancers to get a fresh start after their regionals loss. It was a beautiful studio decorated in pristine blues, purples and pinks, but it felt very different than studio A. Harper didn't audition last time because she felt that she wasn't quite ready for A Troupe, but a year had passed since then and she had worked endlessly to step up her game. She only hoped it would be enough to get her on the team.

She glanced over to her sister who seemed a little distant as her deep brown eyes scanned around the new studio. Harper imagined it felt strange for Michelle to be back for another year in A Troupe considering all of her old friends had moved on.

"You okay Michelle?" She asked her older sister with a hint of caution laced in her tone as she gently rubbed her shoulder. Michelle faced her with an unconvincing smile and nodded to reassure Harper, but she didn't buy it for one second.

Before anything else could be said between the two sisters, Emily had waltzed into the studio and pulled Michelle's attention away for a moment. Harper allowed her own eyes to take a glance around the beautiful new studio and she saw many of the dancers from last year's A Troupe along with some B Troupers like herself and even some people from completely different studios. Her eyes lingered on someone who she hadn't spoken to properly in months, someone who it hurt to look at because he made all her old feelings come rushing back. Noah. Luckily, it was almost as though Emily had read her mind as she was able to snap Harper out of her daze and made a huge announcement to everyone.

"Everyone gather round! As many of you know, I'm Emily. Former A Troupe member, former dance captain and now your new studio head." A round of cheers and applause was given for Emily as many of the dancers seemed excited to have someone so organised and responsible in charge. Harper hadn't really spoken to Emily since she was in J Troupe but the girl used to be a very encouraging person to look to and although herself and Michelle had some drama in the past, she never took it out on Harper. "I have also hired the best choreographer in the business. A warm welcome to Daniel." Another small round of applause was given to Daniel as he entered the studio with a clipboard in hand.

"Hi everyone, welcome to A Troupe auditions. I want you all to get warm and practice so we can get going." Everyone split off into small groups or pairs so they could warm up together and Harper instantly knew who she had to rehearse with. She scanned around the room for Richelle and found her off to one side holding her leg up over her head to give it a thorough stretch. Harper tapped her gently on the the shoulder and Richelle turned around with an irritated expression but it instantly morphed into one of delight when she saw who it was.

"Harper!" She exclaimed loudly as she tackled her best friend in a bone-crushing hug. The blonde stumbled back slightly but chuckled anyway at her friend's antics as the both of them ignored the odd looks they were receiving. "I'm so glad you came. For a minute there I thought you were gonna bail on me."

"No of course not. I definitely feel like I've trained enough now. I'm super nervous though." Said the blonde as she began to anxiously bite the inside of her cheek, a habit that she still hadn't managed to break. Harper had been working so hard all year and she hoped that she was good enough, but looking around at all the amazing dancers in there was extremely off putting.

"Don't be! You're gonna be amazing, I just can't wait to see you dance." It had been a while since Harper had properly danced in front of anyone. The last time was a couple of years back when Noah had seen her practising in the music room, so that was some added pressure but she hoped she would impress Emily and Daniel.

Her eyes wandered unintentionally over to Noah again and unfortunately that time he was looking right back at her. Hi eyes sparkled with something that looked like regret, but Harper refused to get sucked back in. All she wanted was a drama-free year and Noah was not the right person to give her that. She ripped her eyes away without even a trace of a smile and turned her attention towards Emily who had begun to speak again.

"We'll be doing things slightly differently this year. You will be divided into groups and the first group is Ozzy, Alexandra, Kevin, Jasmine and LaTroy." Emily glanced nervously to Daniel as she faced the five dancers in the first group with a guilty expression. Something definitely wasn't right. "Thank you so much for coming but unfortunately we won't be asking you to audition today, but we would love to see you in our B Troupe." Everyone was silent. Harper could understand if they didn't want them on the team after seeing what they could do, but Emily and Daniel were dismissing all those amazing dancers without even witnessing what they were capable of.

Harper decided to keep her mouth shut but unfortunately Amy spoke before thinking and had a major outburst at Emily. The girl internally winced when she saw the look Emily gave Amy for speaking out of turn. That would definitely cost her. She had to commend Amy for her bravery though, standing up to Emily was not easy as she was extremely intimidating.

"Okay lets begin. You will all perform a freestyle solo and we're looking for creativity, versatility and above all, technique." Harper let out a quiet sigh of relief and was thrilled that they weren't asking for hip hop because that was quite the opposite of her strong suit. "Okay lets have group one on the floor please."

Noah was the first up and although Harper hated to admit it, she loved to watch him dance. He was truly phenomenal. His flips were higher than she had ever seen, his turns were impeccable and he brought such great personality to his dance. It was a large contributing factor towards her liking him, but that was in the past. He then approached one of the other dancers who was up next, her name was Jacquie, and pulled her into his freestyle section so they could partner. Harper couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. Noah really had become quite a player.

The other four dancers went after Noah and they were all amazing. Especially Jacquie. Her technique was flawless, her extensions were beautiful and her acro was amazing. It only made Harper doubt herself more than she already had.

The next group was called up and Harper still wasn't in it so she presumed she would be in the final group which made her extremely nervous because she had to watch everyone else first and she knew she would manage to psych herself out. She noticed that Piper and Amy were particularly strong in the second group but she also was very nervous for Amy's sake as Emily did not take well to being stood up to.

"Okay in the final group can I please have Michelle, Skylar, Richelle and then Harper." Emily sent her a small smile for good luck which Harper returned but was still extremely nervous. In her group she was up against three of the best female dancers the next step had ever seen, including her sister who was a two time miss national soloist, so the pressure was really on.

Michelle was fantastic, as Harper had expected, and she really set the bar high for her younger sister. The young blond only hoped that she could live up to it. Skylar went after Michelle and Harper personally thought she was doing a great job but Emily and Daniel didn't look all too impressed. Richelle was next and she was flawless as always. She earner herself quite a few cheers as she whipped out a number of complicated acro moves that Harper would never dream of doing.

It was finally Harper's turn. As soon as she took the first step out to the dance floor, her nerves seemed to transform into adrenaline and she was filled with this incredible energy that fuelled her performance. Everyone seemed shocked at how much she had progressed since being in B Troupe but let out encouraging hollers and cheers of support, especially when she did a more impressive move or trick. As the music faded out she performed the very last movement and then earned a round of applause to everyone who had been watching, They all looked completely blown away and Harper could not have been more proud of herself.