Broadway Baby by Samantha-Ellen Bound Page B

up,’ I whispered to my best friend, Paige.
    We were lined up in the corner of the studio at Silver Shoes, waiting for our turn to do travelling exercises. I was trying to fill her – and our other two close friends, Riley and Ash – in on 42nd Street .
    â€˜And the song was really catchy, it went like this –’ I sang it, quietly of course, just under the music Miss Caroline had been playing, but Paige grinned at me.
    â€˜Wow, Ellie, you’re getting really good,’ she said.
    â€˜Posé turns,’ Miss Caroline called out. ‘Remember, spot that blue cross in the far corner, and keep the extended leg straight. Jasmine and Tove, you first.’
    Jasmine and Tove always go first in travelling steps. Show-offs. Jasmine is one of the best dancers at Silver Shoes, and my number one competition. In the personality stakes, though, she loses. Tove just does whatever Jasmine wants.
    They launched into their posé turns, and Miss Caroline followed them across the floor, her eyes never leaving their legs.
    â€˜Lovely, Jasmine,’ Miss Caroline called out. ‘Better, Tove – but pull up, pull up!’

    â€˜There was this other part,’ I whispered to my friends excitedly, ‘when they were in a carousel and there were these projections that made it look as if they were moving along, like trees and buildings going past, and they kept peeking out of the carriage curtains. It was so funny. I think the song was called “Shuffling Off to Buffalo”.’
    â€˜Ellie, we’re next,’ Paige whispered to me.
    I closed my mouth and lined up next to her. We took off across the floor in our posé turns. I love it when Paige is my partner in travelling steps. It’s like looking in a mirror – we always keep so in sync.
    Miss Caroline travelled with us across the floor, clapping on the down beat so we’d get the rhythm right.
    â€˜Lovely, girls,’ she called. ‘Paige, just watch you keep your shoulders down when you turn.’
    â€˜Ugh,’ Paige said as we reached the other end of the studio and took a few steps to shake off the dizziness. ‘You’d think with all the ballroom I’ve been doing my stupid shoulders would stay down.’
    We watched Riley and Ashley posé across the floor. Riley, of course, looked like she was already dancing in some professional corps de ballet. Ash was improving too, but because she had so much energy she kept over stepping on the extended leg and putting herself off balance. You should see her dancing hip hop, though – then you’ll know where all that energy goes!
    Ash made a face as she lined up behind me and Paige. ‘Ugh, Ellie,’ she said, flicking her bangs off her forehead. ‘I’m so dizzy I’m seeing three of you.’
    â€˜Sounds like your lucky day,’ I said. ‘So anyway, while they were in the carriages, therewas another group at the front doing a tap sequence, and oh gosh, there was not one tap out of tune.’ I turned to my best friend. ‘Paige, why have you never told me how amazing tap is?’
    Paige is well known for doing just about every style of dance. ‘I did try,’ she admitted. ‘But you were too obsessed with jazz and how many fouettés you could do.’
    Riley smiled. ‘Doesn’t sound like Ellie.’
    â€˜It’s called being passionate,’ I defended myself, although I knew they were only teasing. ‘But in this Shuffling Buffalos song, they …’
    â€˜Quiet while you’re waiting,’ Miss Caroline called to us, without taking her eyes off Bethany and Brooke, the last two poséing across the room. ‘Good, girls! Okay let’s do fan kicks: the arm goes the opposite way to the leg, keep the core strong.’ She demonstrated,before turning back to us. ‘Remember, long walks between kicks – the aim is to travel. Jasmine and Tove, you