Page 94 of Wicked Dance
Chapter 33
The fourth show brings a new level of anxiety for me. It’s the last elimination and I don’t feel I can bring the sexy out in front of an audience.
I’m last in tonight’s lineup. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Someone has already been eliminated from the show, but nobody knows who.
Mariah seems to have the least footage from the week, looking at Blitz’s schedule, plus she was having trouble with her number. So I wonder if the people who know have already stopped pushing her, since it’s pointless. From a pure ratings standpoint, the last two people standing should really be me and Giselle. Based on what I’ve seen filmed, that seems to be what they are going for.
They open with Giselle. I know they want to start strong with a sexy show. She comes before anything else, no clips, no montages, just her and Blitz, rolling on the floor.
The format shifts a little. Barry has an interview set this time, three stools and a wide-screen TV just above and behind them. He runs clips for Blitz and Giselle to comment on.
During rehearsal for this, I was warned that some of the clips and questions would be practiced, but at least one clip and question would be a surprise. The footage I saw earlier that day didn’t include any of the lunch conversation. It was typical stuff, an interview about my feelings for Blitz, how I felt about getting this far, and a clip from the previous week’s ballet.
So they are going to hit me with something. I’m trying not to worry.
The runner comes for me shortly before my number. I stand up and arrange the outfit carefully.
It’s nothing like anything I would ever wear. They continued the royalty theme, with the base being a blue sparkling dress. But it’s been destroyed, parts of it ripped, other parts singed on the edges. Over half of it is melted away. I look like a princess from a dystopian land.
Which, I guess, I am.
The tears and ragged edges have to fall just right. Even though there are flesh-colored pieces inside the holes, so I can’t accidentally get exposed on live television if something shifts, there isn’t a lot of dress left.
My hair is wild. It’s meant to get in my face, and for Blitz to push it back. Cecilia back-combed the curls so it’s an enormous mass flowing down my back. It’s wild enough that we’re taking a commercial break between my dance and my interview for the stylist to check me before we do the interview.
The makeup is intense, smoky eyes and vivid lips. I’ve never looked like this. Blitz saw the dress earlier, but not the hair and makeup. I don’t know what he’ll think.
Our rehearsals yesterday and this morning were so intense that we struggled to make it home before engaging in fierce, powerful sex. If it weren’t for the threat of the cameras, we would have totally done it at the studio.
I feel like a walking nymphomaniac, constantly thinking about the dance, the music, and the heightened emotion of what we’ve done. It’s like a drug.
Jessie follows me and the crew member to the backstage area. As usual, Kendra is there to double-check my look. “You are going to wow them this time,” she says.
“It’s definitely different,” I say.
“Be a Renaissance woman.” She turns to the dance coach. “Is she ready?”
“They are going to set the stage on fire,” he says.
And with that, we head into the backstage area.
Mariah and Blitz are doing their interview. I can see their legs on the stools even from the far stage wing.
“And what about this move?” Barry asks. “Do legs really spread that wide?”
That gets a whoop from the audience.
They talk about the dance they just did, and I realize the “surprise” footage is rapidly recycled footage from the live dance. Of course. I relax. This will be fine.
The lights go down and Blitz and Mariah head across the stage. Blitz dashes ahead, squeezing my arm as he passes. He can’t see me well in this light, so I’m still going to be a surprise.
The commercial begins. I’m about to go into place, when a crew member holds my arm. “You can wait. There’s an entire short feature about to run before your number,” she says. “You’ll go out at the next commercial break.”
What? A whole feature?
I can’t see the screens at all, but I can hear the sound. Right now, there’s just general audience noise as they wait. The crew has already reset the stage during the interview, so all is quiet.
Then the theme music, and Barry’s back.
