Dance Competition

“Ring, ring!” That is my alarm clock ringing. Today is the last full day of practice before the dance competition tomorrow, and I want to be ready. I am sure my group, The Golden Stars, will win.

“Dani Mitchell, are you ready?” my mom calls.

“Yes, I’ll be down in a minute,” I answer as I brush my hair. After breakfast I go to my mom’s dance studio. She is the one who got me into dancing. When I got there, I saw my best friend Dazely Palmer was already there stretching. I set my bag down and went to Dazely.

“Hey Dani, are you ready for tomorrow?” Dazely kindly asked.

I reply, “I am as ready as I’ll ever be!”

Dazely says, “I’m a little nervous but I want to win that $500 prize money”.

“We’ll win so you can buy something for your sister Alisha’s birthday.” The Golden Stars had agreed that if we win the money, it will all go to Dazely.

Soon the rest of the group arrive, and we begin practicing the dance. “Turn, step left, step right….”

After practice we plan to go out to eat, all five of us. As I left the room to get our water bottles, I heard someone run down the hallway. I turn around and when I see nobody, I shrug deciding it was not important. Later at the restaurant, Dazely says hi to someone named Bella. Dazely told me that Bella helped her with something important but I never got the details.

We all cheered, clinking our glasses, “Together with Golden Stars we’ll go far!”

After that I got picked up by my mom. She asked me, “Think you’re all ready for tomorrow?”

I answered, “I hope so.” I ate dinner early so I could go to sleep right away. That way I’d be refreshed for the day.

The next day, after breakfast, my mom asked me again, “Do you think you are ready for today?”

But this time I answered, “I think so.”

We arrived at the competition, and as I got out of the car, my mom stopped me. “Dani, honey, just some last minute advice. If you have some problems during the competition, don’t give up or change your routine completely: innovate. Use your natural creativity. And don’t forget, if you fall down, pretend it was part of the routine and get right back up on your feet.”

I said, “All right, thanks Mom!” This is the routine between us. Before any competition, she tells me these words.

I see Dazley and run to catch up with her. Once inside the building, we help each other get ready. Dazley took my curly brown hair and twisted it into a bun. I, in turn, did her straight blonde hair into a bun. When we were done getting ready, we left the room.

“Come on Dani and Dazely!” Melissa, another Golden Star member said, “Let’s watch the other groups to see what we’re up against.”

I nod, “That’s a good idea since we are last to perform.” We go to watch and see our rivals the Aqua Stars getting ready to go on stage. The leader Claire, who doesn’t like me for reasons I don’t understand, smirks at me.

I groan, then I turn around and ask Melissa, “Have you seen Ari and Hope?” They are Melissa’s best friends and also part of the Golden Star team.

She answered, “Yeah, they’re already here.”

We get there as the Aqua Stars are getting ready to start performing. For the contest, we all dance to the same song but different dance routines.

As we watch them dance, I frown and turn to Dazely, “Why is something about the routine familiar?”

Ari gasps, “That’s because it’s our dance routine!”

I say, “How could they know our —” But then realization struck me. “You know, yesterday when I went into the hallway to get our water bottles, I thought I heard someone in the hallway. It must have been them watching our practice.”

Hope wails, “What are we going to do?”

Dazely and I looked at each other, “Innovate!”

They all knew what my mom said to me all the time. We all left the room for some last minute practice. Melissa suggests we add some pop and lock to our moves. Ari suggests that we add a slide and jump at the beginning. By the time we were done, we had completely changed our routine.

We had to hurry to the stage and introduce ourselves. I saw Claire smirking at her group members, all of them high fiving each other. Then the music starts and we start dancing. I watched in satisfaction seeing the Aqua Stars’ shocked faces, and everything in the dance routine was going well despite the last minute changes. That is, until I tripped over my own feet and fell on my butt. But in that second, I remembered what my mom told me before the competition, “If you fall down, pretend it is part of the routine and get back up on your feet.”

I quickly got up and spun around to make it seem as if it was part of the routine. The audience clapped as my group members recovered quickly and we finished the dance without any more major mistakes.

When we went backstage, we discussed our performance. Melissa complimented me on my quick thinking and the rest agreed.

As we were anxiously waiting for the results, the Aqua Stars came up to us and boasted, “I bet we are going to win this whole competition, because our dance routine was awesome.”

Melissa was about to answer, but the intercom turned on. “Oh my God, they are announcing the winners!” squealed Melissa. We all listened intently.

“….The winners are the…GOLDEN STARS! Come receive your prize.”

Yeah, we won! We went on stage to receive our $500 prize. After that, we took pictures and the other groups came to congratulate us. The Aqua Stars were disappointed but they came to congratulate us, too.

Then we celebrated by having dinner at a restaurant with our families. Bella congratulates us on winning the competition.

A few days later we are all at Dazely’s house celebrating Alisha’s birthday and watching her open presents. When she got to Dazely’s present, we sat at the edge of our chairs.

“What are you waiting for?” I say, “Open it!”

As she opens it, she is shocked and happy. Inside are a lot of magazines on dresses and inspirational stuff. No wonder why Dazely got Alisha those magazines. She loves designing, and it would be great for her to get some inspiration and tickets to go see movies that Azla and Alex act in. As I watch her squeal in happiness, I realize it was worth giving the $500 to Dazely so I could see Alisha happy. I was just happy that we won through our last minute innovation.