Studio Showdown Read online

  About the Book

  Four friends. One dance school. A whole lot of drama.

  Paige is known for doing every style of dance. But can she choreograph as well?

  It’s time for the end-of-year concert at Silver Shoes. Everyone is super excited and the studios are buzzing. Miss Caroline assigns Paige and Ellie a junior class and challenges them to put together a dance for the concert. Paige is thrilled to be choreographing with her best friend and can’t wait to use some of the new jive moves she has been learning. But it soon becomes obvious that Paige and Ellie have completely different ideas about what they want to do! Will they learn how to work together in time for the final performance?

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  So You Think You Know Jive?

  Glossary

  About the Author

  Collect them all!

  Copyright Notice

  For Sara-Rose – the Paige to my Ellie!

  Chapter One

  ‘I am so exhausted!’ My best friend Ellie heaved a huge sigh and let her shoulders fall forward over her knees.

  ‘Uh, Ellie?’ Our other friend Riley tugged on the two braids she was styling in Ellie’s blonde curls. ‘If you keep moving your head around, it’s going to look like Del did your hair.’

  ‘Del has great hair,’ said Ellie. ‘That’s one cute baby sister you’ve got, Riley.’ She looked over at me and grinned. ‘Almost as cute as our little Paige here.’

  ‘Who could be as cute as me?’ I joked, although really, I think Del had it in the bag. Riley’s family is from Fiji, and they all have these beautiful dark curls, gorgeous skin and big brown eyes. Plus Riley is so tall! I always feel like a doll when I’m next to her, because I’m a bit on the short and skinny side.

  Ellie, Riley and I go to Silver Shoes, which is a dance studio built from an old church. It’s the best dance school in all of Bayside! We’ve been going here since we were tinies. This year another girl joined our class – her name’s Ashley, and she quickly became our best friend, too.

  I love being at Silver Shoes. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the dancing I do (five styles and counting!) but the girls always make me feel like I can achieve anything.

  We were sitting around in one of the studios, waiting for jazz class to start. Ellie had decided she wanted two braids to go with her bright pink Danceworks two-piece and the little stars she’d stuck at the corners of her green eyes.

  ‘I wonder where Ash is?’ I asked. ‘I swear I saw her before.’

  As if on cue, Ashley raced through the door. ‘Achoooooo!’ She sneezed so hard her fringe flew up out of her eyes.

  ‘Ew,’ said our dance frenemy, Jasmine, who was stretching nearby at the barre. She turned to her sidekick, Tove. ‘Where’s some sanitiser when you need it? I don’t want to catch anything.’

  Jasmine and I used to be friends when we were tinies, but she seems to have really upped her snobby game in the past few years. Of course, she is a beautiful dancer. She and Ellie are always competing. I’d admire Jasmine’s dancing more if she brought a positive attitude along with it.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Ash, making a show of wiping her nose and then ‘accidentally’ flinging her snotty hand in their direction.

  ‘Oh my god!’ shrieked Jasmine, shielding herself behind Tove.

  ‘Silver Shoes has got dust in places you never thought possible,’ said Ash, grinning.

  ‘I think it falls out of Jasmine’s brain,’ Ellie sniped before collapsing over her knees again.

  Ash helps out around Silver Shoes, cleaning and doing odd jobs, because her family are a bit tight on money and she gets classes at a discount rate. She’s achieved so much this year, though! She won a competition to be the face of Danceworks’ hip hop range, and she was in a video clip for R ‘n’ B star Fine China not too long ago. The girl sure knows how to move!

  Ash leaned over and tapped Ellie on the head. ‘Hello?’ she said. ‘Anyone home?’

  ‘Depends who’s there,’ grumbled Ellie, finally sitting up.

  ‘Now, stay,’ ordered Riley, pulling on Ellie’s braids again. ‘You’re the one who wanted these!’

