Got to Dance Young (T&A)(M)

It was the first day back at school and Tara was in a rush. She had been practicing for the dance competition the past few days and because of that, hadn't been able to slot in her morning runs. Tara had been practicing hard and she always went to bed late because she'd been reading some books about 'Got to Dance Young', the 'Got to Dance' competition for kids. because of her late nights, she had overslept that morning. Tara buttoned up her white shirt and pulled on her grey tights. Then, she pulled on a grey skirt which covered up the top half of her tights and also completed their school uniform.

Downstairs, Tara's mum, Mrs Bailey pulled Tara's chocolate brown, wavy hair into a ponytail. Tara, meanwhile, had been finishing the last of her cereal with Anna, who had not watched TV because 'The M&M's' were only on on weekends and holidays. When they finished their breakfast, they pulled on their thick, woolly coats, because the autumn term had begun, and set off for school.

Tara walked to school with Anna ONLY on Wednesdays because of WOW, Walk On Wednesday. They would earn a WOW badge that way. That day though, was a Tuesday so they hurried to the bus stop. The bus to Houston had only just arrived so they were lucky. Tara wasn't quite eleven yet so she and Anna could just walk on without needing to pay with an Oyster card.

She and Anna found themselves a seat each and both settled down to read. Tara reached in her book bag for her 'Got to Dance Young' book one. She flipped through the thick book to the chapter she was on, Chapter twelve. Finally, they arrived at Tara and Anna's school, Satine Primary School.

Days passed, all nearly exactly the same as each other. Finally, it was Friday, the last day for practicing in front of the class. Their class would cheer them on and help them improve. Tara and her best friends, Rosa, Delphie, and Kate were representing their class in the competition. Their was an audition and it seemed Tara and her best friends were great at dancing.

At break-time, Tara showed them the checklist she had printed out from her 'Got to Dance Young' book and also brought the book out. She gave them each a checklist of what they would need to bring on the day and shared the printed out checklist to say what their dance would need to have to win all the judges hearts.

"Number one, Style. We've got that! Let's tick it off!" Kate, the soloist of their dance exclaimed. Holly, one of their best friends sat down on the bench beside her. "Number two, Creativity. Hmmmm...." Delphie read out and bit her lip. Everyone thought about that. 'Did they have creativity? Was their dance creative?' thought Tara, tapping her fingers on the book anxiously. "You may not know it but I do! Even though I'm not in the group, I think your dance is creative!" Holly chipped in, breaking the silence, her bright smile somehow let the others suddenly remember all the really creative parts.
"Number three, Expression." Rosa read.
"Cross. We can work on that in the studio after school." Tara immediately answered."
"Number four, Feeling." Holly said.
"Cross!" the others chorused.
"Number five, Timing with the Music." Tara read.
"Tick!" they exclaimed.
"Number six, Confidence. Middle!" they all exclaimed together.
"Great!" Tara exclaimed, consulting their results with the others. Everyone was pleased to hear they only had to work on the confidence, feeling and expression. Otherwise it was perfect.

School whizzed by quickly, soon it was home-time. The four of them waved to their classmates as they skipped away to the dance studio near their school. Kate switched on the music and they practiced away. When Tara announced practice was over, she called everyone together to have a chat. "Our confidence is good. Kate, your soloing is perfect. The confidence, that is. Everyone, we must express our feelings, let it out in our expression! Our feeling and expression are stiff. Work on it. Monday's our big day." and with that, everyone was dismissed.

They had many practices at the studio and on their morning practice on Sunday, it was a disaster. Kate was soloing well when she fell and sprained her ankle and twisted her wrist. They called the doctor and he said she must rest for a week even if it meant taking time off school. That meant...NO SOLOIST! Everyone gawped. Terrified at the news. Tara went to help Kate, while asking her who she thinks should solo. Instead, Kate gave Tara £2. Enough to buy an ice pack. Tara knew what Kate wanted and left.

Kate called together a huddle when Tara went to the nearest Drug store to buy an ice pack for Kate. "Guys, Tara's best suited for the solo part. What do you think?" Kate suggested. Everyone else nodded in agreement. "She also can dance your part like the easiest thing in the world. I agree, let Tara become the soloist." Delphie added. When Tara came back, she was shocked at the news. "You want ME to dance the solo?" she exclaimed. Kate nodded and took the ice pack off Tara. Kate balanced it on her ankle and smiled. "You'll win the competition for us.".

That afternoon, the dance had been altered a little since it wasn't a even amount of dancers anymore. Tara danced the solo very well but the expression and feeling was still really stiff with everyone. Tara and the others hoped that they would suddenly be perfect with the expression and feeling on the day.

That night, Tara had an early night. She still checked on their costumes before she went to bed though. She would have to wear Kate's costume now, since she was the soloist. Lucky she and Kate's size were basically the same. She had a nightmare about losing the competition and was glad when she woke up that morning.

Everyone gathered at Tara's house and they took turns using the bathroom, getting their hair done by Mrs Bailey, and as for changing into their smooth silver tight suit with a connected very mini skirt(Tara's(used to be Kate's) suit was gold), they could could change together. When everyone finished changing, they lay a blanket over their clothes and had some toast and fruit for breakfast. Mrs Bailey drove them all to the competition and Anna came too. It was a bit of a squash but they managed it.

At the competition, a kind looking lady asked them their group name and their names. "We're called 'Gold 'n' Silver'." Tara replied. Then, everyone told the lady their names. The lady told them they were going last and showed them to their seats backstage. They waited until it was their go. When they were on stage, Tara and the rest of the group exclaimed "Gold 'n' Silver!" and the music started. Everyone let the music flow into their bodies and their bodies seemed to take over.

When their dance was over, there was a little break. Tara and her group did a bit more waiting and the results were announced. "Today's dancers were excellent and it was hard to decide but here are the results. Third place goes to.... Sbatacular!". There was a lot of clapping. "Second place goes to...... Catwalk!". There was more clapping. "Now, first place goes too.........Gold 'n' Silver for their excellent everything especially their expression and feeling!". Now the whole audience cheered, whooped and clapped. Tara, Delphie and Rosa could not believe their ears! In the audience, Kate cheered the loudest. Tara, Rosa and Delphie went on stage to collect their trophies and smiled, speechless with amazement.

Back home, Tara's trophy shone in the sunlight, placed on the shelf.