My Story: Studio 07 - Chapter 1 - The revelation
Studio 07
Chapter 1 - The revelation
Jade stared blankly out of the train window. The trees and the hills of the surrounding countryside blurred into one long, continuous strip of dappled green, too hypnotising to peel her eyes away from. The sun moved further and further away until it was a faint crescent behind the trees; a little semicircle of fire that created shapes and shadows that danced rapidly in the distance.
Jade felt a sudden wave of exhaustion come over her. Perhaps if I just close my eyes for a little, everything will be alright, she thought solemnly to herself. She felt the weight of her head, followed quickly by her entire body, sink deeper into the palm of her hand until S-P-L-A-T! She felt her hand smack the table. The white noise and the bright light of the train, sang herself to sleep.
*
If it wasn't for Mr Heath, sitting adjacent to her, shaking her abruptly by the shoulder, Jade would have been asleep for the next 2 hours! She felt her eyelids peel open slightly, slowly letting the bright light in. A ghost of a being was wavering its hand in front of her face.
"Hello, Jade. Are you alright?" Mr Heath inquired, looking genuinely concerned.
Jade shook her head violently to try and break her sleepy daze. "Ohh, uh, yes I am absolutely fine," she said, in the middle of a stretch, "just a little bit shattered, that's all. When did you turn up?"
"I arrived thirty minutes ago at the last station. I saw you were out like a light so I didn't want to wake you. However, I thought if I left you any longer, you'd miss the next stop and I didn't want to cause you any unnecessary bother."
Jade quickly rummaged through her bag next to her, desperately searching for her phone. Surely it can't be that late, can it?. After shoving away her notebook, leotard, lipstick, and ballet shoes, she finally found her most prized possession. She flicked on her phone and sure enough, she saw that it was eleven in the evening! Gosh, already? She thought to herself.
"Jeez, I didn't realise the time. Thanks for waking me up," she flustered.
"No problem at all," replied Mr Heath, in his gruff, friendly voice.
Mr Heath now produced a cup from his work bag, pouring a generous mug of tea from his flask. He got a large tin box of Fox's biscuits, an assortment that always brought joy to Jade.
"Here you go. It may be eleven in the evening but one always deserves to have tea and biscuits after a long day and I can tell that you've had a very long day. So, tell me all about it." His elderly body sank back further into his chair.
Jade paused for a moment. She didn't know where to even start. She quickly grabbed a triple chocolate biscuit and dunked it precariously into her tea, before taking a large bite from it like an animal.
"Well," she began, in between bites "I don't feel as though I completely fit in my new dance studio. I thought it would be a great opportunity to be part of such an amazing company but it turns out I don't know what I'm doing, I can't do half the things that all the other dancers can do, and I just find the days are really long and drag way too much. I feel the need to constantly prove myself to others and I just don't know what to do." Jade felt her face burn red and tears brimming in her eyes. She resisted the urge to completely break down in that moment.
Mr Heath sat motionless for a few seconds, as if completely bemused by Jade's insecurity.
"It sounds like someone needs a bit more self belief. My child, I've seen you dance on stage before and there is some raw talent bursting right there. I'm no expert, but I like to think I can spot a good dancer when I see one. Just give it time, you've only been at that studio for a few weeks. I bet by the end of the year, you'll be the best dancer out of all of them."
Jade sighed and yawned at the same time. "Yes, I really hope so." She drank some more of her tea. The burning hot liquid warmed her cold, lonely body. In her mind, dance was all about the sharing of ideas, the collaboration, and the different cultures and dance styles coming together to create something beautiful. Something colourful. Something wonderful. Something sensational.
All that existed at her new dance studio was monotonous technique, with a complete disregard for authenticity and Jade craved more. She longed for more.
The wheels of the train lurched to a halt, making a gut-wrenching screech that startled Jade. She nearly spilled her tea in the process. She took one last gulp of the comforting mixture in her mug before quickly packing up her things and sprinting towards the door.
"Well, see you later Mr Heath!" She shouted, from a distance.
"See you later, Jade!" Mr Heath shouted back.
As the double doors of the train opened in front of her, a sudden gust of icy cold wind hit Jade's reddened face. She desperately wrapped her black duffle coat around her body, before marching straight ahead with her face towards the ground, bracing the impact of the snowy gail.
Jade was fifty yards from her apartment and up until this point, she had largely ignored the bright and whimsical lanterns that graced her town at this time of the year. However, a familiar beat began to ring in her ears, growing stronger and stronger into a heavy energy that she could no longer resist. Tap, tap, tap. Jade looked up suddenly, to see a group of Irish dancers, moving rhythmically on the side of the pavement. In the beginning, they danced in unison to traditional Irish music but as the tempo began to build, they began to dance a combination of hip-hop and Irish dance.
It's beautiful, Jade thought to herself. She became completely entranced by the contemporary use of movement. This was something that she had never seen before.
Her phone began to buzz. Jade retrieved her phone from her bag and read the text message.
Holly: Where are you? It's nearly midnight already!
Jade began to speed walk the last fifty yards to her apartment, turning the corner onto Castle Street, before swiftly walking up the stairs, unlocking the door and slamming it shut behind her. As much as she tried, Jade could not stop thinking about the amazing performance that she had just witnessed.
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