  ‘You didn’t get your beauty sleep, smelly Ellie?’ asked Ash, flopping down next to us. ‘Or were you up all night singing to yourself in the mirror?’

  ‘No, I was up preparing myself for war against your sense of humour.’ Ellie grinned. She rubbed her eyes, loosening the stars stuck there. ‘It’s just been a crazy past few weeks, you know? With exams, and then I was in Mary Poppins, and we’ve only just finished the run of that –’

  ‘And all the fan mail you have to answer,’ joked Ash.

  ‘Ellie was amazing in Mary Poppins,’ I said. ‘I’ve never seen you perform that well.’

  And she really was! I saw the musical three times, and Ellie shone brighter with every show.

  ‘And you know what’s coming up next?’ asked Riley, tying an elastic around the end of Ellie’s hair.

  We all looked at her.

  ‘The final performance,’ she said. ‘And we know how Miss Caroline loves her end-of-year concerts!’

  Riley was right. When Miss Caroline skipped into the studio a moment later, you could tell she was excited. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed and her greying hair was coming out of its bun like she’d been pacing around her office, thinking up ideas.

  We could tell she was about to announce the most extravagant end-of-year concert yet!

  Chapter Two

  ‘The theme,’ said Miss Caroline, ‘is Hollywood glamour.’

  ‘Yesssss!’ cheered Ellie.

  Jasmine rolled her eyes. ‘More like Hollywood failure,’ she said in Ellie’s direction.

  ‘As I’ve already told the other classes,’ continued Miss Caroline, ‘I’ve been preparing various competition dances all year with this theme in mind. So we’ll use those, of course, but we’ll also be doing a whole school number, as well as a few extra short pieces to bring the theme together.’

  ‘Where will the concert be, Miss Caroline?’ asked Tove. ‘At the Bayside Entertainment Centre, like last year?’

  ‘Well,’ said Miss Caroline, squeezing her hands together. A beautiful smile spread across her face and you could see why every student adores her. If I ever grow up to be a dance teacher, I’d want to be just like Miss Caroline. ‘That is the terrific news … because we’ve been lucky enough this year to secure the one and only Grand Palace Theatre!’

  There were gasps all around the room. Ellie squealed and turned to me, jumping up and down and pulling on my arm. Even Jasmine looked impressed.

  The Grand Palace Theatre is an old but very elegant theatre in the city. It’s even listed under the town’s heritage buildings (buildings that are really important because of their age, so you have to take extra care looking after them). It has a circular stage where everyone sits around you, and there’s even a low platform in the audience where special people used to sit down and eat while they watched the show.

  Lots of famous celebrities have performed at the Grand Palace Theatre. Miss Caroline must have done some super hard work to book in
our little dance studio! Not even Dance Art Academy, our main, rich rival school, has danced there.

  It was really, really exciting.

  And very scary!

  But I knew that I, and everyone else, was up to the challenge.

  ‘So,’ continued Miss Caroline, speaking over our excited murmurs, ‘I have prepared a very special number for our class. It will be the finale of the first half and it’s going to be over the top and big on the glamour!’

  Ellie sighed longingly next to me and clasped her hands to her heart.

  ‘Who knows the song, “Circus”?’ Miss Caroline asked.

  A few girls nodded their heads. Ellie’s hand, of course, shot up. It’s by one of her favourite singers, Britney Spears. On her wall at home Ellie has a collage of all the biggest and most famous pop stars in history. Britney is right in the middle. I guess one day Ellie would like to be in a similar collage on someone else’s wall.

  Miss Caroline held up her hand to get our attention. ‘The theme will be how the life of a Hollywood star is like being in a circus, with everyone’s eyes on you. So there’ll be top hats, batons – the works. And at the end, the tinies are going to come in dressed as paparazzi and do their own little routine around you.’

  ‘That sounds so cute,’ Ellie squealed, grabbing my arm even tighter.

