Amelia Bedelia Dances Off

by Herman Parish

  “I’m too young to go to a bar,” said Brad.

  Everyone except Amelia Bedelia giggled. She had been thinking the same thing, but not as a joke.

  “Not that kind of bar,” said Dana. “And not a salad bar, or an all-you-can-eat taco bar. This one is spelled B-A-R-R-E, and it is right here,” she said, patting the two long wooden handrails mounted one above the other along the sides of the room.

  “We have one of those at home,” said Alexandra. “We call it a banister.”

  “Yup, that’s what it looks like,” said Alex.

  “I like that,” said Madame Dansova. “It will help you scale the heights of ballet. Now turn to the side and hold the barre lightly with your left hand.”

  The class lined up and grabbed the barre. Dana moved to the other side of the room, where they could all see her, and positioned herself at the barre there.

  “Listen to Madame,” she said, “and watch what I do.”

  “Heels together,” said Madame Dansova. “Now turn your legs out, out, out until a big piece of pizza pie would fit between your feet.”

  They all understood. Except Brad.

  “Your feet are much too far apart,” said Madame to Brad.

  “I love pizza,” said Brad. “That’s how much I would eat.” But he understood now and scooted his feet closer together.

  “Lovely, boys and girls!” said Madame Dansova. “Next, the demi-plié.”

  “That means ‘half bend’ in French,” said Gracie.

  Madame described the move and gave tips as Dana demonstrated it. “Heels together, feet on the floor. Now watch the diamond shape form between her legs as she bends.”

  The class did twenty demi-pliés with Dana while Madame strolled around the studio, correcting them one by one.

  “Now time for a grand plié!” said Madame.

  “Grand is French for—” Gracie started to say.

  “We can guess,” interrupted Alexandra.

  Once again, Dana demonstrated the step while Madame described the technique. “Start with a demi-plié, now bend deeper, let your heels come off the floor, deeper, knees out, back straight, deeper . . . deeper . . .”

  The deeper they bent, the more they started to tip and teeter. No one wanted to admit that it was hard. But it was ridiculous! Everyone started to laugh, and then Willow lost her balance, falling backward on Alex, who fell on Alexandra, who took out the rest of the class in a giggling heap. Gracie was the only one left standing, because she had been in front of Willow. She ignored the mayhem and kept doing grand pliés.

  “Brava!” said Madame. She led Gracie across the studio to Dana. “Help her with her hands while I concentrate on these falling dominoes,” she said.

  After the class got untangled, Madame had them face the barre and hang on with both hands.

  “And one, two, three, four, five.” Madame counted and clapped and slinked around the studio like a tigress, as they did five more sets of ten grand pliés. Amelia Bedelia had never been so tired in her life!

  “This is great,” said Brad. “I use the same leg muscles skateboarding.”

  “Yes!” said Madame, smiling. “Ballet is a necessity of life! When I come back to Dana’s studio, I will show you the five basic positions of ballet.”

  “But next week, everyone,” said Dana, handing Madame her fur hat, “I have something very different planned. You’ll see!”

  Amelia Bedelia was completely worn out when she got home. But she’d liked ballet more than she’d expected to, and she was curious about those five basic positions. What would they look like? Would they be easy or hard? In the meantime, she created the sixth position of ballet. She fell asleep, sprawled out on her father’s recliner.

  A surprise thunderstorm made Amelia Bedelia and her mother late for the next dance class. When they arrived, they found Brad, Alex, Alexandra, Gracie, and Willow standing in front of the school with their parents or babysitters.

  “The door is locked,” said Gracie. “Where is Dana?”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother. “Dana should be here.”

  Three other people were standing near the dance school too. They all wore the same thing—basketball jerseys from different teams, long shorts and sneakers, and plain black baseball caps. The tallest one approached and asked, “Is Dana coming?”

  “We don’t know,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother. “May I help you?”

  “My name is Bill,” he said. “Dana asked us to come and give a demonstration today.”

  “Oh, there must be some mistake,” said Gracie’s mother politely. “This isn’t a basketball clinic. It’s a dance class.”

  Bill smiled. The other two laughed.

  “We aren’t basketball players,” said one of them.

  “We’re dancers,” said the other.

  “Dancers?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Break dancers,” said Bill.

  “Cool,” said Brad. “Remember, you guys? Dana said our next class was going to be totally different!”

  Amelia Bedelia was excited. She could tell that the others were excited too. She had seen break dancing on television, but it would be really great to learn how to do it herself.

  Just then, Wanda drove up and stopped outside the school.

  “I’ve got the keys, everyone!” she called, getting out of her car. “We’re all set for class.” She opened the door to the dance school and let the students in. Then she turned to Amelia Bedelia’s mother and took her aside. “I’m glad you’re here. Any chance you can stick around until class is over?”

  “Where’s Dana?” asked Amelia Bedelia’s mother.

  “At the emergency room,” said Wanda. “Her back steps were wet from the rain. She slipped and—”

  “Oh my goodness,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother, bringing her hands up to her mouth. “Of course!”

