Pas de Deux?

Doubled over, red in the face and panting from her latest rehearsal, Violet reached into her bag for something, anything, to towel herself off with. She smiled to herself as she found her Pittsburgh penguins rally towel from the previous year’s playoff run and giggled as she realized that it would be sacrilegious to it as a sweat rag. Wondering how it ended up in her dance bag in the first place, she set the towel aside and grabbed another, trying to clean herself up before the company meeting took place, which according to the clock on the dressing room wall, was in 3 minutes.

“Vi, hurry up! Last meeting, Jessica walked in late and Eric made her scrub the mirrors in studio A!” yelled her best friend Rhea.

“I’m coming, let me just grab a water,” Violet replied as she slipped on a pair on track pants and bolted for the cooler.

That was the thing about the Pittsburgh Dance Company, they treated you well and you’d never go thirsty while in that place. Violet and Rhea hurried towards the studio where their meeting was taking place, breathing easy when they realized they weren’t going to be late. Eric darted in and out of the room, taking a head count and collecting his paperwork, which kept fluttering to the ground. Rhea and Violet didn’t dare to laugh out loud but shared a silent laugh. The man was a genius, and somehow managed it with his head in the clouds, all day, everyday.

Eric was the company director and he was infamous for holding meetings about nothing in particular. He just liked to check in with his dancers to make sure everyone was happy. He was the kind of man you’d want to have as your grandfather (literally, he’d been with the company for years), but if you wronged him, lookout. That’s how Jessica ended up having to scrub 10 foot mirrors by herself. As Violet looked around the room she felt at ease. She felt the warm sun on her skin as it streamed in through the large windows and she took in the smell of freshly polished hardwood floors. This was her home away from home, her haven and to dance was the only thing she ever wanted to do. She couldn’t believe how far she’d come, joining a professional dance company at the age of 21, moving to a new city from her native Quebec, and all in the company of her best friends, whom she’d known since the age of 3. It all seemed like a dream and frequently she pinched herself to make sure it was all real. Even through the 9 hour rehearsals and all the pain, it was worth it just to feel how she did when she was dancing. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kitty flung her arms around Violet, releasing all her weight so that Violet struggled to hold her up.

“Rough morning?” Violet giggled while wilting under Kitty’s weight.

“You’ve got no idea girl. Apparently Jason has trouble counting to 4 and walking at the same time!” Kitty teased, winking at a tall boy to Violet’s right

“Well maybe if someone else, and I’m not gonna say who, could figure out which foot is her right and which one is her left, then we’d get somewhere,” the boy teased back.

“How you two can partner each other is beyond me!” Rhea grinned as Violet and Kitty crumbled to the floor

“Easy, we’re pretty!” Kitty replied, batting her dark lashes.

“So what’s this meeting about anyways?” Violet giggled, now on the floor, struggling to crawl out from under Kitty, who had her pinned like a pro wrestler.

Before anyone could answer, Eric appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, informing the company that they would be taking part in a charity event to raise money for the local children’s hospital. It sounded harmless enough since the company played a major role in the community but apparently, there was a catch. It would be a team effort with the Pittsburgh Penguins and there would be dancing involved.