  ‘I’d also really love a few flash acrobatic moves in there,’ Miss Caroline said, looking to our two best acro dancers, Ashley and a girl called Tala.

  ‘I don’t need everyone for it, though,’ Miss Caroline added.

  Whew. In the sudden silence that fell over the room I heard someone’s tummy gurgle. Nobody wanted to be one of the people who wasn’t chosen. My own tummy got all wormy. I always worry about not getting picked. I know I can dance, but sometimes I feel like I’m a step behind all the other girls, although Ellie has told me a million times it’s just a confidence thing.

  ‘Everyone start stretching, please. But Jasmine, Brooke, Ellie and Paige, can you come and see me for a minute?’

  ‘What?’ Ellie, who was about to drop straight into her hamstring stretch, stopped. She pulled on one of her braids. ‘What did Miss Caroline say?’

  I cleared my throat and tried not to sound too disappointed. ‘I think she said we weren’t chosen,’ I whispered.

  I’d done really well in exams, so I was surprised to not be picked. I felt worse for Ellie. She’d been so excited about doing the ‘Circus’ dance, and Miss Caroline had made it sound so special.

  Riley and Ash were watching us and I gave them a small smile. Ellie couldn’t even manage that, though. Her face looked awful – a mix of surprise and disappointment that made my heart ache for her.

  Across the room, Jasmine was furious, her hands in two tight fists by her sides. Brooke looked like she couldn’t care less.

  Miss Caroline caught all our eyes and beckoned us over to her.

  I gave a sigh, took Ellie by the hand, and trudged over, ready to hear the worst.

  Chapter Three

  Turns out the joke was on us!

  We four girls weren’t singled out because we’d done anything wrong – it was exactly the opposite.

  Miss Caroline wanted to rework one of Jasmine’s solos from this year (no doubt the one that she’d won with at every competition she’d entered) to suit the ‘Hollywood glamour’ theme, and Brooke was in charge of choreographing the paparazzi dance for the tinies. Brooke’s done lots of pantomimes with kids and stuff like that, so I could see why Miss Caroline chose her.

  As for Ellie and me – she asked us to choreograph a routine together!

  Ellie and I have been duo partners ever since we could dance. We match each other really well and I feel like dancing just with Ellie makes me shine because her energy is so contagious. Miss Caroline welcomes our ideas when it comes to choreographing our routines, and we’ve had heaps of fun helping her over the years.

  So our first full teaching role at Silver Shoes was to choreograph a short routine for the age group below us, the Under 8/9s, or the Intermediate Juniors.

  At first I felt a little sick at the thought of having my very own routine to choreograph. People were going to be watching it and Miss Caroline was relying on us to create a dance that was of Silver Shoes standard. What if I wasn’t up to it? What did I, little old Paige, know about making up a routine? Surely the dances Ellie and I made up in the school playground, or the tiny bit we helped Miss Caroline out with in our duos, was nothing compared to making up a whole dance by ourselves!

  But then I saw how excited Ellie was, and how her happiness and passion lit up her whole face. I knew that, as long as she was with me, I could do anything.

  Plus, I needed this for my confidence. I’d learnt from the past to stand up for myself and my talents, and this was a great opportunity to show Miss Caroline and everyone else how far I’d come this year, with both my dancing and my self-esteem.

  ‘Ohmygosh, Paige,’ Ellie chattered, speaking all in a rush. She rummaged around in her dance bag and pulled out a notebook and a pen with a fluffy tutu on the end. ‘Can you believe it?! This is the chance of a lifetime! I have so many ideas. This is going to be, like, the best routine ever, and it will be perfect for the Juniors – they’ve got Sotarah and Gaia and that Tanesha girl who’s really flexible …’

  Ellie sprawled on the floor and pulled me down with her. We were in the next studio, where Miss Caroline had let us work on our choreography while she taught the rest of the class the ‘Circus’ dance.

