The Competition

by Maddie Ziegler

  We all stood there, stunned. Then we burst into more cheers. Dance? With the Rockettes? What?!

  I was so excited!!

  “Have you ever done this before?” Lily asked. I shook my head no. This was going to be AWESOME!

  We were greeted by one of the tour people, who welcomed us and showed us around a little bit.

  “Hi, everyone! I’m Matt.” He gave us a cheerful wave.

  “I want to give you a little history of the company before you go on to do this dance experience,” he explained. “So the Rockettes are a precision dance company that has been performing since 1933 with their most famous show, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.”

  We learned that the building was designed in the art deco style in the early 1930s. It’s biggest room was a huge auditorium, and they included red seats because the people who built the theater thought that would make it successful. It was beautiful! We looked around at the deep reds and golds, and it did look very luxurious.

  Then, suddenly, a voice called out from the back of the room.

  “Vanessa!”

  A tall woman wearing a black leotard and leggings and high heels with her hair in a tight ponytail came running up to Vanessa. The two of them hugged, and that’s when I saw what was written on the woman’s tank top:

  THE RADIO CITY ROCKETTES

  “Vanessa knows a Rockette?” Megan whispered.

  “Yes, she does.” The Rockette had overheard her and smiled. “My name is Jen. Vanessa and I went to dance camp together. She knows it was always my dream to become a Rockette!”

  “I’m so proud she accomplished her dream,” Vanessa said. “Jen, I’d like to introduce you to the elite dance team of DanceStarz Academy of Florida.”

  We were all really excited to meet her and then even more excited once she said she was going to lead our experience.

  “So let me tell you a little bit about the Rockettes!” Jen said. “The dance company has been around for almost a century. More than one million people see us dance every year. There are main dancers and swings who can fill in the spots if needed.”

  “The very first choreographer founded the American chorus line,” she continued. “We are most known for that dance line, where we do our eye-high kicks.”

  “And your glittery costumes that you wear!” Riley piped in. “One of my dreams is to be a costume designer—maybe I could be for the Rockettes!”

  “Riley is our resident fashion-designer-to-be,” Vanessa said, which surprised us all and made Riley glow to be called out in front of one of her heroes.

  Jen nodded. “I have no doubt you would be great at designing! Many of our costumes are glamorous. But we do have one that’s a little different. For those who aren’t as familiar with the show, we have a big routine where we have wooden soldier costumes, with big hats and giant pants.” We all smiled.

  “That’s the dance with the soldiers falling on each other like dominoes,” I whisper to Lily.

  “If any of you like to do hair and makeup, I’ll point out that we have to do our own hair—usually I do a French twist—and our own makeup before every show! We do have a wardrobe assistant to help us with our costume changes,” Jen continued.

  “The choreography includes several kinds of dance, so we have to be proficient in tap, jazz and ballet. It’s a challenge to have every count perfect.

  “One of the challenges some dancers face is that you have to be part of a line, so you don’t have the opportunity to be a soloist,” Jen said.

  I peeked up at Megan to see if she’d caught that.

  “Every year, about five hundred people audition. It’s hard work, as we rehearse six hours a day, six days a week, for approximately six weeks before we start the show. Every show has three hundred kicks in it! And we do up to four shows in one day! Every move we make is detailed, including how high we hold our arms and how high we kick and where our eyes are looking.”

  “Whoa!” Trina said, and we all laughed.

  Jen clapped her hands. “So! Are you girls ready to learn some Rockettes dancing with me?”

  Yes! Jen took us into a room that look like one of our practice rooms. Just like our own rehearsals, we started with warm-ups and stretches. She had us all pull our hair off our faces, into tight, high ponytails.

  Then we started with strut kicks. Jen had us all get in a line facing forward. She counted off:

  “One, two, three, four, and on five put your right hand straight up in the air! On seven, put your arms around each other. Step left and kick! Step ball change and passé!”