  “Let those break dancers run the class,” said Wanda. “Bill is fabulous. I’ve got to bring Dana some things from home. I’ll come by your house with a full report later.”

  The class gathered in Studio One, in a semicircle around the break dancers, who were stretching and spinning to the music.

  “Are you guys doing warm-ups or actual dance moves?” asked Alex.

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Bill. “As long as it gets the job done.”

  Bill and the other dancers, whose names were Rita and Jasper, were amazing. They kept trying to outdo one another, spinning on their heads and on just one hand, moving this way and that, trying out sequences with incredible super-fast footwork. Jasper launched himself into the air, landed in a handstand, and froze in that position.

  When the music stopped, the dancers helped the class master an easy six-step, a basic first move in break dancing. It was way harder than the dancers made it look, even in slow motion. Amelia Bedelia got tangled up with Willow. Gracie tripped over Alex, and Brad and Alexandra ended up in a heap on the floor, laughing hysterically.

  “Too bad Dana missed break dancing,” said Amelia Bedelia to her mom as they drove home. “I bet she would have loved it!”

  “Oh, honey, I know! I just hope Dana’s all right!” said her mother.

  “Oh no! While we were break dancing, do you think she really broke something?” asked Amelia Bedelia. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  Amelia Bedelia’s mother turned in to the driveway. “Aunt Wanda is right behind us,” she said. “We’ll get a report.”

  Amelia Bedelia’s father was home already, so they all sat in the kitchen while Wanda gave them the bad news.

  “When Dana slipped, she broke her leg in two places,” she said.

  “I thought she fell on the steps,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Did she fall somewhere else too?”

  “Dana didn’t fall in two different places,” said her mother.

  “The bone in her leg is broken in two places,” her father explained.

  “That’s horrible!” said Amelia Bedelia. “Can we visit her?”

 
“That would be nice, sweetie,” said Wanda, “but Dana needs to rest.”

  “No more dance class, I guess,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Actually,” said Wanda, “Dana made me promise to keep the class going with demonstrations like the one you had today. I’ll arrange for the dancers until Dana can get back on her feet.”

  Amelia Bedelia hugged Aunt Wanda. “I know! You can show us how to tap dance!” she said.

  “Your aunt Wanda has been tap dancing her whole life,” said Amelia Bedelia’s father. “She’s an expert by now!”

  When Madame Dansova got wind of Dana’s accident, she returned right away to teach another ballet class. As it turned out, Amelia Bedelia’s biggest worry was not getting her body into the five basic positions of ballet. It was keeping her hair in one place.

  While the class was warming up, Madame said, “Miss Bedelia, your hair keeps flippy-flopping in your face. You must wear it like I do, in a bun.” Madame pointed to the round, hairy knob on the back of her head.

  Amelia Bedelia wondered what kind of bun Madame Dansova kept under her hair. Sourdough? Whole wheat? Burger? Before she could ask, though, Madame clapped her hands, and class began.

  “We will start by learning the first position,” said Madame. “And in the spirit of first things first, remember that the best dancers dance with their ears.”

  Amelia Bedelia had heard of people playing by ear, but dancing by ear sounded super painful.

  “Listen closely, boys and girls,” continued Madame, “and you will get off on the right foot.”

  She demonstrated the correct arm position, saying, “Hold your arms out in front of you, gently. Pretend you carry a fragile bubble of soap. Now, turn your legs out, from your hips down to your heels.”

  “Heels together, Miss Bedelia,” said Madame. “Look at Gracie, and put your best foot forward.”

  Amelia Bedelia slid her left foot out ahead of her right foot.

  “Miss Bedelia! What are you doing?” asked Madame. “Why do you put your left foot in front?”

  “I like my left foot better than my right,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “You have a favorite foot?” asked Madame.

  “I’m right-handed,” said Amelia Bedelia. “So I am left-footed. I like to make things balance.”

  “Yes! Balance is very important,” said Madame, “but you are getting off on the wrong foot, Miss Bedelia.”

  Amelia Bedelia switched her feet and put the right foot forward and the left one back. “Is this better?” she asked, looking down at her feet. “Now I’ll get off on my right foot.” Amelia Bedelia’s hair fell in her face. Madame was not pleased.

  “Miss Gracie,” said Madame. “Your first position is perfect. Please escort Miss Bedelia to the dressing room and show her how to fix her hair for the ballet so she can see what she is doing. Seeing is just as important as listening.”

  “Yes, Madame,” said Gracie.

  Amelia Bedelia and Gracie headed to the changing room. When they got there, Gracie removed a handful of hairpins from the back of her head and then, reaching up, she pulled a black stretchy out of her hair. Amelia Bedelia was shocked.

  “Gracie,” she said, “your hair is just as short as my hair.”

  “Yup,” said Gracie.

  Amelia Bedelia got a notebook out of her backpack. “What’s your secret recipe for a ballet bun?” she asked.

  Gracie giggled. Then she grabbed a brush and got to work on Amelia Bedelia’s hair, explaining what she was doing as she brushed and twisted and pinned. Amelia Bedelia wrote down directions and drew little sketches as Gracie worked.

