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Chapter 5

After being fitted and measured, she was given two leotards, a few pairs of tights, a pair of pointe shoes, and a pair of soft shoes as well as a bag to carry all of these things. She was reminded that she needed to bring everything with her for each lesson.

Kalani showed her how to wrap her foot carefully before pulling on the pointe shoes, and cautioned that it was possible they would bleed. They were very stiff and painful to put on, which Kalani assured her was normal. Luckily, they started out with the soft shoes, which were more comfortable.

By the time both the girls had changed into leotards, tights and their shoes, they reentered the studio where three of the girls from the earlier holo rushed over to introduce themselves.

Rali had raven colored hair and seemed to have a permanent half smirk on her features, her green eyes sparkling as if she knew a secret.

The second girl, Neva, was Rali's cousin, who had the same color hair, but her expressive eyes were two different colors. One was brown, while the other was hazel. She seemed to dislike them though, and Kanali whispered that she usually wore a colored contact in one eye so they looked the same.

The third girl, Lereni, had straight, light brown hair with chocolate colored eyes. They were bright, though the girl herself was shy, giving only a small smile to greet her.

Siri was filling in for Cheloette, the girl who had broken her leg. Apparently she and Siri were close to the same size, though Siri noted, all the girls were close to the same size. In fact, she was sure that Lereni was smaller than she was.

Then it was time to warm up for class. While Mira was a bit more forgiving of Siri's lack of dancing experience, she clearly expressed that each girl was to give dance their complete attention and to do their very best while there.

And Siri did the best she could. However, when she compared herself to the other girls, she felt like a young bantha cub. The girls moved with wide gestures and made it look effortless. However, when she saw herself in the mirror, Siri could tell she was off.

Mira was a good teacher though, and as the girls practiced the different positions at the barre, the teacher helped Siri, moving her feet and arms so they were being held correctly. They did this a few times, and Siri couldn't help but beam when Mira praised her for getting the first three positions correctly for the first time.

One thing she did notice was that she was not as flexible as she had first thought. The other girls were able to raise their legs in high smooth movements, while Siri's own legs were definitely unable to such a movement. While it was frustrating, Siri knew it would get easier, since the girls kept assuring her of that.

After an hour of barre exercises and a few simple dance steps, including ones that Siri would never be able to remember. These included arabesque, chaîné, fermé, pirouette, plié and ronds de jambs.

While that had been difficult, Siri quickly noticed why they needed to be so warmed up. Mira put on some music and told the girls to take their positions. Siri just stood for a moment until Kanali grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side of the room.

"Just try to follow my lead," she explained. Then quickly took on the dancer pose that Siri was seeing in all of them.

Siri followed one yard right of Kanali and two yards behind her. To help her, Mira called out the dance steps over the music. Even with that, Siri found herself having trouble, it seemed to look so effortless, but it was much more confusing than it had looked on the holonet.

When the song came to an end, Siri's cheeks were red with embarrassment. She was slightly upset by how poorly it had gone, but pushed the anger away. She released it into the Force, reminding herself that she was still learning. That was why she was here to begin with. That left only some embarrassment that Siri had a more difficult time accepting. She stood, eyes closed for a moment, breathing calmly to bring a sense of peace to herself.

After a minute, she opened her eyes and noted that the others were watching her, including Mira.

"Are you alright?" the instructor asked her.

Siri nodded. "Yes, I am sorry that I did not do well. I will practice," she assured Mira and the girls.

"For a beginner, you are learning fast. It will just take time," Mira assured her and patted her shoulders. Siri beamed at the praise, the embarrassment leaving her. She apparently was learning more than she thought.

The moment passed though, and Mira was telling the girl to put on their pointe shoes then meet back here in just five minutes.

The girls walked quickly to the small changing room and as soon as Kanali had hers on, she helped Siri with hers, making sure the thin covering was in place to help with the bleeding that all the girls said would occur.

Once her shoes were on, Siri got to her feet and found that the shoes were uncomfortable to wear, but not unbearable. It did make walking more difficult and that is when Rali showed her that the graceful glide dancers used was to move was not just elegant, but necessary.

While Kalani was getting a glass of water from the water cooler, Rali smiled slightly and then raised her eyebrows in question. Siri just gave her a confused look in response. What was it she was asking?

"Try them out," Rali suggested.

"You mean, stand up on my toes?" Siri asked, feeling a bit excited.

Rali nodded and offered her arm. "You can hold on for support, though I doubt you will need it."

Siri paused then gently put her hand on her arm and in one fluid moment, she was on pointe. The Padawan smiled over at Rali who returned it. Then, letting go of her light hold on Rali, Siri did not need support to stand. She took a few steps and then made a small turn before letting herself stand normally, flat footed.

"How was that?" Rali asked.

"That was…great," Siri replied with a smile.

"You looked just like an advanced dancer," Kalani grinned as she gave the other girl a hug. It was a bit surprising to keep being hugged or have physical contact like this. Siri decided it wasn't bad though.

"Come on, Mira will be waiting," Neva called to them as she and Lereni went back into the studio.

"Are you ready?" Kalani asked, and Siri nodded in response.

The pair, along with Rali rushed to back to the studio and lined up at the barre where they were led in a few more exercises for only about ten minutes. Siri found her legs were shaking from the strain standing on her toes was causing. However, the Force helped her release such a feeling so she could continue to move.

For the next hour, the girls worked out the dances they would be doing for the performances. Siri found out she was in three. One was in the opening sequence, one was with the other girls and the third would be the dance with Kalani, where there would also be partnered dancing involved.

At the end of the day, Siri felt exhausted, but also fulfilled. She felt like she had learned a lot from the class. She did find herself wondering how beings could do all this without sensing the Force to help guide their movements.

That night, instead wondering about her decision, she had fallen asleep knowing she had made the correct decision.

"There all set," Kalani nodded and Siri opened her eyes to see that her make up was done and her hair was pinned back into a simple bun. All she had to do now was to get dressed.

"Thank you," Siri nodded her head to her as she got up to get her costume on.

"Anytime. You better hurry. We start warming up in twenty standard minutes and the curtain will be rising in about forty standard minutes."

Siri nodded and let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding. She glanced over at Kalani who was putting on her makeup with ease, know how it should look.

Giving one last glance at the girls getting ready, Siri quickly changed into her first costume.