me, Maddie, Kenzie and mom get to the studio early as Kenzie has a photo shoot for her music!
me and Maddie stay in the dancers den while Kenzie does the shoot
|Pyramid|
"alright lets go come on." Abby then calls for us we walk in and Kenzies outfit is just adorable
"alright congratulations girl the group was the overall high scoring group routine twelve times in a row"
we all clap
"i wanted a twelfth for my shelf and now i have it.. alright you are going once again to Ohio Columbus Ohio let's get to the pyramid."
"Maddie, Mackenzie, Kayla, Kendall, Chloe and Nia..because every single one of you did exactly what you were supposed to do when you can't hear the music and something goes wrong you keep dancing"
i sigh of relief and i clap
"good job." Christi says
"and Kalani stole the show" Abby says
we clap for
i'm sad i'm not with Kalani because i won aswell but people need turns at the top aswell.
"this week moms i am deciding on the new team this revealing of the new team is final audition in pittsburgh"
"and they will all come here" Holly asks
"they will all come here" Abby says
"girls you will have somebody on the new team that's going to go up against you get that? you have won twelve times in a row will this team live up to that? will this new team have what it takes? i don't know..alrighty i want you to know i'm having auditions for Mackenzies video Mackenzie we're going to be auditioning in house i'm utilising my other students you understand that"
"yes." Kenzie nods
"and Mackenzie will be making the final decisions on who is selected." Abby says
"no she's not going to pick me" Maddie says
"that's not fair" i pitch in
"i am going to pick you both" Kenzie says
"is this nepotism is that what that's called" Abby says
"only if they're good at the choreography." Kenzie says
"oh please." i say
the moms laugh
"let me give out the assignments let's go now this week moms i might not be there as you know my mother is dying she's not going to get better she's not going to be cured right now what the hospice tries to make her do is make her comfortable." Abby says
"can i say something..i just wanna tell you that thank you so much letting me be such a part of your moms life these past couple of years we've been your mom like i told her today she looked right in my eyes and i said you know mom you are my mom now because my mom left me so long ago." my mom starts
i start to cry and so does Maddie and i warp my arm around her
"and i love her so much i love you" mom says as she starts to cry
Abby calls me and Maddie over
and she hugs us
"there's some place better" Abby whispers to us
and i cry harder
"she's going to be..she's going to be so much better you know" mom says
Abby let's us go and we walk back to the line
i wipe my eyes
"i love her so much" mom says
"there are good dance teachers and there are bad dance teachers but every dance teacher has to love children they would never do this job there are a million other jobs that you could do besides this." Abby says then she calls Chloe over and hugs her
i give Kenzie a side hug
"my mother even at her age still has people working in the entertainment industry you never know where it's gonna stop and you never know where you're going to end up doing this career could take you onward and upwards a million different things and that's why i believe every child should dance okay alright.. solos"
"Kayla you're doing a solo this week it is entitled Heartless"
i smile
"Kendall you're doing a solo it is called dream it i want you to dream that your feet are stretched got it?"
"yes" Kendall says
"Nia solo" Abby says
we all clap for
"Nia thr name of your solo is called damsel in distress is it a musical theatre piece."
"a duet Chloe and Kalani"
we clap for Chloe and Kalani and they hug
"okie doke, the name of the duet is For You Two"
"and the group routine right now everybody's in it the group routine is called Bollywood And Vine like Hollywood And Vine so let's get working ready come on girls spread apart moms can go upstairs"
mom comes over and hugs Abby
"keep my updated..i love you my moms waiting for her" mom says
Kenzie then goes over and hugs Abby
we help to take down the photo shoot stuff before we start rehearsals
|Group Rehearsals|
we learn the group routine and it's very technical so it's going to be a challenge
we go over it a few times and then Abby leaves the room to go to her mom
and Gia takes charge
we then get dismissed
me and the girls are in the dancers den doing school work
"i'm going to miss her." Maddie says
"she's been there since we all started" Chloe says
"we've grown up with Mrs Miller" i say
"it's going to be tough" Maddie says
i nod and i fan my face to not cry
Gia then calls me Nia and Kendall for our solos
Nia learns hers first and it looks like a lot of fun
then Kendall learns her solo and it's Jazz
and it's really nice
i then learn my solo it's lyrical and i love the song it's to the song July by Noah Cyrus
"you're face needs to match the movement.. i've been holding my breath and counting to ten" Gia says and demonstrates the step
i copy her and we carry on
i love my solo this week all the turns are so pretty and i love the acting
|Two Days To Competition|
|Kenzies Video Auditions|
we are all here early for Kenzies video audition i'm a bit annoyed that Abbys making me and Maddie audition but we'll get picked anyways i've bribed Kenzie
"you are all invited here to be in a video for Mack Z everybody spread apart" Abby says
the first couple of girls go
"number four i'm going to let you go" Abby says
more girls go then Abby cuts some of them
Kalani and Chloe then do their improv and i liked it
Maddie does her improv then i go up to do mine
i take out my big turn sequence into a leap to the floor and i roll into a aerial
Abby then have Kenzie stand Beside Chloe and Kalani
"okay number six you and your mom can leave.. nineteen i am going to use you to do some of the stuff on the bed with the younger people."