  I got to stand next to Jen in the line, which was both awesome and kind of nerve-wracking! We all had our arms around one another—although Jen told us not to really touch one another but barely touch the fabric on our tops—and we were kicking straight out but not as high as the Rockettes would kick. I looked at Lily next to me, and we grinned. Then I looked the other direction, and I could hardly believe I had my arm around a real Rockette and was dancing with her in a kick line!

  Then we moved to the most famous move they did: the eye-high kicks! “Five, six, seven, eight—”

  Quick jump and then right kick! Left! Right! Left! Double left!

  I tried to keep my leg straight and kick super high. Meghan was pretty well known for her leg holds in high kicks, so she definitely nailed this part.

  “Megan is very flexible,” Jen said approvingly.

  We managed to learn a whole mini routine.

  “I love the bubbly energy of the girl on the end!” Jen said, pointing at Lily. “Enthusiasm and personality are important traits. Keep that energy high!”

  We went through the routine a few more times. It was so fun!

  “When you’re known for being a precision dance group, precise footwork certainly is critical.” Jen nodded at Trina approvingly. “Your footwork is excellent.”

  Then I got my chance to shine.

  “You,” she said. “You hold your head incredibly still, which is an underrated skill. Did you know that?”

  “Um, kind of,” I said. “I practice spotting for my turn series, which are my favorite.”

  “Oh, I’d love to see your turn series,” she said.

  Okay! I took my prep and held my plié for a second. Then I pulled up spotting six consecutive turns and landed gracefully.

  “Beautiful!” Jen clapped for me. Yay! Then I got back in line with the other girls.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” Jen asked.

  I raised my hand.

  “What did it feel like when you auditioned and then they called your name and said that you’d made it?” I asked.

  “It was the best feeling in the world!” Jen’s face lit up. “I’d worked so hard and wanted it for so long. When they said my name, I screamed. Then I alternated crying with joy and laughing for about two days.”

  We all laughed.

  “Along with dancing the Spectacular, what’s your favorite part?” Lily asked.

  “Performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!” Jen said. “Have any of you ever performed in a parade?”

  At that, everybody turned to look at me. Because the first time I’d performed in a parade with the Squad, I had—ugh, it was still so embarrassing to say—fallen off the float. I couldn’t help but groan.

  “Oh dear, I may have hit a nerve!” Jen read the room.

  “My last parade wasn’t the best, but I’m over it.” I laughed.

  “She got on TV!” Trina pointed out kindly. “Not falling, I mean. Dancing.”

  “Being on TV is another fun bonus of being a Rockette,” Jen said. “We perform on shows a lot. Oh, hello!”

  Five more dancers walked in the room, also wearing the leotards and character shoes with high heels.

  “We hear there’s an amazing dance team here for nationals,” one of the girls said.

  She meant us!

  “Do you mind if we join you?” one of them asked. “Would you like to dance the routine Jen taught you with us?
”

  Mind? We all scrambled excitedly into place.

  “Five, six, seven, eight!”

  And we danced! Kick! Ball change! I felt like I was a real Rockette! And when I did my strut kicks, I swear I even looked like one!

  When it was over, we all started clapping. This was probably the best thing EVER. And we had fun as a group. No fighting, no drama, no weird things about Eliza. It finally felt like we were enjoying ourselves, both onstage and off. I hoped this feeling would keep on going.

  CHAPTER 14

  After our amazing Rockettes experience, I had one more thing left to do—something I had been looking forward to for a while. It had all been cleared with Vanessa and my parents—I was going to Connecticut to visit my old dance school! People who lived outside New York City usually drove into Manhattan for dinner, not the other way around. Eliza’s mom was willing to bet we’d be headed against traffic both ways.

  I hoped she was right.

  I was honestly starting to get a little tired. Our schedule had been really busy. And even though we really loved the cool experiences Vanessa set up for us, we had something planned every day outside of the competition. I loved that I was living out so many dreams. But it was both great and exhausting.

  Suddenly, I missed Hailey, my parents, and my dog. I decided to video chat Hailey.

