Page 51 of Forbidden Dance
Blitz heads toward the camera, and I scurry out of the way, next to a guy holding a big silver disk.
Class should have already begun, but the girls still aren’t here. Hannah says to the makeup woman, “Go check on the dancers. We’ll need lighting tests. And bring me the instructor. We need to review the shot list.”
“I’ll go get Janel,” I say. Blitz is busy with the cameraman, who is doing footage of him dancing. Another man, presumably the director, is consulting a clipboard and calling out commands like “Long shot. Get something establishing. Now go tight. B-roll on the feet.”
I hurry out of the room. The hall is quieter and the classes seem to have finally gotten underway. The fourth years are working with Betsy. Jacob has his class. The toddlers are with Aurora.
In the foyer, a few mothers and their kids murmur near the front desk.
The class is still together. A cameraman is out here too, getting shots of their faces and the women adjusting their hair.
Danika turns to me. “We’re about to come down. Were you there?”
“They’re filming Blitz,” I say.
“Okay, hopefully we’ll get this going. I’ll have to move Janel’s next class to the recital hall, I bet. Can you help with them if they still need Janel for the shoot?”
I really want to stay with Blitz, but I say, “Of course.”
Daisy rolls up to me, and the camera follows her. When she gets close, though, the clipboard girl jumps forward. “Not the one in blue! She wouldn’t sign.” She glares at me.
Danika laughs. “This is ridiculous.”
The cameraman heads back to the table.
“What’s up, Daisy?” I say.
“Am I going to be a star?” she asks.
I kneel close to her. “You already are,” I tell her.
The assistant says something to the cameraman. “All right!” he says. “Time to head to the dance.” He hustles ahead to film them coming up the hall. Unlike the fancy lights in the studio, his is a little grid over his camera.
I hang back to make sure I stay out of his frame. Each girl gives Danika a high five as she passes. The excitement is infectious. The moms follow the line of girls, holding dance bags and glowing themselves. It’s a big day.
All of us are benefiting from the arrival of Blitz Craven.
Chapter 18
The majority of the shooting is pretty mundane. The girls turn. The cameramen glide around, catching different angles. The director stops them, has the lights rearranged, and they do it again.
“How long is this video going to be?” I ask Danika. We’re in the corner with the other unnecessary crew.
“Three minutes,” a lighting guy says.
“An hour of shooting on two cameras to get three minutes?” I ask.
“That’s how it works,” he says. “This is a short one. I’ve had thirty-second commercials take twelve hours.”
The director motions to us. “I’d like the girls in a half circle around Blitz!” he calls.
The dancers who can power themselves or have motorized wheelchairs move forward. I can see Marissa is a little fatigued. When she doesn’t move, I jump forward to push her into the circle.
I figure someone will yell at me to stay out of camera range, but no one does. Blitz kneels before them, taking Gabriella’s hand. I’m so touched, seeing it, that my eyes instantly tear up. Blitz and my little girl. Right here.
The cameraman comes beside me to catch Blitz’s face. He’s smiling up at Gabriella, but when he glances a little higher, he sees me. His expression softens. His face is radiant, full of understanding and emotion upon seeing mine.
“You really love this, don’t you, Princess?” he asks me.
