Slip Jig Summer Read online

  Whatever. I slid my phone across the hardwood floor and into the wall. I did my barre exercises in center floor, since there was no barre in this dance studio. Pliés, tendus and grande battements. It felt so good to be dancing ballet again. But with every move, Amber’s text haunted me. Was I really falling behind? I carried on through my usual ballet-class routine, doing exercises in port de bras (carriage of the arms) and the faster, allegro movements, including sautés and pas de chat (fun jumps). Then I began to practice my pirouettes.

  “Don’t you get dizzy?” Molly was sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

  I jumped mid-pirouette and nearly fell over.

  “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” Molly said.

  “It’s okay, I just didn’t know you were there,” I said. “What did you say?”

  “How do you spin and not get dizzy?” Molly asked.

  “It’s called spotting,” I told her. “You pick a spot on the wall and keep your eyes on it until the very last moment—and then you snap your head around back to the same spot.”

  I demonstrated for her by marching in a circle and snapping my head around. Then I prepared in fourth position before demonstrating a double pirouette.

  “That’s amazing!” Molly said. “Ballet looks even harder than Irish dancing!”

  “I don’t know about that,” I said, remembering all the intricate dance steps I’d seen at the feis that day. “Irish dancing is pretty challenging. And I’ve only learned a beginner reel so far.”

  “Irish dancing is challenging,” Molly grumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I hate going to competitions. I’ve never won a single medal—not ever! My sisters always place in at least one dance.”

  “Well, if you enjoy it, it shouldn’t be about winning, right?” I said, wondering if I would still love ballet if I was moved to a different class. “You should just dance because you love to dance.”

  Molly was silent for a moment, staring at her toes. “But…I don’t like dancing.”

  “Oh. I thought you did,” I said, surprised. “You and your sisters seem to really enjoy yourselves! You go to class three times a week, you have your own dance studio—you’re so lucky.”

  “I don’t feel very lucky,” Molly said. “I also don’t really feel like dancing anymore.”

  “Oh,” I said, walking over to sit next to her on the stairs. “Well, why don’t you talk to your mom?”

  “My mom loves that we all dance—she always wanted to dance when she was younger, but her parents could never afford classes. I don’t want to disappoint her. Or my sisters,” Molly said.

  “I think they would understand,” I said.

  “No! You don’t know them! Irish dance is everything to them! I can’t tell them,” Molly said and abruptly got up. She began to run up the stairs but stopped halfway to look back. “And you can’t tell them either. Promise?”

  “Okay,” I said. “I promise.”

  I checked my phone. No new messages from Amber. No messages from Yumi. And none from my mom. I shut it off.

  Eleven

  At the next class Thomas showed me the second step for my reel—what would come after I did the sevens.

  “Everyone has two steps—we do right and left of the first step, and then right and left of the second step,” he explained. “That’s what you’ll do when you go to a feis.”

  “Oh, I don’t know if I’ll ever be going to a feis,” I said. In ballet I had never competed—we only did dance examinations and the annual recital.

  “There’s one here at the end of August—you’ll still be here, right?” he asked.

  “Well, yes…” I said.

  “Then why not make that your goal? Compete at the Rose City Feis!” Thomas said with a bright smile.

  I found myself smiling back. His smiles were contagious. “We’ll see,” I said.

  Thomas showed me what my second reel step would be—it was much more complicated than the first step.

  “When do I get to learn a slip jig?” I asked.

  Thomas laughed. “You’re eager! Once you can show Anna you have your reel down, you can learn a light jig. Once you show her you can handle a reel and a light jig, she’ll let you learn a slip jig. And then you can compete in all three at the feis!”

  I nodded but didn’t feel 100 percent committed to the idea. If I spent too much time Irish dancing, would my ballet dancing suffer?

