Taking a deep breath, Rosa jumped. For a few brief seconds she felt the air whizzing past, saw the blue sky overhead, and thought she was going to crash into the ground. But then she landed in the hammock. She bounced upwards and down again, as if she was on a trampoline!
She blinked as her bouncing slowed down. Griff was grinning at her.
“Thanks!” she gasped, swinging her legs over the side and tumbling out.
Skye swooped down. “Here’s the feather, Rosa!”
Rosa took it gratefully and ran to the centre of the clearing. Now all she had to do was dance. But which should she perform? Then she remembered what she had watched the dancers doing the night before at the theatre.
She raised her arms above her head, crossed her left leg behind her right and then ran forward, bringing her arms down so they were just slightly behind her. She pirouetted and danced forward another step before balancing on her toes. Then she circled round the statues, turning with every step, arms out to the sides, the feather whisking through the air. As she turned and spun, she heard the faint sound of birdsong! She stopped in an arabesque, one leg out behind her and looked at Skye. The little bird had his mouth open and notes were starting to pour out. He flapped his wings in delight. “I’m singing again!”
Rosa spun on again and suddenly music started to fill the clearing. She got faster and faster as the music grew louder and stronger. Acting instinctively, she brushed the feather against the statues. As soon as the feather touched the first one, the stone on all of them started to crack and they began to turn back into real people. The music reached a peak and there was a loud BANG!
Rosa stopped, her gaze flying upwards. The bottom of the cage had burst open and the Firebird was swooping out and into the air, free at last! The cage came away from the branch and started to fall when suddenly there was a piercing, furious shriek…
Rosa turned to see the Wicked Fairy rushing into the clearing!
“What’s happening?” the Wicked Fairy screamed. She looked up and saw the Firebird in the sky. “NO!” Her eyes fell on Rosa and took in the red shoes and the feather in her hand. “You! This is your fault!”
Rosa shrank back, her blood running icy with fear.
The Wicked Fairy lifted her wand. “Just you wait…”
She broke off with a shriek as the narrow cage above her plummeted down from the sky, falling straight over her head and snapping her wand.
“What the…what the…” The Wicked Fairy stared out from behind the bars. She began to waddle around, the cage reaching all the way down to her ankles. “I’m trapped! Get me out of here!” she yelled furiously. “GET ME OUT!”
“No way,” cried Rosa. “You trapped the Firebird in there! Now see how you like it!”
The Wicked Fairy jumped up and down with rage. But no one was about to help her.
“I’ll get you all for this!” she cursed, stamping away through the trees.
“I hope no one lets her out for a while!” Prince Hugo said.
Rosa grinned. She was sure the Wicked Fairy would find someone to take the cage off her at some point but right now it was good that she had a taste of her own medicine!
The fairy who had been a statue pirouetted over to Rosa. “I’m Sugar the Sugar Plum Fairy, Nutmeg’s older sister. You set the Firebird free and saved the day!” She took Rosa’s hands. “Now I will use my magic to take us back to the Royal Palace. They will all be celebrating there and the King and Queen will want to know what happened!”
Rosa’s eyes flew to Griff.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’ll head back with the carriage.”
“And I’m going to see if I can find my family,” said Skye flying down from up on high. “I’ve just been above the treetops and the cages at the Wicked Fairy’s palace have burst open too. All the birds are free!”
“Brilliant!” Rosa gasped. She turned to Sugar. “Yes, please take me back.”
But just as Sugar raised her wand, the Firebird swooped down into the clearing in a blaze of red and gold. Every feather on his body glittered and shone with magic and his dark eyes looked brightly at Rosa. “Thank you!” he called to Rosa. “You have brought music and song back to Enchantia.”
Rosa smiled in delight, watching as he flew up into the sky, soaring above the trees, free once again.
Looking happily at the feather in her hand, she slipped it into her pyjama pocket.
Sugar grinned. “Come on. Your job here is done. Let’s go back to the palace!”
Sugar waved her wand. Pink sparkles swirled around Rosa and the next second she felt herself being whisked away.
Back in the palace, everyone was celebrating, just as Sugar had said. Birds were perched on every part of the palace walls, singing sweetly as if to make up for the time they had been silent. A band was playing and people were dancing in the courtyard.
“Rosa! Sugar!”
Rosa swung round and saw Nutmeg pushing her way through the crowd. “What happened? All we know is that suddenly the spell broke and everyone was free.”
“Let’s go inside and Rosa can tell the King and Queen too,” said Sugar and they hurried into the palace.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” said Rosa to Nutmeg. “I saw you being turned into stone. It was awful.”
“I’m OK. It didn’t hurt,” said Nutmeg. “And now everyone is fine, thanks to you!”
They got inside and Rosa told the King and Queen and Nutmeg what had happened.
“I couldn’t have done it without Griff and Skye,” she finished.
“They will be well rewarded,” the King promised. “Now, come and join the dancing outside!”
But as he spoke, Rosa’s shoes started to glow. “I’ve got to go!” she gasped.
“See you soon, Rosa!” called Nutmeg.
“Bye!” cried Rosa as she was whisked away.
