Dance Til Dawn

• Rose Liu, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2021

Deafening howls of the thunder collapsed as Cumulus clouds parted away. Miniature droplets of rain dripped from the sides of Ella’s umbrella as she twirled as graceful as a dancer in the wet puddles. A glistening rainbow caressed the air as the warm sunshine reappeared. She dodged under the roofs of the Minuscule shops beside her ballet class. Beautiful bundles of flowers hanged around the entrance and a delicate glass sign had been hooked onto the wooden doors. With a heave, she pushed the door open and went inside.

“Good morning Ella. How are you doing today? We are practicing for the great talent competition in the olympics stadium. Please take your place by the yellow cross.” She said, pointing stubbornly at a tape on the ground.

“ Yes Madam Maggie.” She said, humming as she tiptoed to her spot

“One, two, three, pirouette! “

Ella concentrated as she twirled through the dance floor, gliding through the complicated moves of the dance. She had been at this dance academy for over 6 years now, but she still found it extremely difficult to complete the dance perfectly. Glancing sideways, she watched her friend Chloe. Smiling, impressed with herself, she did a perfect pirouette before landing on the floor as quiet as a mouse. Suddenly the teacher stopped the music and walked to the front of the class to make an important announcement.

As soon as she realized she was talking about the competition, she sat up straight. She knew Madam Maggie was going to announce the important roles of the performance, especially the lead dancer. She had been working hard, secretly, on the part and had hoped to get it. As she announced the lead dancer, everyone’s eyes turned onto Ella, eyes opened wide. Her jaws dropped open, confirming she was the lead dancer.

Back in the dormitories, she was awfully tired from her excitement and people congratulating her. Alone with Chloe, she exhaustingly flopped onto her bed and fell asleep.

The very next morning, while it was not yet dawn, she crept upstairs to on of the empty dance studios and practiced her extremely difficult part, doing her best to not slip on the glistening floor which had been polished by the cleaner. Starting off with a bow, she leapt from one side to another, her toes pointed and arms gracefully positioned outwards. Landing on her toes, she spun around and backflipped onto the opposite end of the floor. She did not know that a shadow was watching her. She continued, her toes pointed through every single move. After hours of practicing, she finally did a perfect triple pirouette before tiptoeing back downstairs, filled with happiness . The shadow watching smiled too, before leaving as well.