  “Harper!” she answered—no, shrieked—into my cell phone screen. It was funny what a little distance could do for a sibling. Hailey was often my number one fan, but she seemed so much more excited when I called from far away.

  “What are you all up to?” I was just as happy to see her. She was holding a mixing spoon and had one of the aprons that had come with the cooking show set she’d gotten for her birthday.

  “Hello? We were all watching on live stream! We saw your competition!”

  “Thank you!”

  “You were like this!” She held her spoon up in a pose. “Then this!” Hailey dance-posed around the room with her bowl and spoon and then went offscreen.

  “Uh, Hailey,” I said. “I can’t see you.”

  “Oh!” She popped back onscreen. She showed me the goopy brown contents of her bowl. “Anyway, I’m making you celebration brownies.”

  “Thanks? But I’m not even there,” I said. “You know I’m not going to be back for a few days?”

  “Hee-hee,” she said. “I know. But that’s what I told Mom so she’d let me bake. Sorry you’ll miss them.”

  “Let me speak to Mo.” I shook my head when I imagined the mess she was creating.

  “Mo, it’s Harper! Come on and say hi.” Hailey pointed the camera to Mo, who was clearly searching the kitchen for me.

  “Not there, Mo.” I cracked up. “I’m over here.”

  “He’s all confused.” Hailey laughed.

  Just then, a text came through. It had to be Eliza.

  We’re downstairs.

  “Oh, I gotta go, Hailey. Eliza’s here.”

  “Are you going to Connecticut?” Hailey screamed. “Don’t forget to say hi to Timothy the squirrel!”

  “Um, I’ll try. And tell Mom and Dad I said hi,” I said. “Give Mo squishes for me.”

  I hung up and zipped around the hotel room to grab my bag and my shoes. What else, what else? My key card! My phone was in my hand, but I kept feeling like there was something else I was forgetting. I hated when I got that nagging feeling, but couldn’t figure it out. Oh, well. It would come to me. I headed out the door and across the hall. After a few knocks, Vanessa came out to escort me down.

  “Ready to be reunited with your old crew?” She smiled.

  “I’m ready for it all. Being in Connecticut again is going to be bananas.” I was sure I had the same dreamy look Riley had had when looking at Trey.

  “Well, have a wonderful time, and we’ll see you back here later tonight.” Vanessa waved to Eliza’s mom, who was right outside the elevator doors.

  “Thanks, Vanessa!” I said before hugging Eliza hello with a squeal. Eliza sat up front with her mom, and I sat in the back seat, looking out the window. I recognized some of the sites we passed as Eliza’s mom drove us out of the city, although mostly I had taken the train when I’d lived here.

  “Look!” I pointed at the sign that said WELCOME TO CONNECTICUT.

  Eliza filled me in on all the gossip from the dance studio. I wished I had more time to visit with my old school friends too, but I just didn’t have enough before we both had to get back.

  However, Eliza’s mom had a little surprise for me on the way to the dance studio. She pulled off an exit early, and right away I knew where we were going.

  “I thought you’d like to swing by for a moment,” Eliza’s mom said kindly.

  My old neighborhood! We drove up the street and passed my former neighbors’ houses. When we got to my old house, Eliza’s mom stopped the car.

  It looked exactly the same. Except for some holiday decorations in the window that obviously were not ours. So the same. But different.

  Our new house was so different from this one, which had three floors and not as many windows, and enormous trees that have lost their leaves surrounding it. I stared up at my old bedroom window and wondered if they had repainted my purple walls.

  “I hate to interrupt, but we have to move forward,” Eliza’s mom said.

  Yes, I had to move forward.

  “Is that weird to look at your old house and know that it’s not your house anymore?” Eliza asked. “That would kind of drive me crazy knowing that somebody else was living in my bedroom! And using my bathroom! Also, I would miss it so much—I don’t know how you do it!”

  I slumped down in my seat. I mean, it’s not like I had a choice. I was mostly quiet as we turned a few corners and then pulled up into a familiar parking lot.

