moved to their starting positions.
‘At least we don’t have Sandrine staring down at us,’ said Cassie. ‘When I saw her there my heart sank.’
‘I thought she’d always be coming to Sandringham to check up on us,’ Lexie added.
‘Thank goodness she hasn’t,’ Cassie muttered.
‘Sandrine is not that bad,’ Shell said.
Cassie laughed. ‘You have changed your tune. When we met you were full of complaints about Sandrine and how miserable you were at the palace.’
‘Now that I have a bit of distance from Sandrine and the palace, I can see that you do need discipline and structure to help you be the best you can,’ Shell sighed.
The audition began and Cassie struggled to keep up. Unlike in the test, when they had had to show how they had mastered the steps separately, here they were integrating the steps into dance
routines. Each of them had been working on individual dances over the weeks, and they had the chance to display these, too. Cassie caught Mrs Sandskrit looking at her a few times and she tried even
harder.
At the end everyone waited to find out who had been selected, but Mrs Sandskrit simply said, ‘I need some time to consult with Madame Rosa. We will let you know our decision after
supper.’
‘Come on, let’s go for a swim,’ Cassie suggested to Ella. ‘We’re all wound up after the audition. We need to do something to take our minds off it.’
‘I don’t think my character can stand up to being tested much more,’ Ella said and everyone laughed as they ran down to the pool.
Splashing about in the water did help them relax.
Shell rubbed her hair with a towel. ‘My braids are all soggy’
‘I’ll re-do them for you,’ Lexie offered.
Shell shook her head. ‘I think I can manage. I’ve been practising. It’s about time I did things for myself
There was a nervous buzz at supper that night. ‘Please let me have done enough to be picked,’ Cassie whispered to herself as Madame Rosa stood up to announce who
had been chosen. She desperately wanted to dance at the Harvest Moon Festival. She could hardly breathe as she waited for Madame Rosa to read out the names.
Lexie’s name was one of the first, along with Calluna’s and Shell’s. There was a ripple of surprise around the room when Ella’s name was called out.
Cassie carried on listening out for her name for a long time after Madame Rosa had finished, but gradually realisation dawned on her. She had not been chosen.
‘There must be some mistake,’ she said to herself. ‘I thought I would just scrape a place.’
Shell gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. She looked hurt when Cassie pulled away.
‘What about Cassie?’ Ella asked.
Lexie said, ‘They’ve missed you out! They must have forgotten to call out your name.’
All the colour drained from Cassie’s face. ‘I just wasn’t good enough,’ she said sadly.
Cassie kept a brave face until she got to her room. Then she fell on her bed and sobbed and sobbed.
She didn’t hear the knock but felt a hand on her shoulder. She was about to shrug it off when a voice said, ‘Drink this.’ Madame Rosa handed her a cool drink.
Cassie sat up and wiped away her tears as Madame Rosa asked, ‘Why are you crying? Is it just a tantrum because you haven’t been picked?’
‘No!’ Cassie wiped away her tears. ‘I wasn’t picked because I wasn’t good enough. But I know I can be. Truly I know I can be . . .’
‘So what are you going to do about it?’ Madame Rosa looked serious.
Cassie stood up. ‘First of all I’m going to go on to the beach and perform a Rage Stomp. That will make me feel better. And then I am going to grit my teeth and practise and
practise! I will show everyone that I am good enough to be a dune dancer.’
Madame Rosa smiled. ‘That’s the Marramgrass spirit! When it comes to passion and expression in your dancing, you are one of the best. That is a talent that cannot be taught. But a
sand dancer needs to be technically
‘At least we don’t have Sandrine staring down at us,’ said Cassie. ‘When I saw her there my heart sank.’
‘I thought she’d always be coming to Sandringham to check up on us,’ Lexie added.
‘Thank goodness she hasn’t,’ Cassie muttered.
‘Sandrine is not that bad,’ Shell said.
Cassie laughed. ‘You have changed your tune. When we met you were full of complaints about Sandrine and how miserable you were at the palace.’
‘Now that I have a bit of distance from Sandrine and the palace, I can see that you do need discipline and structure to help you be the best you can,’ Shell sighed.
The audition began and Cassie struggled to keep up. Unlike in the test, when they had had to show how they had mastered the steps separately, here they were integrating the steps into dance
routines. Each of them had been working on individual dances over the weeks, and they had the chance to display these, too. Cassie caught Mrs Sandskrit looking at her a few times and she tried even
harder.
At the end everyone waited to find out who had been selected, but Mrs Sandskrit simply said, ‘I need some time to consult with Madame Rosa. We will let you know our decision after
supper.’
‘Come on, let’s go for a swim,’ Cassie suggested to Ella. ‘We’re all wound up after the audition. We need to do something to take our minds off it.’
‘I don’t think my character can stand up to being tested much more,’ Ella said and everyone laughed as they ran down to the pool.
Splashing about in the water did help them relax.
Shell rubbed her hair with a towel. ‘My braids are all soggy’
‘I’ll re-do them for you,’ Lexie offered.
Shell shook her head. ‘I think I can manage. I’ve been practising. It’s about time I did things for myself
There was a nervous buzz at supper that night. ‘Please let me have done enough to be picked,’ Cassie whispered to herself as Madame Rosa stood up to announce who
had been chosen. She desperately wanted to dance at the Harvest Moon Festival. She could hardly breathe as she waited for Madame Rosa to read out the names.
Lexie’s name was one of the first, along with Calluna’s and Shell’s. There was a ripple of surprise around the room when Ella’s name was called out.
Cassie carried on listening out for her name for a long time after Madame Rosa had finished, but gradually realisation dawned on her. She had not been chosen.
‘There must be some mistake,’ she said to herself. ‘I thought I would just scrape a place.’
Shell gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. She looked hurt when Cassie pulled away.
‘What about Cassie?’ Ella asked.
Lexie said, ‘They’ve missed you out! They must have forgotten to call out your name.’
All the colour drained from Cassie’s face. ‘I just wasn’t good enough,’ she said sadly.
Cassie kept a brave face until she got to her room. Then she fell on her bed and sobbed and sobbed.
She didn’t hear the knock but felt a hand on her shoulder. She was about to shrug it off when a voice said, ‘Drink this.’ Madame Rosa handed her a cool drink.
Cassie sat up and wiped away her tears as Madame Rosa asked, ‘Why are you crying? Is it just a tantrum because you haven’t been picked?’
‘No!’ Cassie wiped away her tears. ‘I wasn’t picked because I wasn’t good enough. But I know I can be. Truly I know I can be . . .’
‘So what are you going to do about it?’ Madame Rosa looked serious.
Cassie stood up. ‘First of all I’m going to go on to the beach and perform a Rage Stomp. That will make me feel better. And then I am going to grit my teeth and practise and
practise! I will show everyone that I am good enough to be a dune dancer.’
Madame Rosa smiled. ‘That’s the Marramgrass spirit! When it comes to passion and expression in your dancing, you are one of the best. That is a talent that cannot be taught. But a
sand dancer needs to be technically
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