She landed back in her bedroom in the dark. What an adventure! She could hardly believe everything that had just happened. She untied her ballet shoes and then climbed into her bed, a minute later she was fast asleep.
The next morning she went downstairs, her fingers playing with the Firebird feather in her pocket. Her mum was in the kitchen getting out the breakfast things. Rosa took a deep breath. “Mum, I’ve been thinking about the tickets and I think you should ring Mikhail.”
Her mum sighed. “We went through this last night. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, love but…”
Rosa didn’t let her finish. “Mum, it’s not just because I want to go and see the ballet, although of course I do. I just think you really should ring Mikhail. I know you think that he’s feeling sorry for you, but sometimes,” and she thought about Griff, “well, we don’t always get it right when we guess what other people are thinking, and you said you and he were friends.”
Rosa held her breath, wondering what her mum would say.
Her mum stared. “Where did all that come from?”
Rosa shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just thinking about it. You should find out what Mikhail’s really thinking and not just guess. You’re always telling me not to judge people.” She looked hopefully at her mum. “Please will you ring him?”
A smile caught at her mum’s mouth. “I can’t argue with that. You’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Perhaps I have got it wrong.”
Rosa’s eyes widened. “So you’ll ring?”
Her mum hesitated and then nodded. “I will. And if he offers me tickets again, I’ll say yes.”
Rosa spun round joyfully. She was sure her mum was just as mistaken about Mikhail as she had been about Griff. “Oh wow!” she gasped. “Just wait until I tell Olivia!”
Two weeks later, Rosa sat in the auditorium of the theatre with her mum, Mikhail and Olivia. From the moment they had met up with him before the show, he and Rosa’s mother had been laughing and talking, catching up on lost time. Every seat was filled. The stage was blazing with light as a dancer dressed in a red and gold costume leaped acr
oss the stage, arms thrown back like a bird in flight.
Rosa pictured the real Firebird soaring through the sky in Enchantia. When would she go back there again? She put her hand in the pocket of her skirt and her fingers closed around the feather. Soon, she thought. And she smiled.
1. Start in the 3rd position, with your left foot behind your right foot and your arms in the prepare position.
2. Bend your knees.
3. Spring your feet out to the side and rise on to demi-toes – this is called an echappe in ballet. Try to keep your feet as close to the ground as possible. Raise your arms as you do this as if you’re flapping your wings.
4. Stay on your demi-toes for a couple of seconds and then spring your feet back to the position that you started in, lowering your arms. Start again and repeat all the steps, until you’re in full flight!
The group of girls crowded into the changing rooms, chattering loudly.
“I can’t believe we’re going to be doing the exam tomorrow!” Olivia said.
“I know,” replied Rebecca. “I’m really nervous.”
“I’m scared stiff,” agreed Asha.
Rosa Maitland looked at her friends in surprise. “But why?” She twirled round before sitting down and starting to untie the ribbons on her red ballet shoes. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Rosa loved dancing in front of people. She didn’t care whether it was her teacher, Madame Za-Za, an audience at a theatre or an examiner in the ballet studio. She just loved to dance!
“But what if we go wrong?” said Olivia. “What if we forget everything?” “Why would we?” Rosa said. “We’re just doing the same exercises we do every lesson for Madame Za-Za. Stop worrying about it.”
She got changed out of her leotard and after saying goodbye to Olivia and the others, she headed home. Rosa only lived around the corner. As she let herself into the house, her mum came into the hall in her wheelchair. Mrs Maitland had once been a ballerina, but then a car accident had ended her career. She still loved ballet, though, and often helped Rosa.
“How did the exam practice go?” she asked.
“Great.” Rosa smiled as she remembered. “It was cool dancing with a proper pianist playing and Madame Za-Za said I did my dances really well.”
Mrs Maitland nodded. “How about your barre work?”
“Easy peasy!” grinned Rosa. She took hold of the kitchen door handle with her left hand and raised her leg to the retiré position, bringing her right arm above her head, just like she would have to do in the exam. “Everyone else is really nervous, but I don’t know why. I’m sure we’re all going to pass.”
Her mum looked anxious. “Rosa, it’s really great you’re not worried about the exam, but remember things can go wrong. If they do you must just keep on going and not give up. Don’t expect to get everything right.”
Rosa smiled confidently. “I’ll be fine!” She danced into the kitchen. “What’s for tea, Mum?”
“Pasta,” said Mrs Maitland, following her. “Will you set the table, please, while I heat the sauce?”
Rosa nodded and started to get the cutlery out. “What mark do you think I’ll get for the exam?” she wondered.
Her mum smiled. “I don’t know, sweetheart. But so long as you try your hardest, I’ll be proud of you.”
In bed that night, Rosa ran through the exercises she was going to have to do in her exam. Madame Za-Za had explained that the girls would go in groups of four. First they would do barre work, like they did every week in class, then they would go into the centre of the studio and do some more exercises there. After that they would take it in turns to do a set dance and then they had character work to do. Rosa had practised over and over again. What mark would she get? The highest grade you could get was an A, which was also called distinction, and then it went B for merit, C for pass and if you didn’t get any of those you failed. She really hoped she would do well.
