Page 17 of Take the Lead
Emilia is called out onto the stage first with her partner, Aleksis Lapsa, and she doesn’t appear remotely fazed by the hundreds of eyes looking at her. She’s all brilliant smiles and perfect posture, and while I watch her I find myself trying to unhunch my own shoulders. She did tell us during the group training that she’d been a gymnast at school. It has clearly stayed with her.
Kimberley introduces them to the audience, then the entire back wall of the stage lights up – I hadn’t noticed before that it’s a video screen – and a clip of their week in rehearsals starts playing. They look good, there’s no denying it, even though they’ve been lumbered with the Argentine tango.
I realise I’m holding my breath as their actual performance gets underway. We might be rivals, but I don’t want anyone to have a bad first dance.
I needn’t have worried. Emilia breezes through it, looking like she’s been dancing her whole life.
I can’t help envying her cool composure while she waits for the judges’ comments. Her cheeks are flushed from the dance and she’s breathing heavily, but there’s not a hint of concern in her expression. I guess she must know they’re going to love it.
‘What a brilliant opening to the series,’ head judge Mariana beams, clapping her hands together in delight. ‘It’s not easy being the first one out on stage, but you tookit in your stride. Your footwork was exceptional – you didn’t miss a beat – and the lift at the end was graceful and controlled. Your kicks were nice and sharp, too, but there was still a smoothness to the whole routine. Great work, well done.’
‘Thank you,’ Emilia beams.
‘And that’s the first time you’ve ever danced the Argentine tango?’ Jacques asks.
‘That’s right. Until a week ago, I’d never done this before.’
I still find this hard to believe, but Jacques doesn’t seem to share my doubts. ‘Then even more kudos to you,’ he says. ‘This is not a dance you can learn in a day and yet you seem to have mastered it in minutes. If I were still competing, I might even be worried about my title. Fantastic job, both of you, and great choreography, Aleksis. That’s going to be a very tough act for the other contestants to follow.’
‘It certainly is,’ Kimberley says, ‘But let’s not forget it’s the audience who get to decide who stays in the competition and who goes home. So audience, for the first time tonight, please pick up your keypads and enter your scores. It’s time to see where Emilia and Aleksis come on our dance scale.’
A graphic appears on the video screen of a scale from one to ten. As the audience members enter their scores, the marker races up from the zero straight to the eight, then it flutters between the eight and nine before finally coming to a stop on 8.5.
Emilia shrieks and flings her arms round Aleksis. Kimberley congratulates them and the audience claps andcheers. Then, as they half-run, half-skip off the stage, Kimberley introduces the next couple, Liam and Valentina.
My heart goes out to Liam when he appears to have a mental block in the middle of his salsa routine. Valentina tries to save it with a bit of solo work while he catches up, but the damage is done – his timing is off and their dismayed faces say it all when the music comes to an end. They both know they’ve had a shocker. The judges don’t go easy on them either.
‘You fell apart under the pressure,’ Sophie says. ‘It was a good effort up to that point, but when something goes wrong you must never stop in the middle of a dance. Sadly I think you’ve put yourself in a very vulnerable position for the audience vote.’
I want to give Liam a hug as the scale appears on the screen and the audience gives him a measly 5.2. I don’t know how he manages to keep smiling – I probably would have burst into tears. Valentina graciously tells him not to worry when he apologises to her for messing it up, but I can’t help wondering if she’s secretly fuming. It’s definitely put them in a rocky position, unless someone else cocks their routine up as well. There’s still a good chance it will be me.
Next up is Beth’s cha-cha and she nails it. The judges are impressed with the amount of work she’s put in, and the audience gives her 8.1. But Dean’s rumba is not so well received. He’s a bit wooden and is warned to work on that if he makes it through to week two. It results in a score of 6.8.
Theo pulls off a decent bachata, although his pro partner is berated for not being as creative as she could have beenwith the routine. The audience likes it, though, and he moves into third place with 7.7. It looks increasingly like Liam is in trouble, unless I completely fall apart.
Next up is Tammy’s merengue, which is amazing. She’s a ball of energy and the judges praise her sense of rhythm, saying she’s one to watch. She looks like she might burst with happiness and I can’t wait to congratulate her. So it’s a shock when the audience only award her 6.9. She barely put a foot wrong. It’s a sharp reminder to us all that whatever the judges might think, our fates are in the audience’s hands.
And then it’s my turn.
‘The final couple to dance tonight is Kate Wareing and Merle Picard, dancing the kizomba,’ Kimberley announces. ‘Let’s see how they got on with their routine this week.’
Merle, who’s standing behind me, discreetly brushes his hand against my bum and gives it a light squeeze as our video starts playing, so instead of cringing about seeing myself on the screen, I’m thinking about the dressing room and his naked body moving against mine while the audience watches our three-minute clip. Despite being cheesy, I have to admit the musical chairs scene is kind of endearing.
Then Kimberley invites us to take our place in the centre of the stage, Merle grabs my hand and we’re running out into the spotlights. He draws me into his arms and we’re ready to begin.
I have the briefest panic that I haven’t done my catsuit all the way back up, before I start wondering where Lucy and Aiden are sitting, whether Ed is watching on TV withmy old workmate, what my mum and dad are up to right now down in France …
Before my concentration can slip any further, Merle puts his lips close to my ear.
‘Just remember to feel me, the way I feel you,’ he whispers. ‘Just like on Thursday.’
He moves his leg between mine and I close my eyes to shut out all the people staring. When I open them for the dance, he holds my gaze as I let his body guide mine through the steps. I don’t take my eyes off him. I don’t even realise we’ve finished until I hear the audience clapping and whistling.
‘Perfect,’ Merle whispers, and I stare at him in complete astonishment.
‘Phewee!’ is the first word out of Mariana’s mouth as we turn to face the judges. She fans herself with her fingers. ‘That was pure passion. It was powerful, it was seductive, and I love how lost you were in the moment. I really felt your story. There’s a real connection between you two – I loved it. Well done, excellent job.’
‘I think you’ve got someone a little hot under the collar,’ fellow judge Sophie laughs. ‘And no wonder, that was seriously sexy. You can almost taste the chemistry between you. From the moment you started, it was like there was no one else in the room. It was mesmerising. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.’