  Dance City Studios!

  My old studio! It looked exactly the same as it had when I’d left!

  “Come on,” said Eliza, leading me from the parking lot through the glass front door.

  “Harper, is that you?” Lucinda, the receptionist, was at the front desk, looking just like I remembered her. “Have you come back to visit us?” She came around the desk for a big hug.

  “We miss you around here, you know. The little ones have been asking where you went.” She smiled.

  That made me both happy and sad to hear, but I couldn’t start bawling so soon into my visit. This was only the first minute. Sniff. Okay, maybe I could. I blinked back my tears. We moved on, passing by classes in session. Through the glass, I caught glimpses of each one. Wow, being here was making old memories come back to me. I remembered the time I’d spent to perfect my signature spin in the classroom we were walking by.

  “She’s here!” Eliza ran down the hallway and threw her arms around me. “We’re having a party for you! Okay, not exactly for you.”

  Everyone was gathered there for a special Friday-Night-In fundraiser. Proceeds were to go toward raising tuition fees for one talented dancer of limited means. There was pizza, music, and dancing, so I was glad to be there. I’d missed New York–style pizza. So badly. It didn’t matter that this was my second time eating pizza. I would eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert when I was here!

  “Look who’s here!” Eliza called out.

  “HARPER!”

  I got the coolest greeting ever imagined. Some of my old dance team, and only a few new ones I hadn’t recognized. Some I’d gone to school with. A girl hugged me and more came over to say hi.

  Some kids were classmates at my old middle school, others I knew just from the dance studio.

  “Oh my gosh, when did you come back?” someone else asked.

  “How’s life in Florida?” my old neighbor Caty asked.

  “It’s cool, actually,” I said.

  “Don’t you mean ‘warm’?” she joked. Everyone groaned.

  “Yeah, that is so weird,” I said. “We wore shorts for Thanksgiving! It feels way more normal to be here in winter.”

  “Wel
l, they can’t be up on the latest dances like we are up here,” another dancer commented. I recognized her as someone from the junior squad.

  “In a way—they have their own style. It’s different, but it’s no less cool,” I told them. “Dancing is huge there, too. We have great dancers.”

  “She’s right! Her team was amazing yesterday!” Eliza said. Then she smiled mischievously. “I do have to point out that we did beat you.”

  “OOOOoooooh.” Everyone laughed.

  “Bring it,” I shot back. “That was just practice. Also, I was the one who taught you how to do that turn, so your victory is partially mine.”

  Everyone laughed again. I cracked a smile, unsure if it was betraying my friends.

  Then I laughed as hard as everyone else. But they were just kidding around. No need to take any offense.

  One or two people were already dancing, teaching one another new dance moves and practicing with one another.

  “This is such a good idea for a party,” I told Eliza, looking around as I folded my slice of pepperoni. You know what else is a good idea? New York pizza.”

  “Yeah, this is something new we started about six months ago,” she explained as she scooped extra cheese balls onto her plate. “It’s already helping two students stay on here, when before they wouldn’t have been able to.”

  “That’s amazing,” I said, touched by the story.

  Kelly, a girl who had been in a few of my classes but I didn’t know well, walked over and joined the conversation. She was one of the people who danced a lot with Eliza though.

  “So, congrats on qualifying for round two! That’s sooo great!” She congratulated me as though she were overacting. There was something weird about it, but I shrugged it off.

  Beyond high-fiving each other, Eliza and I hadn’t really spoken about what had happened, even about the fact that we were kind of in a fierce competition here. I wasn’t about to examine why we didn’t go there, but something was telling us to stay on safer topics. My neighbor was about to mess up that unspoken agreement between Eliza and me. So I changed the subject.

  “So how crazy was it that Trey Thompson MCed the competition today?!” I said.

  I was hoping someone in here had a Riley-level celebrity crush on him. Maybe they’d come over and run away with the conversation, taking it right into the safe zone of topics.