Empire - The Next Step

glitter isn't always a good sign

Things had changed a lot at the next step in the three weeks between them qualifying for regionals, and their return to the studio. First of all, Michelle and Emily were fired because they let Richelle dance on an injury so Miss Kate had plans in place to bring a new studio head to get them back on track. Harper had spent a lot of time with Richelle at the hospital, but for the past week she had her new boyfriend Elliot to keep her company so Harper gave them some space.

None of the dancers knew what was happening. They heard Michelle and Emily were fired but nobody knew who was their replacement and it was their first day back after a short three week break. Things were certainly different. Harper and Noah still hadn't figured everything out so they were not exactly sure where they stood. They were friends for sure, but they both knew it was much more than that.

The remainder of A Troupe has put together a routine to show the new studio head to a song called 'work' that they were rehearsing. They had all heard she was tough to impress so it had to be perfect. Not having Richelle around was weird for Harper as they had always danced together but that wasn't the only change to the lineup. Josh, Lola and Heather had all left which meant that even with Richelle they would only have nine dancers. As they finished the dance, that they had all thought was up to the right standard, a loud voice boomed across the studio.

"I suppose you call that barrage of sloppy movement a dance." Came the stern voice from the front corner of the studio. Harper turned her attention to where the voice came from and saw an older woman wearing a glittery gold jacket that looked as though it had been ripped from an eighties movie. She exchanged a confused glance with Noah who shrugged. If that was the new studio head, they were in trouble. "Now I'm sure you've all heard of me, and I've been doing my research to find out about all of you."

Harper felt an odd sensation when Miss Angela's eyes fell upon her, almost as though she was being harshly judged. How could she judge them if she had never even met them?

"I've been observing all of your weaknesses and  I've found some dancers I think will balance out the team." Harper had only just noticed that standing beside Miss Angela were four new dancers who were wearing the TNS uniform which they usually only wore at competitions.

The only one she recognised was Summer who, as Jacquie had told her, was the winner of the Stacey Carpenter Scholarship. Harper didn't audition because she was looking after Richelle in the hospital but she had heard that summer was amazing. It was odd that they were there though as they usually auditioned new dancers. The four of them stepped forward as Miss Angela introduced them.

"This is Summer, she had won multiple awards and will be an asset to the team. This is Finn and Kenzie, they're great for pop and sizzle." Harper had no idea what that was intended to mean but she thought it would be best not to ask. She didn't want to get on Angela's bad side. "And this is Lily, she brings star quality." Everyone in A Troupe attempted you stifle their laughs. What on Earth was star power?

"Okay dancers, line up." Like stepped forward and ordered them as though she was an authority figure. Harper looked at Noah with a confused expression but he shrugged and muttered the same thing so that the team would follow. Angela looked at the four new dancers and called them perfect but then the judgement began, and Ozzy was up first.

"You can't wear those glasses. You're slouching, pull them back." She said making Noah straighten himself. Harper thought he was standing perfectly fine but apparently not. When Angela looked at Harper, she felt as though she was staring into her soul. "Your neck's too short, you need to lengthen." Harper wasn't too pleased with being told her neck wasn't long enough, they weren't in a ballet class. She critiqued everyone else in the team and didn't leave any stone unturned. If one thing was for sure, she didn't hold back at all. "Where are all your uniforms?"

"We thought they were just for competitions, Emily and Michelle let us wear whatever we want." Ozzy told her confidently but obviously Angela liked to do things differently.

"Oh, well where are Emily and Michelle now?" No one replied. The truth was that Emily and Michelle had to get jobs at the new café shakes and ladders down the hall after they got fired. Michelle had told Harper she wanted to be close to her and all the other dancers to ensure she was there to help if the new studio head was too harsh. It was a good call on Michelle's part.

Once Miss Angela has criticised everyone for their flaws, she called them up one at a time to show her their best dancing abilities, everyone knew they had to impress. Harper was called up first and she had gained more confidence since the start of the year so she wasn't too nervous. Although, with Angela's heady eyes on her like a hawk it was very off putting. She got a brief clap but that was silence by the new studio head who made it clear that there would be no applause.

Kingston was next and all he received was a brief nod. Jacquie, Amy and Ozzy were all great and really groovy in Harper's opinion but they didn't even get a second glance from Angela. She was writing a lot of things down though which could either be a really good thing or a really bad thing. When Noah went, it was called a yawn fest which was incredibly rude and then Henry went without being called. Big mistake.

"Woah, stop!" She yelled making Henry stumble out of his flip. "I don't know what that was. Kenzie sweetie, would you please show Henry how to do acro properly?" Kenzie, who was one of the new dancers, performed a very good layout, but Harper didn't understand. Henry would have been amazing if Angela didn't yell at him.

"Okay, is there anyone else?" Piper timidly raised her hand, she had always been a more shy dancer. Harper was worried for her because from what she had seen so far, Angela loved flash and Piper's dancing was beautiful but not very flashy. "Oh yes Piper, go on."

Piper's combo was stunning, but Angela didn't look impressed. Acro seemed to be important to her and if she wasn't seeing it, Harper feared what would happen to Piper. Everyone gave her a small clap even though the studio head had told them not to but she didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Okay, what we need to win regionals is star power. Lily would you please perform your solo." Out of nowhere, Lily broke out into a full solo and threw in a lot of winks and cheesy smiles. She was a decent dancers, but it was all so surfaced that it didn't look effective at all.

"Perfect! That's what the judges want to see." Angela announced with a proud smile on her face. Clearly, out of all the dancers she had brought along, Lily was her favourite. "Now you're good, but good isn't enough. We're only as good as our weakest link and right now, that's Piper. I didn't see any acro, what's that about?"

Everyone was shocked. To call someone out like that in front of an entire class was beyond strict, it was plain rude. Harper knew that Piper had struggled with acro a lot last year but she was trying really hard with it and she found it really unfair that Miss Angela was calling her out on it. Piper certainly was not their weakest link, she was one of the strongest dancers on the team.

"I-I'm still working on my acro." Piper stuttered nervously. Harper sent her a supportive look which she seemed appreciative of, but Miss Angela was still not impressed.

"Okay then, well Piper grab a mat. Everyone is going to get down and give me ten minutes of planks until Piper figures it out." Everyone was appalled but they had to do what Angela said. Even though they were dancing in studio A and there was still most of the team from the regionals qualifier video, it didn't feel like the next step anymore.