  ‘You’re not upset that you don’t get to be in the Britney routine?’ I asked, straightening the strap on my leotard.

  ‘Oh, that.’ Ellie swiped at the air with her pen. ‘I can dance in a Britney routine any old day. This is all about us, Paige! Let’s brainstorm.’

  ‘Okay,’ I began, ‘well, first –’

  ‘So the song is going to be “Applause”, I think we can both agree on that.’ Ellie started scrawling over the page in her notebook, writing down everything that popped into her head. I stared at what she was writing.

  ‘And, like, obviously we can put ourselves in the routine too, if we want,’ she said. ‘So we can position everyone around us.’

  ‘Um, Ellie,’ I said, as gently as I could. ‘I don’t think that was the idea. It’s more that we give the Juniors a chance to shine and choreograph a routine that works to their level.’

  ‘What? And make it look like we can’t dance?’ Ellie giggled. ‘You don’t want to look silly, do you, Paige?’

  ‘Of course not,’ I stuttered, tugging at my strap again. ‘But –’

  ‘And so with “Applause”,’ Ellie chattered on, ‘I think we should be the superstars and the Juniors can be our groupies, and it will be this really over-the-top jazz style, like almost a bit modern …’

  ‘Well, actually I had this idea …’ I tried again.

  ‘I’m so happy to be doing this with you, Paige!’ Ellie squealed. She grabbed my hands and squeezed them. Then she drew a love heart on one of my hands. ‘We make such a good team.’

  I swallowed what I was about to say. Ellie and I did make a good team, I couldn’t argue with that.

  But I had a feeling this particular team was going to be 90 per cent Ellie and 10 per cent Paige.

  Chapter Four

  ‘Tap tap, twist, twist and round; tap tap, twist and round,’ I chanted to myself as I practised some steps with my ballroom partner, Benji. We’ve been ballroom partners since the start of the year and done all types of styles I’d never thought I’d do – waltz, tango, samba. Now we were rehearsing the jive for an upcoming competition.

  For once, I was really excited! I think the dance style of jiving really suits me. The timing might be a little different, but a jive is very much the same as a fast-paced jazz routine, and Benji makes it so much more fun.

  ‘Tap tap, twist and round,’ I chanted again. ‘Tap –’

  ‘Tap, round, twist and out,’ Benji said over the top of me. I looked up from my feet
and at his face where a cheeky grin was blooming. ‘Tap, hop, boogie and round.’

  ‘Benji!’ I giggled, because of course that stuffed up my feet and I totally tripped over his legs and stumbled away from him.

  Benji kept a hold of my hand. ‘And pick up and twirl, twirl and fling!’

  ‘No!’ I cried. He’d picked me up by the waist and spun me round and made as if he was going to throw me up in the air.

  He didn’t, of course. Instead, he placed me gently on my feet and then swiped his hair from where it had fallen across his eyes. ‘As if I would do that to you, Paige,’ he said.

  ‘You’re lucky Fleur didn’t come in,’ I said, referring to our teacher. ‘If she saw you goofing off, you’d be catapulting for your life.’

  Benji shrugged and reached for his water bottle. ‘I can take her.’

  ‘Yeah, righto, Mr Tough,’ I said.

  Benji’s eyes twinkled and he swung his water bottle in my direction, like he meant to splash me, although his thumb was over the opening. I flinched away anyway. He laughed. ‘You’re such a scaredy cat.’

  It was nice that we could joke around with each other. When I first met Benji, it was so awkward, I dreaded every lesson. I didn’t feel comfortable dancing ballroom and I definitely didn’t feel comfortable standing so close to him! But now, it’s kinda different. He’s been really patient with me and all the stupid little mistakes I make, and he always cheers me up when I feel down. Even if some of his jokes are terrible!

  ‘If you’ve finished annoying me,’ I said, ‘I’d like to go over those last steps, please. And the octopus swizzle, with the wrap and spin.’