Page 43 of Wicked Dance
I feel panic taking over.
“You’re all right,” Bex calls up. “Use your core, straighten out, get your feet below you.”
Blitz starts to come down. My arms are burning as I try to hold on while frantically trying to pull my body back to vertical.
“You can do it, Princess,” Blitz says. He’s even with me now. “Lean forward.”
I do what he says and feel my chest moving over my legs. Then the blessed feeling of my weight settling on my feet again.
“Straighten your arms,” Bex calls. “It keeps you from clinging and using your weaker muscles.”
I finally feel confident enough to let go of one silk and lift one arm higher, then the other. Now there is no weight on my arms, only my legs.
“You got it,” Blitz says. “Let’s go down together.”
I watch him squat down, then unwrap his leg, lower it, then rewrap it with a straight body.
I do the same, scooting down like an inchworm, until I’m close enough to the ground to jump off.
“That was good,” Bex says. “Let’s do a few ballistic stretches and then I want you to jump right in and do it again. No fear.”
What? Again? I look up at the silks. Tendrils of unease uncurl in my belly as I remember how I got stuck.
“She’s right,” Blitz says. “You have to train your brain not to feel fear.”
He knows I’m afraid. I manage to give him a weak smile, and clap my hands against my opposite shoulders in a bear hug, out and in, until I feel less shaky.
“Let’s do it,” Bex says. But as soon as I’m a couple body lengths up, I notice she moves one of the tall mats closer to us, as if she isn’t positive I’ll make it this time.
This punches my determination into gear. The climb isn’t hard on my arms as long as I stay over my feet. I work carefully as I bend, wrap, lift, and unwrap to avoid getting off balance or swinging.
Still, I don’t quite make it to the top. When my arms and thighs start quivering, I go ahead and make my way back to the floor. Blitz is faster and makes it to the top and ends up touching down the same time I do.
“This is wicked,” Blitz says. “What do we do next?”
Bex shows us the foot lock, where we tie our foot into the silks so we can do different poses securely. Then the knot, which is the basis for many of the positions, from the box stand to rolling drops.
After an hour of this, I feel more spent than anything I’ve ever done in ballet. I want to lie on the ground and never move again, but Blitz is completely jazzed. So I stay on the mat and watch as he and Bex climb the ropes. She shows him how to spin, and they twirl in tandem, suspended in the air.
This motivates me to get my butt back up there. Bex slides down and suggests Blitz get a little lower. Then I get in a foot lock and bend over, the silks between my thighs, one arm outstretched until I’m horizontal on my side. The silk holds me up by the hip, and from there, Bex turns me to start the spin.
Blitz drops down to watch. “That is absolutely gorgeous,” he says. “Too bad nobody will ever see us do them.”
“You could always join the circus,” Bex says.
I slide down. “Do you miss it?” I ask.
“Cirque?” she asks. “Sure. It’s a rush. But it’s also four hundred shows a year. The wear and tear on your body is incredible. It’s not something you can sustain for long.” She tugs on the black silk to start bringing it down. I guess today’s lesson is over.
“How did you get in?” Blitz asks.
“It’s a process,” Bex says. “There are auditions a few times a year around the world. Some people are scouted. The cuts are merciless. Often only a handful will make it through out of hundreds.”
“Dang,” Blitz says.
“And that only gets you into the training academy, where they will make more cuts. Medical is severe. You have to be top notch, and no braces or accommodations. Then you have to get a contract, and not everyone does. They keep a database of talent and only cast people when they need them.”
Blitz nods. “I’m probably already too old,” he says.
