Princess Ballet
It was enchanted gardening class at Royal Prep. Flora was flying around the students, appraising their work.
"That's a wonderful dancing daisy, Vivian." She smiled. "Oh! Lovely rising rose stalk, Sofia and Madeline!"
"Thank you, Miss Flora!" Sofia and Madeline chorused.
"Everyone's enchanted plants look wonderful." Flora declared.
"Some seeds there, a little there..." Princess Kari sprayed some seeds around some singing sunflowers. "And... that's it!"
"Princess Kari, your singing sunflowers are extraordinarily enchanting!" Flora flew over.
"Thank you, miss Flora." Kari smiled.
"How do you get them to do that?" Sofia asked, as the rest of the class gathered.
"I figured out that they sing higher or lower depending on how much plant food you give them." Kari revealed. The sunflowers sang in different pitches. "See?"
"Wow!" Vivian gasped, as the class applauded.
"Excellent work, Kari." Flora remarked.
"You guys want to try it?" Kari offered. "I'll show you how."
"Oh no!" Princess Zooey yelped, as her flowers jumped around. "My bouncing bluebells! They're bouncing everywhere!"
"Hang on, I'll get them!" Kari declared. She ran around after them. "Got It 'Scuse me! Gotcha!"
"Wow, Kari can really catch!" James gasped.
"I guess that's why she was the most valuable player in the Dazzleball tournament." Madeline mused.
"Is there anything she can't do?" Amber asked.
"Probably not." Vivian answered. "She's also the captain of the gymnastics team."
"And last week, in alchemy class, she was the only student to turn chocolate into gold." Zooey added.
"Oh children, we only have a few minutes left of class, so I want to share some exciting news with you." Flora announced. "The day after tomorrow, Royal Prep will be hosting its very first arts night!"
"What's an arts night?" James asked.
"It's when your parents come to school to see presentations of all the artistic things we do here at Royal Prep." Flora revealed. "Singing, dancing, painting... there are many presentations to prepare, so I'll need all your help!" She conjured up a list. "Now, who would like to put on an enchanted orchestra performance?"
"Oh, I would!" Zooey held up her hand, as did several others.
"Zooey, Clio, Derek..." Flora counted. "Thank you. And would anyone like to decorate the hallway with royal artwork?" More hands went up. "James, Khalid..."
"Sounds like fun, miss Flora." Vivian volunteered.
"Vivian... marvelous!" Flora smiled. "The next item on my list-"
Miss Elodie, wearing a pink ballerina outfit, span into the greenhouse.
"Will be presented by yours truly, Miss Elodie!" She announced, as the class applauded. "I need some nimble dancers to perform a simple, yet stunning ballet! Any takers?"
"Me!" Amber raised her hand.
"I'll do it!" Sofia smiled.
"Me too!" Madeline added.
"Brava, ladies." Miss Elodie declared. "But this dance requires four performers. Are there any other volunteers?"
"You should dance with us, Kari." Sofia suggested.
"I've never done ballet before." Kari frowned.
"I'm surprised to hear that, Kari." Flora declared. "Your mother was the star ballerina when she was a student at Royal Prep." She conjured up an image of Kari's mother dancing. "She was remarkable."
"Yeah, I know." Kari noted. "I just... never had the time to try it."
"Well, now's your chance." Madeline pointed out.
"We can help you learn the steps." Sofia offered. "We've taken classes with Amber."
"And knowing you, you'll probably be a prima ballerina by the end of our first rehearsal." Amber added.
"Just like your mother." Miss Elodie grinned.
"...Alright, I'll do it." Kari agreed.
"Perfect!" Miss Elodie chuckled. "I have my four ballerinas. Meet me for practice after lunch!"
Miss Elodie spun out of the greenhouse.
"Be sure to give your parents these invitations to arts night." Flora conjured up letters. "It's an event they won't want to miss!"
Kari stared at her invitation.
After lunch, the ballerinas joined Miss Elodie, wearing their new dancing outfits.
"Gather around, budding ballerinas!" She instructed. "Before we begin rehearsal, let me offer you some words of advice from my very favourite ballet teacher, the world-famous Sergio Adagio!" She stopped at a picture of a male dancer. "He said 'in ballet, you dance not just with arms and legs, but with a joyful heart'! Now, let me show you the routine I've choreographed for arts night. We will start with a pirouette!" She spun around. "Then an arabesque!" She stood in place. "And to a glissade!"
"That looks tricky." Kari remarked.
"And we'll end with a grand jete!" Miss Elodie leapt into the air.
"Uh, Miss Elodie?" Kari spoke up. "We're supposed to learn all those moves in two days?"
"Don't worry." Miss Elodie smiled. "We'll learn it bit by bit. Let's start with the first move in our routine: The pirouette!"
"This move is pretty easy, Kari." Sofia demonstrated. "You put your feet like this, then lift up your leg, and spi-oooh!" She fell down. "Like that. Only better."
"Got it." Kari got into position. "Here goes!"
Kari spun, but lost her balance.
"Whoa!" She fell, only for Madeline to catch her.
"It's okay, Kari." Amber assured her, pointing to a picture of Kari's mother. "It won't be long before you're just as good as your mom!"
"Look at her, Amber." Kari sighed. "Her form is just perfect. ...Okay, let me try that again."
Both Kari and Sofia spun, though Kari was still off balance.
"Sorry!" She groaned. "That wasn't good at all!"
"No need to apologies, Kari." Miss Elodie smiled.
Kari kept spinning.
"How do you do this without getting dizzy?" She asked.
Kari fell on her backside.
"Kari!" Sofia gasped.
"Are you alright?" Miss Elodie asked.
"I'm fine." Kari smiled. "I'm okay. Let me just... try this again."
They continued practicing their pirouettes. But Kari kept on falling over, even after all the times Miss Elodie tried to help her correct her posture.
Finally, the recess bell rang.
"Ooh, recess!" Amber smiled. "Ah, my favorite part of the day."
"Go on without me." Kari declared. "I'm going to stay and work on this move."
"Alright, Kari." Miss Elodie smiled. "But you should know you're doing wonderfully for your first ballet lesson."
As Madeline and Amber rushed outside, Sofia looked over shoulder, and saw Kari try and fail again.
"Come on, Kari." She urged. "You can take a little break."
"No, not just yet." Kari insisted. "I really want to do a perfect pirouette!"
"But it doesn't have to be perfect." Sofia said, as Kari stumbled.
"Yes, it does." Kari told her. "I've gotta keep practicing."
"Okay..." Sofia frowned.
"Come on, Sof!" Madeline yelled. "Recess, remember?"
"Coming!" Sofia nodded, as she went outside.
Meanwhile, Zooey was working on something.
"My, Zoey." