Alana Dancing Star Page 3

  Alana flushed with anger. Then she remembered that she’d been talking to a real princess only a few days ago. Emmalina was kind and thoughtful – not at all like Verity.

  ‘You may look like a princess,’ Alana said to Verity calmly, ‘but you certainly don’t act like one.’

  Verity tossed her head, and stomped off without replying.

  ‘Now,’ they heard Miss Trina say, ‘who’s next?’

  Keisha and Jamie stepped forward. Jamie was one of Miss Trina’s youngest students, and Keisha was a lot taller than him, which made them a slightly awkward-looking couple. They’d obviously been practising hard, though, because they moved round the floor without any mistakes. But then just before the end, Jamie tripped, which made Keisha take a step on to the wrong foot and their dance fell apart.

  Keisha walked off the floor, looking like she was trying not to cry. Alana caught her eye and gave her a sympathetic smile.

  Then it was Meena and Toby’s turn. Meena seemed nervous as they took their positions ready to begin. But Toby was standing confidently, his back straight and his chin high. As the music started, he led Meena confidently through the dance, showing off his excellent technique.

  He’s imagining he’s an emperor, thought Alana as she watched him. Good for Toby!

  At last, everyone except Alana had had a turn, and Miss Trina disappeared into her office to make her decision, leaving the students waiting nervously.

  ‘It has to be Matthew and Verity,’ said Meena. ‘They were way better than everyone else. But who will the other couple be?’

  ‘I think you and Toby stand a really good chance,’ said Alana.

  ‘I dunno,’ said Meena. ‘I thought Keisha and Jamie danced well. I know Keisha thinks that they’ve lost their chance because it all went wrong at the end, but I’m not so sure.’

  But there was no more time to wonder, because just then Miss Trina came back into the room.

  ‘Now,’ she said. ‘I think you’ve all danced extremely well tonight and you’ve been working hard. But as you know, we can only enter two couples for the Ballroom Bonanza. And the couples that I have chosen are …’

  ‘Excuse me, Miss Trina!’ Everyone turned round to see where the voice was coming from. It was Matthew speaking.

  Miss Trina raised her eyebrows inquiringly. She never liked to be interrupted.

  ‘I just wanted to say,’ began Matthew, hesitating a little, ‘that it doesn’t seem fair that Alana didn’t get to dance – just because there wasn’t a partner for her. So maybe she could have a go with me as her partner.’

  ‘If you want to, that is,’ he said, turning to Alana shyly.

  ‘I’d love to!’ said Alana, beaming from ear to ear.

  ‘OK,’ said Miss Trina, ‘so one more couple, and then I’ll make …’

  ‘That’s not fair!’ came a shrill voice. Everyone turned again, to see who was speaking. It was Verity, standing with her fists clenched, her face bright red.

  ‘Matthew is my partner!’ she cried. ‘Not Alana’s. Alana hasn’t even been practising the waltz. There’s no point in her trying out for the Ballroom Bonanza!’

  ‘That’s enough, Verity!’ said Miss Trina, sharply. ‘It is not up to you to say what my other students can or cannot do.’

  She turned to Matthew and Alana. ‘Take your opening positions,’ she said, ‘and we’ll begin.’

  As the music began, Alana’s heart lifted even further. She recognised it as one of the waltzes that she’d danced in Vienna. From the very first step, her feet seemed to take on a life of their own. As she and Matthew flew around the floor, she felt as if she were back in the palace ballroom, and her whole body came alive with the joy of the dance.

  When the music finished, the other students clapped wildly.

  Alana and Matthew sat down, panting for breath and Miss Trina called for silence.

  ‘The two couples I have chosen to compete in the Ballroom Bonanza,’ she announced, ‘are … Meena and Toby …’

  At this, Meena gave a little shriek, and flung herself at Toby, who looked embarrassed, but pleased.

  ‘And,’ continued Miss Trina, ‘Alana and Matthew. ’

  The other students clapped politely, but the noise was completely drowned out by an ear-splitting shriek from Verity.

  ‘It’s totally unfair,’ she screeched. ‘I am Matthew’s partner – not Alana! I should be going to the Ballroom Bonanza!’

  ‘Verity, please calm down,’ said Miss Trina, quietly. ‘You and Matthew danced well, but I’ve made my decision. Alana was outstanding this evening.’

  ‘Well, I’m going to tell Daddy that I want to leave Step Out Studio and have a private dance tutor instead!’ said Verity. ‘Alana doesn’t even pay for her lessons here! I don’t see why she should be allowed to dance in a big competition!’

  ‘That’s enough, Verity!’ said Miss Trina, in icy tones. ‘I will not hear my students talk like that. Now, perhaps you would like to go and get changed and wait until the end of the class to be collected.’

  Verity stormed out of the room, slamming the door.

  After she had left, there was a moment’s uncomfortable silence, but it didn’t take long for everyone to start chatting again. The other students came up to Meena and Toby, and Alana and Matthew to congratulate them. Alana’s face was alight with excitement, her eyes shining.

  After the class, Meena’s dad picked her and Alana up in the car. When he heard that they’d both won a place in the Ballroom Bonanza, he announced that they were going to go out for ice cream to celebrate. ‘If your mum doesn’t mind, that is,’ he said to Alana.

  ‘I think she’ll probably be OK about it,’ said Alana. Meena’s dad called Alana’s mum on his mobile to let her know where he was taking them, then they headed off to a café in town. ‘They do the best ice cream in this café,’ said Meena.

  Half an hour later, and Alana was dipping her long spoon into a triple fudge glory. It’s hard to believe how awful everything was just a couple of weeks ago, she mused. I was looking after Abi every evening and couldn’t practise the waltz. Now I’m going to compete in the Ballroom Bonanza, and I have an incredible dress to wear, and here I am eating ice cream to celebrate, with my best friend.

  And it’s all thanks to Madame Coco, she thought, feeling a surge of affection for this mysterious person who had come into her life, as if from nowhere.

  It was the day of the Ballroom Bonanza, and Alana arrived at City Hall with her mum and Abi. The other three Step Out Studio candidates were already backstage getting ready, and the camera crew from the local TV station was busy setting up in the auditorium.

  Almost all the other students from Step Out Studio had turned up to watch the competition. Alana was surprised to see that even Verity had come.

  ‘She’s probably feeling bad that she made such a fuss at the try-outs,’ said Meena.

  Alana was already wearing her yellow silk dress with the tiny roses. She didn’t have Madame Coco to style her hair in the fancy way she’d done it in the shop, but Meena did the best she could instead. She spent ages pinning Alana’s hair up and then undoing it again, until she was satisfied.

  ‘Time for the final rehearsal, everyone,’ called Miss Trina. But just as the four students were getting into their starting positions, Alana’s mum came rushing in.

  ‘Where’s Abi?’ she demanded. ‘Have you seen her? Is she with you?’

  ‘No, Mum,’ said Alana. ‘I haven’t seen her since we got here.’

  ‘She was sitting beside me in the auditorium. I was chatting to one of the other parents, and when I turned around, she was gone.’ Alana’s mum was breathing quickly, and her voice came out all quavery.

  ‘Now don’t panic,’ said Miss Trina, in her calm way. ‘She’s probably just gone to explore the theatre. I’ll help you look for her, and I’ll get my other students to look, too.’ She turned to Alana and the other three contestants. ‘Start rehearsing without me – I’m sure I won’t be long.’


  And Miss Trina and Alana’s mum went rushing off.

  Alana was furious. Trust Abi to spoil everything again, she thought. I nearly didn’t get to compete in the Bonanza because I had to look after her. And now she’s gone missing, and it looks like she might still ruin everything.

  As they practised, Alana did her best to concentrate on her steps, but she kept tripping over Matthew’s feet. Finally, she came to a standstill. ‘It’s no good,’ she said to Matthew. ‘I can’t concentrate on the waltz while my sister’s missing. I have to go and help search for her.’

  Alana dashed out of the rehearsal room and ran through the back corridors of the theatre, opening every door she passed and checking that Abi wasn’t there.

  Then a booming voice came through the loudspeaker: ‘Would all contestants please take their positions? The Ballroom Bonanza is about to begin.’

  Oh no! thought Alana. This really is not fair. After all I’ve been through to get to this point, I’m going to miss the competition.

  As she continued searching, she noticed Verity heading towards the wings of the stage. That’s odd, she thought. Why’s Verity in a ball gown when she’s not in the competition?

  But she didn’t give it much thought. With every minute that went by, she was getting more and more worried about where her sister had got to. All around her, she could hear calls of ‘Abi! Abi!’ from the other searchers.

  ‘Think!’ said Alana to herself. ‘Where could she be? She loves playing hide and seek, but there isn’t anyone here to play it with her, so it can’t be that.’ She stood completely still and closed her eyes, hoping she might be able to hear Abi calling.

  And from somewhere down below her, she heard a faint knocking noise.

  ‘Abi! Abi!’ called Alana, and the knocking got a bit louder and more urgent.

  Alana followed the noise down a flight of concrete steps, and came to a door right under the stage. The banging was really loud now.

  ‘Abi, are you in there?’ Alana called.

  ‘Alana!’ came a frightened voice. ‘I can’t open the door!’

  Alana rattled it, but it was firmly locked. ‘Wait there, Abi!’ she said. ‘I’m going to get help!’ She ran to find the stage manager and told him what had happened. The stage manager grabbed a big bunch of keys from his office and then came hurrying down the stairs, closely followed by Alana’s mother and Miss Trina.