  “Ta-dah!” said Gracie as they looked in the mirror together.

  “Wow,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Thanks, Gracie!”

  Gracie used a spare sock and put her hair in a new bun too, and they rejoined the class.

  “Brava, Miss Bedelia!” said Madame. “Now that your hair looks the part, you’ll soon be on your toes like Gracie.” Gracie stood up on the very tips of her toes.

  “I get the point, Madame,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Finally!”

  If Wanda’s body was busy before Dana broke her leg, it was even busier now. She came to the next class out of breath, carrying grocery bags.

  “Whew!” she said. “I’ve been all over the place, making calls and running errands. I didn’t have time for lunch. Let’s start off with some salsa.”

  “Yes!” said Alex.

  “That’s our favorite dance,” said Alexandra, clapping. The twins could not contain themselves. Alex turned on the music. Within seconds, Alex and Alexandra were dancing, back and forth, back and forth.

  “We learned when we were little, from watching our mom and dad,” said Alex. “They taught us this new step just last week.” Alexandra whirled away from Alex, then he twirled her back while switching hands at the same time. Everyone clapped.

  “That looks fun,” said Willow. “Can you show us how to dance like that?”

  The twins took turns showing the class the basic salsa step. They walked forward while counting one, two, three, and backward while counting five, six, seven. “Your feet don’t move on four or eight,” said Alex. “So we don’t really count them.”

  “It’s more like a pause,” said Alexandra. “You can count in your head, if you want.”

  “Eight steps?” said Wanda. “My salsa takes three easy steps.”

  “Three steps?” said Alex.

  “Cool!” said Alexandra. “Show us!”

  Wanda reached into her grocery bag, pulled out a big jar of salsa, and said, “Step one, open the jar. Step two, pour salsa into a bowl. Step three, open bag of chips.”

  Wanda grabbed a chip, scooped up some salsa, and said, “I was so busy that I missed lunch today. Dig in!”

  “Thanks, Aunt Wanda!” said Amelia Bedelia, helping herself to the surprise treat. The other dancers dug in too.

  Alex grabbed Amelia Bedelia’s hand. “I’ll show you the famous double salsa,” he said. As he walked forward, he counted, “One, two, three . . .” Then he took a chip and scooped up some salsa. “Scoop!” As he walked backward, he counted, “Five, six, seven . . .” Then he popped the chip in his mouth. “Crunch!” Soon the entire class was doing the famous double salsa.

  “Hey,” said Amelia Bedelia, crunching a chip. “I’m doing salsa inside and out.”

  Wanda laughed loudest of all, until she noticed that an elderly couple had stopped outside on the sidewalk. They were staring in the window, with their hands cupped on the glass, around their faces. No one knew how long they had been standing there.

  “Gosh,” said Wanda. “I hope we weren’t too loud.”

  “Are anyone’s grandparents coming today?” asked Willow.

  Everyone shook their heads no.

  “Were the kids making too much noise?” asked Wanda, opening the door and poking her head out.

  “Not at all,” said the woman.

  “We thoroughly enjoyed it,” said the man. “My name is Bob Quinn, and this is my wife, Lois.”

  “Before we retired,” explained Lois, “we ran a school for ballroom dancing, so we love seeing these kids dance.”

  “Brings back lots of memories for us,” said Bob.

  “Come inside, come inside,” said Wanda as she held the door open for them. “Meet the kids and try some salsa—eating or dancing.”

  “We taught lots of folks how to dance in our day,” said Lois.

  “Is there any chance you’d give us a demonstration?” asked Wanda.

  “We’d love to do that,” said Bob. “Honey, let’s rumba!”

  Bob and Lois walked slowly, like Amelia Bedelia’s grandparents. But once they joined hands and began to dance, they were graceful and fast. They glided over the floor, matching each other step for step, turn for turn. Whenever Bob twirled Lois away under his arm, she would come spinning back again—

  HONK-HONK HONNNKKKK!!!!

  Bob yanked Lois up. “That’s our bus! We’re late!” he said. />
  HONK-HONK!

  The spell cast by the Quinns’ dancing was shattered, and Wanda sprang into action. She stalked out of the studio and approached the bus parked right outside.

  “Hey, lady!” yelled the driver. “Have you seen an older couple—”

  “Keep your shirt on, pal,” said Wanda. “They’ll be out in a minute.”

  Amelia Bedelia could see that driver was wearing a jacket as well as a shirt, and from the look on his face, he wasn’t her Aunt Wanda’s pal.

  “Here comes trouble,” she said to Gracie.

  “You know,” said Bob, “we’d love to visit again. Just let us know when your next show is. We’ll bring a busload of fossils just like us to watch you perform.”

  When Wanda came back from helping the Quinns onto the bus, Amelia Bedelia noticed that she had a faraway look in her eyes. The few times Amelia Bedelia had seen that look before, life had gotten a bit crazier.

  “Hmm . . . Why not?” said Wanda under her breath.

  “I love fossils!” said Amelia Bedelia to Gracie.

  Amelia Bedelia got a ride home from Aunt Wanda that day. It gave them a chance to talk.