DISCLAIMER: This licence isn't mine. The opinions express by the characters are not mine. I do not support nor encourage the illegal acts or words present here. I can make a distinction between fiction and reality and I trust in my readership's ability in doing the same.
Chapter twenty : Plum Pudding's challenge.
I can't say Plum Pudding wanted to be a principal dancer since her earlier childhood, simply because it is wrong. At the time, she wanted to be a scientist but when she grew up she discovered that sport was an excellent way to unwind, to evacuate her stress and to get back her self-confidence by observing her progress. Soon, her hobby became a passion and the passion turn into the dream of a whole life. Plum Pudding knew she was made to be a dancer, but not whichever one : She will be a prinipal dancer.
When our story took place, Plum Pudding danced… Not in a opera house yet, but in a humble community center. It was better that nothing. She was a member of a small semi-professional troup of dancers. They used to write and perfom shows, on the occasion of a birthday, a christening, or a retirement, for example. These perfomances were ordered by private individuals and made them earn some money. Most of the time, Plum Pudding caught sight of a bespectacled young man of her age, who discretly waved at her at the end of the show. He was her twin brother and her greatest supporter.
The rest of the time, Plum Pudding gave private dance lessons, just as she did in Strawberryland but the biggest difference was she was doing it by need, and not by friendship and that she asked money instead of regard as salary. But Plum Pudding wasn't unhappy. She wasn't poor, she could make a living of her art, her regular performances made her earn some reputation, what else could she wish ? Nothing… except reaching her dream : being a principal dancer and, somewhere, she knew her troup couldn't let her becomig famous enough.
To become a principal dancer, Plum Pudding needed to get enrolled in a big dance school. She had already found one in the neighbouring town. Another problem was the money. Plum Pudding couldn't afford for the registration now. She would need to give more private lessons. The last thing to fix was the competition. Plum Pudding was passionate however she had perfectly noticed that she was still under the level of other students who were given real lessons since their earlier age. Let me explain you : Plum Pudding was an self-taught woman. She had learnt how to dance by herself, and after she only did what she wanted to, dancing the style she wanted to. After her shows, her brother always told her the praise he had heard about her.
-Everybody says that you evacuate an incredible good mood when you dance. It's obvious that you love what you do and that you're giving your berry best.
-What else do they say ?
-They say they'ld like to be as happy as you when they work.
At that moment, Plum Pudding insisted so much that Plum Puddin' agreed in telling her the negative critics he heard.
-You are the most passionate of all, but you're not the one with the best technique, nor the best endurance. I must admit that Lime Chiffon is terribly gracious… and Banana Twirl is a real athlete.
That was precisely Plum Pudding's problem : For years, she had been her own master, and never heard about discipline, and had no professional to advise her.
But Plum Pudding wasn't part of that kind of person who easily give up. She was ambitious, she was determined, and she will go in this school if she wanted to ! Well, she only had to gather a amont of money, to get registeredfor an entrance examination, to pass it and to be the best. A real piece of cake !
-When I grow up I'll be a principal dancer, one of Plum Pudding's student said, one day.
-That's a nice idea, Plum Pudding said, smiling. « But you'll have to work hard. For begining, you can practise your battements ».
-Did you ever dance in a ballet ? The little girl asked, making her exercises.
-I did. When I was your age (No, a little bit older), I used to make performance every weeks in front of my friends. And more.
-No. I meant a real ballet… in a opera house. Did you even dance in a opera house ?
-Not yet, but one day…
-So, you're not a real dancer, the little girl declared.
Plum Pudding felt like slapping her, but she thought it would make her loose her faithfullest student. So, she simply deeply breathed and say :
-Of course I am, little one.
-You're not. You make shows in our community center, but you' re more a dance teacher than a dancer, aren't you ? So, you're not yet a real dancer.
-If I was a « real dancer », as you said it, I wouldn't see you anymore because I would have to practise all day long, Plum Pudding retorted, but she musted admited that the little girl was right. « Can we practise your battements now ? »
-Have you heard about this dance school inBerryvania ? Lime Chiffon asked once Plum Pudding.
-I did, she reluctanctly answered. « Why ? »
-I always dreamt of being a star dancer, in a famous ballet… Lime Chiffon said dreamously. « What if I register? What could I loose ? »
Lime Chiffon was a shy and proper young lady, and, for Plum Pudding's desperation, the most gracious of the whole troup. People said she had never wore other shoes than ballet shoes, and that she knew how to dance because learning how to walk, but nothing proved it was true. Anyway, since she pronounced these words, Plum Pudding started to see her no longer as a teammate, but as a competitor.
-You know, dreams don't always come true…
The war is declared, Lime Chiffon.