  As soon as the stage manager unlocked the door, Abi fell into her mum’s arms, and Alana joined in the hug, all of them crying with shock and relief.

  ‘But what happened?’ Alana asked Abi. ‘What were you doing down there?’

  ‘I can’t understand it,’ said the stage manager. ‘There’s always a key in that door. Someone must have taken it away.’

  ‘Never mind that, now,’ said her mum. ‘So long as she’s safe. You’ve got to run, Alana, or you’re going to miss your place in the competition.’

  So Alana dashed back up to the wings, only to find Matthew about to walk on stage to perform the waltz – with Verity on his arm!

  Coolly and calmly, Alana marched up to Verity and tapped her on the shoulder. ‘I beg your pardon!’ she said, ‘but I believe I should be standing there.’ And she took Verity’s place at Matthew’s side. Matthew grinned in delight, and Verity flounced away, white-faced with fury.

  Then before Alana knew it, she and Matthew were standing in the middle of the stage with the spotlight upon them, ready to begin.

  As soon as Alana heard the lovely music, the tension of the last half-hour melted away. They started their routine, and suddenly she felt as light as air. It was as if they were both flying round the stage and Alana and Matthew even managed a perfect fleckerl. When the waltz came to an end, there was a huge round of applause.

  Meena and Toby were next, and Alana and Matthew stood in the wings to watch. Toby looked as proud as an emperor as he led Meena gracefully around the stage. He had a faraway look in his eyes, and Alana was sure he was imagining himself in a Viennese ballroom – perhaps just like the one at the Schönbrunn Palace.

  When all the contestants had performed their routines, they went back to the dressing room to wait for the judges’ decision. The four Step Out Studio students sat in a corner, talking about Abi.

  ‘I don’t understand what she can have been doing down there,’ said Alana.

  ‘But she was playing hide and seek,’ said Toby.

  ‘How do you know?’ demanded Alana.

  ‘I heard Verity ask her if she wanted to play.’

  Alana and Meena looked at each other. They didn’t need to say anything. It was obvious that Verity had been up to her mean tricks again. She’d locked Abi in that room, hoping that she’d then be able to take Alana’s place in the competition. And it had very nearly worked.

  There wasn’t time to talk about it any more, because the voice over the booming loudspeaker asked all the contestants to line up on the stage for the judges’ decision.

  Alana stood on the stage beside Matthew, looking out into the auditorium. She could see her mum and Abi smiling at her. Meena’s mum and dad were beside them, and Toby’s mum was there, too, looking nervous. But there was no sign at all of Verity.

  ‘And the winning couple is …’ announced the head judge. Then she left a big pause, so that everyone would get really tense …

  ‘Alana and Matthew!’

  There was a loud cheer and everyone clapped, as the two of them went up to receive their cups.

  But then the head judge called for silence. ‘I have one more announcement,’ she said. ‘Although we usually only give one award for this event, we have decided to give a commendation to Meena and Toby. The judges were impressed with their performance and felt that they deserved a special mention.’ Toby looked more like an emperor than ever as he and Meena went up to shake hands with the judges, while everyone whooped and cheered.

  That evening, Alana’s mum made her and Abi go straight to bed after supper. ‘We’ve had enough drama and excitement today to last the rest of the year,’ she said. ‘I’m going to bed now, too – we all need an early night!’

  Alana didn’t mind. She was looking forward to getting out the beautiful purple and gold album that Madame Coco had given her, so that she could stick in her latest memento.

  She sat on her bed and took the silver dance card out of her schoolbag. She opened up the silver case to take a look at the names written inside. Then she slipped it into one of the pockets in her album. All around, in soft pencil, she drew pictures of couples waltzing.

  What a pity I can never tell anyone about the adventures I have when I go to Madame Coco’s shop, she thought. They’d never believe me. But actually, the adventure I’ve had today at the Ballroom Bonanza has been almost as exciting!

  Arlene Phillips OBE is a world-renowned director and choreographer creating musicals, videos, films, television programming and spectaculars. Her inventive choreography has been seen in the musicals Grease, We Will Rock You, Starlight Express, The Sound of Music, Flashdance and The Wizard of Oz. Her screen work includes the films Annie and Legend, and the television shows DanceX and Britannia High. Arlene’s videos have starred everyone from Robbie Williams to Elton John, Whitney Houston to Tina Turner. Her largest ever spectacular was the XVII Commonwealth Games. She is known throughout the UK as a former judge on Strictly Come Dancing and now on So You Think You Can Dance? Her favourite job, however, has been as mother to her two daughters, Alana and Abi.

  Copyright

  First published in 2011

  by Faber and Faber Ltd

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2011

  All rights reserved

  Text and illustrations © Arlene Phillips, 2011

  Illustrations by Pixie Potts, 2011

  With thanks to Susan Reuben

  The right of Arlene Phillips to be identified as author of this work ha
s been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978–0–571–25994–6