i'm shocked Chloe got cut but then she didn't sign the contract so that's why.
"number thirteen and fourteen we feel that you maybe better served as an assistant." Abby says
my mouth gapes open and i look to Maddie
this little child is getting it as SOON as i get my hands on her
"during the shoot rather than actually on camera."
i look to my mom in shock then to Maddie and back to Abby and Kenzie
"maybe they should be on camera...yeah" Kenzie says
"you asked me if you could help me pick the people and i said yes you can pick the people but now with that comes
responsibility" Abby says
"sometimes people change their mind though." Kenzie says
Mackenzie is lucky right now.
"okay everybody congratulations you will be dancing in the video" Abby says
we all clap
|Group Rehearsals|
we go from the group routine from the top
"we have another situation with the costumes again this week and i'm not going to do what i did last week everybody brought old stuff in and we made do and we made do i don't wanna make do i don't want to take any chances i'm going to see the group number once and i'm pulling somebody." Abby says
we do the routine from the top and i make sure it's perfect i don't even wanna risk the chance of getting pulled
"Nia where is your focus on that?!" Abby yells
after we finish Abby calls Nia over
"i am making the esiquative decision to pull Nia out of the group she has a solo this week the last time she did a solo she didn't place this is to benefit you timing why's before you get on that bus back to Ohio"
Abby then leaves to go see her mom
|One Day To Competition|
mom leaves me, Maddie and Kenzie with Greg while she visits Abby and Mrs Miller
we do some school while we eat breakfast it's a very different atmosphere this morning
Greg drops us off at the studio
|Group Rehearsals|
we are going from the top of the number
and it's so technical like if the arms aren't right you're done.
|Chloe and Kalanis Duet Rehearsals|
we watch Chloe and Kalani do their duet and it's very pretty
i turn to look at the cork board at the back of the room and it's all of our headshots at the bottom with a lot of girls who were at the auditions scattered across the place
"that's a bit odd." i mumble
Chloe nods in agreement.