She reached out to turn her bedside light off. As she did so, her eyes fell on the red ballet shoes hanging at the end of her bed. She smiled. They were her most precious things in the whole world. They were made of soft red leather and fitted her feet perfectly, but that wasn’t why they were so special. They were special because they were magic! Sometimes they would start to sparkle and glow and then they would whisk her off to Enchantia, a magic land where all the characters from the different ballets lived. Rosa had been on some brilliant adventures there already. She had met the King and Queen, made friends with a fairy called Nutmeg and her older sister, Sugar, the Sugar Plum Fairy. She had come up against some pretty horrible characters too – like King Rat and the Wicked Fairy. But most of the people who lived in Enchantia were really nice.
Rosa snuggled down under her duvet. She bet no one in Enchantia had to do exams. When would she go there again? She hugged her arms around herself. She hoped it would be soon!
In the morning, Rosa arrived at the ballet school early. She got changed into her leotard and smoothed her wavy blonde hair back into a neat bun. She was beginning to feel slightly nervous. She was ready before the other girls arrived, warming up by doing pliés, holding lightly on to one of the sinks as if it was the barre.
“Hi,” Olivia called over. Her face was pale and her eyes looked wide and frightened. Rosa saw her fingers shaking as she started to pull down the zip on her coat.
“It’ll be OK,” Rosa told her. She stretched her left foot out in front of her and lifted it quickly upwards as she practised a grande battement.
Back still, knees tight… the things to remember ran through her head as she lowered her foot slowly to the floor.
“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” said Olivia.
“Me too,” said Rebecca, sitting down beside her.
“And me,” said Asha, looking alarmed. “What happens if we are sick in the exam?”
As she spoke the door opened and Madame Za-Za came in. As usual, the ballet teacher was wearing a long ballet skirt, bangles and necklaces. Her greying hair was tied back in a bun. She caught Asha’s words. “You will not be sick, Asha,” she said in her slight Russian accent. She smiled. “You will go into the exam room and perform your very best. I am sure all of you are going to make me proud. Now, when you’re ready, please come to studio two and start to warm up.”
Rosa hurried eagerly through the door.
Half an hour later, Rosa stood with Olivia, Asha and Rebecca in the corridor, waiting for Madame Za-Za to tell them they could go into the studio where the examiner was. They were going to be the first group in. Rosa was glad. She wanted to get started. Each of the four girls had a different coloured ribbon pinned to her chest so the examiner would know who was who. Each of them was also holding the skirts and shoes they would need for their character work at the end.
“Does my hair look OK?” Rosa asked Olivia.
Olivia nodded. “How about mine?”
“You look great!” Rosa squeezed her hand. “Good luck!”
“You too!” Olivia said nervously.
Madame Za-Za held the door open. A bell rang inside the room. “In you go, girls.”
Taking a deep breath, Rosa followed Asha, Rebecca and Olivia into the studio. The exam was about to begin!
Rosa and the other girls put down their shoes and skirts at the side of the room and curtsied to the examiner who was beside a small table. The examiner, a small slim woman, smiled and looked at their ribbons. “Good morning, girls. Let me just check I have your names and colours right. Asha – pink, Rebecca – blue, Olivia – yellow and Rosa – white?”
They all nodded.
“Excellent. Take your places at the barre, please.”
As they began to go through their exercises, Rosa felt happy and relaxed. She remembered to keep her back straight, her chin up, her hips still and her movements smooth. She wished she could look over at the others and see how they were doing, but she was concentrating too hard. She enjoyed stretching every muscle as much as she could, keeping her arm movements flowing
and graceful.
After working at the barre they went to the centre of the studio. The first few exercises went well. I’m really doing OK, Rosa thought, as they got ready to start their pirouette exercises. I wonder what mark I’ll get. Mum would be so pleased if I…
Suddenly she realised that she had been distracted and the examiner had told them all to start. The others were already turning. She quickly tried to join in, but wobbled badly as she came to a stop. She glanced at the examiner, hoping she hadn’t noticed, but the examiner was looking directly at her. Rosa blushed. Oh no. She’d really messed that exercise up!
The next exercise was changements – jumps where their feet swapped position in the air. Usually Rosa could do them easily but, feeling flustered still, she lost her balance. It went from bad to worse. In every exercise she seemed to make a mistake and the harder she tried, the worse it got. Her arms and legs felt wrong, her jumps felt rushed and her landings were unbalanced. By the time they finished working in the centre, Rosa’s cheeks were blazing. She didn’t think she had ever done her exercises so badly.
Her eyes prickled with tears as she lined up with the others at one end of the studio for the set dance. I’m going to fail for sure, she thought, brushing away her tears. The music started and Asha began. She danced lightly across the floor, her elegance making Rosa feel worse than ever.
I’m not going to get a distinction or a merit. I’m not even going to pass. Mum’s going to be so upset with me and what’s Madame Za-Za going to say? Maybe she’ll make me go down to a different class!
Magic Ballerina 7-12 Page 5
