Other Stages (Ballet Theatre Chronicles Book 4) by Terez Mertes Rose

Author:Terez Mertes Rose [Rose, Terez Mertes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Classical Girl Press
Published: 2024-01-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17 – April

Palmira fell out of a turn during her Don Q rehearsal with Javier. It was a tricky move, where the male spun the female while her right leg was out, à la seconde, and mid-turn she had to change her focus and angle her body down, like an arrow, into a deep partnered arabesque. Up to now, Palmira had aced it, along with the other challenging turns and partnered moves, leading April to admit that Javier’s plan to switch partners and “share the wealth at the top” had been a good one. Palmira was definitely a major talent in the making.

A fall during rehearsal was no big deal. Except when you were under pressure to get up to speed, fast. And right then, April sensed she and Palmira shared the same thought.

Palmira might be out of her league here.

Javier hurried over to help her up, telling her congratulations, a fall meant taking a risk, and it was all good.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” April called out, going over to rub Palmira’s delicate shoulders and give them a squeeze. “That looked like it hurt.”

“I’m fine, I’m totally fine.” She flashed April a smile but she could tell by the sudden brightness in Palmira’s eyes that she was holding back her tears.

“That’s a tricky turn,” April said. “One of the trickiest. It’s all about holding the core tight and not getting freaked out about your axis shifting. Well, and doing it impeccably three times in a row.”

Fear flashed in Palmira’s eyes.

“Do not fret this,” April told her. “If need be, we’ll take the whole rehearsal to do just this one move so that you’ve got it down pat.”

Palmira looked relieved, but only for a moment. “It’s just that there’s no time to slow things down.” She half-glanced at Javier and April knew he’d been coaching her, telling her, in a way he (alone) thought was productive, to get up to speed quicker.

“Sure there is,” April said. “Rushing something creates its own problems.”

Javier looked annoyed. Of course. His preference was to be running the entire pas de deux over and over by now, polishing it. With Katrina, that would have been the case.

Palmira might have been prodigiously talented, but she wasn’t Katrina, and no amount of cajoling or bullying was going to change that. Javier, April decided, was going to have to learn—possibly the hard way—that he couldn’t have everything he wanted.

That afternoon, April had a second, even more disturbed feeling when she peeked in on a Hess rehearsal. The rehearsal she’d been scheduled to run had been delayed for a Wardrobe fitting with the dancers, so she had a few minutes to kill. Edwin seemed to be having a good time, joking with the males as he demonstrated new steps. He directed Jimmy to “shove Katrina so hard she almost falls back.” The first time Jimmy did it, Katrina was so unprepared for the force, she toppled right over like a bowling pin.

Edwin was highly entertained. “I wish I could use that.

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