|Competition Day|
we all get on the bus and me and Chloe sit in our usual seats
"guys number thirteen" Gia says
"ah lucky lucky" Christi says
"i don't know..Abbys really superstitious about it and i can't believe she's not here" Gia says
"but she is where she needs to be she is with her mother we all know what we need to do but we also need to make Abby proud and maybe give Mrs Miller a moment of silence in the bus ride before we actually get to our destination just to think about some positive and happy memories about Mrs Miller because to be honest with you.. you are her living legacy any Mrs Miller stories that they wanna share." Holly says
"i remember the first time i met Mrs Miller she had her bright blue shirt on with the french twist in and a big flower her eyes were so blue" Kendall says
"i remember once we were at a competition i came offstage from doing my solo and she came over and she gave me a hug and she said um that i've grown up so much and i'm an amazing dancer" Chloe says while tearing up
"she's a nice lady" Christi says
i stand up and give Chloe a hug
"i remember from the earliest i can remember Mrs Miller always called me and Maddie the opposite names..anytime we had a duet she'd day to me well done Maddie then correct herself.. it was like our little inside joke and-and" i say and i start to cry
and Chloe hugs me
"and see that's nice that we have all these happy memories and i love these Mrs Miller stories and i hope we can continue to remember Mrs Miller the way that we grew up with her or seen her because we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Mrs Miller" Holly says
"you're right" Christi says
"let's bow our heads and reflect and think about Mrs Miller" Holly says
i take Chloes hand and i reach over to take Kalanis
and we have a moment of silence
"it's okay Maddie.. it's okay to cry" mom says
Nia hugs Maddie
"it's okay to feel your emotions" Holly says
Chloe hugs me and Christi reaches over for Chloes hand
"i'm going to miss her" mom says
we all reach Ohio for the competition and we walk to our dressing room
i do my makeup for my solo
and Maddie helps Kenzie with her group costume makeup
me all leave to change for solos and what not
Kaylas solo costume with the clip at the back of the bun
we head back into the dressing room
"hey girls we just talked to Abby she had a rough night last night but she has confidence in you guys." mom says
"she's not coming?" Kenzie asks
"no honey she's staying with her mom." mom says
mom brings me over to her
"when you dance dedicate it to Mrs Miller.. because i think she would really love this dance" mom says
"she loves solos like this." i say
"yeah she does.. so when you go out there perform it for Mrs Miller." mom says
i nod and i start to cry
"i wish she could see it." i say
"don't cry honey.. she'll see it when she's in a better place she will see it." mom says and hugs me
i nod
we head backstage for the solos and duet
Chloe and Kalanis duet is up first
and they enter the stage they start the duet and the choreography is gorgeous they are really good duet partners
they finish the duet and they exit the stage
Kendall enters for her solo and i like her costume it's nice
Jazz is really Kendall's thing but i need to win
Kendall finishes her solo and she exits the stage
"judges please welcome to the stage act number 22 Heartless" the announcer says
i enter the stage and my music starts
i absolutely out my all into this
i'm doing this for Mrs Miller so i make sure my emotion, technique is fabulous
i do my turn section into a leap to the floor and i do my floor combo
i fix in off my solo and i see my mom crying
i exit the stage and Maddie hugs me and i start to cry
"don't cry..you'll make me cry" Maddie says and she hugs me
Nias solo is up next and she enters the stage her solo so really cute this week but it's really not competitive at all
she finishes her solo and exits the stage she still nailed the entire routine and we run and hug her
we enter the dressing room and mom hugs me
"Mrs Miller will be so proud." mom says
i smile and i nod
we start getting ready for the group routine
group costume:
we say a prayer for Mrs Miller and then we head backstage for the group routine
"please welcome to the stage act number 66 Bollywood and Vine" the announcer says
we all enter the stage and we start the group routine and i make sure my arm placement is right
we do the routine and i think we nailed it
|Awards|
"alright ladies and gentlemen we are going to recognise our top five this time receiving fifth place for our junior solo category.. one night only"
"fourth high score gravity."
"third high score damsel in distress"
we clap for Nia as she gets her award
"second high score put your hands together for dream it"
we clap for Kendall as she gets her award
"and our first high score please put your hands together for Heartless"
i beam and i get my trophy
i give Kendall and Nia a small high five we made the top three!
we take a bow and we sit back down
the duet ends up getting first place so i'm so happy for them
"junior small group category"
"your third high score i don't speak german"
"second high score paris to berlin"
"ladies and gentlemen your high score drum roll please in the junior small group category Columbus Ohio goes to Bollywood and Vine"
we get up cheering WE DID IT!
"congratulations would you like to recognise your studio"
"Abby Lee Dance Company!" we all cheer
we take a bow
and we head back to the dressing room cheering
mom calls Abby
"hello" Abby says
"we won!" we all cheer
"you guys.. thank your lucky stars." Abby says
"the high score of the entire day." mom says
"the duet got first" Kalani says
"first and high score" Abby asks
"yep" Kalani says
"i got first for my solo" i say
"then i got second" Kendall says
"oh Nia" mom says and brings the phone to Nia
"i got third.. next week i would like to be in the group" Nia says
"we'll see" Abby says
"tell her who you did it for" mom says
"we did it for Mrs Miller" we say
"i'm so excited i'm going to walk right back in the room and tell her." Abby says
"can you tell Mrs Miller that we love her." mom says
"we love you!" we say
we then pack up and head for our bus home.