  I decided I was going to practice ballet in the basement studio for an entire day. I was tying up my pointe shoes when I got a text from Yumi telling me how hard the summer session was and how she had finally mastered her double pirouettes on pointe. I could do doubles in my leather ballet slippers, but definitely not on pointe. I wrote back congratulating her. Right after that Amber texted, asking if I had learned any new jigs.

  I haven’t learned any jigs yet. Only a reel.

  I was just kidding.

  Oh, right. Yumi says she can do double pirouettes on pointe now. That’s pretty cool.

  I guess. I mean, the whole class can now, thanks to Madame No Fun.

  I just stared at the screen. The whole class could do doubles on pointe? Was she serious?

  Wow. Congrats.

  Well, gotta go. Have fun dancing like a leprechaun. Hope you still remember what a plié is in September.

  I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. I was enjoying Irish-dance classes. Was that wrong? Amber made me feel like I was cheating on ballet. And she made me feel like I was only falling farther and farther behind. It didn’t really matter how much I practiced ballet on my own—it wasn’t the same as being in a real class. And it definitely wasn’t the same as being in a ballet class with a teacher like Madame Lebrun.

  I looked up at myself in the mirror and tucked a piece of flyaway hair behind my ear. I prepared in fourth and then tried to turn a double pirouette on pointe. I completely fell out of my turn. I tried again, this time only going for a single—but fell out of my turn again. I took a deep breath in and then let it out again. And tried again for a single. I couldn’t stick my turn. I plunked myself down on the floor and tore off my shoes. What was the point?

  I slipped on my leather ballet slippers and stood back up. If I was going to lose all my ballet technique over the summer anyway, why not practice the one dance form I was going to class for? I started going over my reel steps. I didn’t care what Amber thought. Irish dancing wasn’t a joke. It was hard. And a part of me was beginning to really love it.

  Twelve

  My cousins came down in the afternoon to practice their own steps and give me advice.

  “Keep your legs crossed!” Fiona shouted at me.

  “You can get up higher on those toes, ballerina!” Lissa called.

  “Arms! Stop letting your arms flop around!” Molly said.

  I finished what felt like my hundredth reel that day, pointed my foot and bowed to my cousins. I collapsed to the floor, exhausted. I could feel sweat trickling down my back.

  “Dance like that during tomorrow’s class and Anna will be sure to let you learn a light jig!” Fiona said.

  “Really?” I asked, still lying on the floor, panting.

  “Yeah. What’s got into you anyway?” Lissa asked.

  “I just—love watching the dancers do their slip jigs in class,” I said, pushing myself to a sitting position. “I want to learn that dance. It’s so graceful and beautiful! Thomas said if I do my reel well, I can learn a light jig next, and if I can do both my reel and light jig, I’ll be allowed to learn a slip jig.”

  “I’m pretty sure you’ll be learning a slip jig by the end of the summer,” Molly said with a smile.

  “Thomas also mentioned the Rose City Feis at the end of August. Would I be allowed to compete?” I asked, even though I wasn’t completely sure about it yet.

  “Yeah! Of course! We can ask Mom to register you,” Lissa said.<
br />
  “Why would you want to compete?” Molly asked.

  “I don’t know if I want to yet,” I said. “But… Thomas mentioned it and…” I felt my cheeks growing hot. Darn it! I didn’t want my stupid blush to give me away, but I could already tell my cousins were noticing. Lissa and Fiona exchanged a look and grinned at each other.

  “You like Thomas!” Fiona declared.

  “No!” I exclaimed, but my face got warmer.

  “He is pretty cute,” Lissa said with a shrug. “And you have been spending a lot of one-on-one time with him during class.”

  “He was teaching me my reel!” I said.

  Fiona shrugged. “All the girls have a crush on Thomas.”

  “Do you?” I asked.

  The twins exchanged a look again and then nodded.

  “Like he’d ever notice us,” Lissa said with a shrug. “It’s just a silly crush. Shaina has her eye on him anyway—his two-hand-reel partner.”

  “Yeah, but Lissa really likes Riley,” Fiona said.

  This time is was Lissa’s turn to blush.

  “Who’s Riley?” I asked.

  “He’s an Irish dancer from Guelph,” Fiona explained. “Sometimes Lissa sees him at competitions.”

  “More like stalks him,” Molly said.

  “I do not!” Lissa shouted. “I’ve even talked to him! Once…two summers ago.”

  “Was he at the last feis we went to?” I asked.

  “No,” Lissa said with an exaggerated pout. “But maybe next feis…”

  “Maybe next feis,” Molly said teasingly.

  “Shut up!” Lissa said and pushed Molly, who pretended to fall over.

  “Boys are boring,” Molly said. “Natalie, can you show Fiona and Lissa that ballerina spotting thing?”

  “Um…okay,” I said, happy that Molly had changed the subject. I didn’t really want to talk about Thomas anymore. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. I mean, he was cute…and nice… but I was only going to be here for the summer. I shook my head and walked out to the center of the studio to turn some pirouettes. I wasn’t on pointe now. I was determined to show my cousins what a perfect double looked like.

  I did feel awkward at first—like I was showing off—but Fiona and Lissa seemed genuinely interested in learning about another dance form. After showing them the pirouettes (which I pulled off successfully) I taught them how to do pliés and tendus. I showed them the different positions of the feet. Molly sat at the bottom of the stairs, watching. She insisted she just wanted to watch and didn’t want to try out the ballet steps.

  “I think we’ll stick with Irish dancing,” Fiona said as she collapsed on the floor after trying out a series of fast-paced sautés.

  I laughed and collapsed next to her. It felt wonderful to dance ballet again. But I was still excited about learning more Irish dancing.

  Thirteen

  Later that night I made my weekly call to my mom. She sounded tired and distracted—like she always did. I missed her and wished we could talk more—about Irish dancing, about ballet, about Amber. But it was like she couldn’t really focus on what I was saying. I knew all her hard work was for us—to pay for our home, my ballet classes. I just wished I could see her and really talk to her.

  During the next class I got a chance to show Anna my reel. She was impressed and asked a girl named Melodie to teach me a light jig. I was excited to learn the new dance, but a little disappointed that it wasn’t Thomas teaching me.

  The next day we were all at Quinn’s Aquariums again, helping out Uncle Nolan. It was a quiet day with very few customers. I found myself practicing my new light jig between the rows of softly glowing aquariums. Uncle Nolan laughed when he saw me.

  “So you have the Irish-dance bug too?” he said with a smile.

  I shrugged. “I guess.” But why did admitting that make me feel like I was cheating on ballet? What would Amber say?

  “Why are you practicing so hard?” Molly asked. “It’s not like it’s very difficult for you. You’re a natural, especially with your ballet background.”

  The door dinged as a customer entered the store. Uncle Nolan went to help them.

  “I really want to learn a slip jig by the end of the summer,” I explained to Molly. “So I can compete in the Rose City Feis.” And to prove to Amber (and myself?) that this whole summer wasn’t a waste of time. “I mean, if I’m going to miss an entire summer of ballet, I might as well try to excel at the one kind of dance I am doing, right?”

  Molly shrugged. “I could show you my stupid slip jig,” she said.

  “You could?” I asked, ignoring the word stupid.

  “Sure,” Molly said. “I’ll teach you tomorrow. Then you can show Anna during our next class. Just don’t tell my sisters. It’ll be a surprise.”

  The following day Fiona and Lissa invited me to go bike riding with some of their friends, but I told them I’d rather stay home.

  “Are you ready?” I asked Molly as soon as they’d left.

  “Sure, let’s go downstairs,” Molly said.

  We did a quick warm-up together.

  “Okay then, with the slip jig, we start the same as all the other dances—in first position, point and rise,” Molly said as she did the actions herself. I quickly did the same. “Then we’re going to point your right foot twice and hop back, and then the same on the left…”

  Molly patiently showed me the steps over and over. By dinnertime I was able to do them on my own. I practiced my reel and light jig too. And then I went back and did the new slip jig steps again, just to be certain I could do it on my own on Saturday. I wondered if Thomas would be impressed I had learned it so quickly.

  I texted Yumi.

  I learned a slip jig today. It’s one of the more graceful dances.

  Amber says you might not be in our class next year.

  I hesitated before I replied.

  I don’t think I’m falling behind that much. I still practice ballet. And I’m still in shape from doing Irish dancing all summer. It’s very fast-paced with lots of jumping.

  It’s not the same. Amber says Irish dancing is just a bunch of silly jigs, and you don’t even use your arms.

  I couldn’t help but wonder what else Amber might be saying about me. And why? Yumi and Amber had been my two best friends for the past five years. I was having trouble understanding what I had done to Amber to suddenly make her so…mean. It wasn’t my choice to leave for the entire summer. It wasn’t my choice to fall behind in ballet. And so what if I was experimenting with another dance form? Why should she even be mad about that in the first place?

  Irish dancing isn’t silly. It’s hard. My cousins have practiced for years to be able to place at competitions. There’s even a world competition for Irish dancing.

  Okay, okay. Amber says don’t get your bloomers in a twist.

  Amber was there? Reading Yumi’s text messages with her? Whatever.

  It’s hard. Maybe you guys should try it before you knock it.

  I waited for them to reply. Nothing. I shut my phone off. Maybe I wouldn’t be returning to ballet.

  Fourteen

  On Saturday morning I could feel myself growing more and more nervous. My legs and arms felt shaky. But by the time we had finished our warm-ups in class, I was feeling more excited than nervous. We did our reels first, as usual, followed by our light jigs—and then it was time for the slip jigs. I went and got in line with the others, with Molly as my partner. Thomas gave me an odd look, but no one else seemed to notice. Fiona and Lissa were ahead of us. It wasn’t until I had successfully completed my slip jig and walked off the dance space that I dared to look over at Anna. She gave me a puzzled look but kept silent. She did not smile. She did not congratulate me.

  “What are you doing?” Thomas whispered as I sat on the floor. The rest of the class was now putting on their hard shoes. I noticed Fiona and Lissa frownin
g at me, but I had no idea why.

  “I got Molly to teach me a slip jig—for the Rose City Feis,” I told him.

  “Did Anna know about that?” he asked.

  “No, I wanted to surprise her,” I said. I smiled, but he didn’t smile back. Why was everyone acting so weird? I began to feel sick to my stomach. Had I danced horribly? It had felt all right.

  When the dancers had done their treble jigs, hornpipes and set dances, we all rose for our final bow.

  “Molly and Natalie—may I talk to you before you leave?” Anna said.

  Fiona and Lissa said they’d wait outside. Molly and I walked over to Anna.

  “Molly,” Anna said, “did you teach Natalie your slip jig?”

  “Yes,” Molly answered, looking down.

  “Did I ask you to do so?” Anna asked.

  “No, miss,” Molly said.

  “I’m sorry,” I jumped in. “I told her I was desperate to learn a slip jig, so she taught me hers.” I could feel my palms growing sweaty.

  “It’s up to the teacher to decide when a student should learn a new step or dance. The teacher knows when her students are ready,” Anna said. “Molly, you should know this. You’ve been dancing with me long enough. A student is never permitted to teach another student new steps outside of class.”

  “I’m sorry, miss,” Molly said. “It’s just that… she’s already a ballerina and all…so I thought it would be okay.”

  “I understand that’s why Natalie has been picking up the dance steps much quicker than the average beginner,” Anna said, “but that’s no excuse for ignoring the rules.” She turned to me. “I understand that ballet classes are very strict and have rules too, just like we do. Isn’t that correct, Natalie?”

  “Yes,” I said quietly. I thought of how hard I’d had to work before I was allowed to start classes on pointe. I would never have even bought pointe shoes before my teacher gave me permission. “I’m sorry.”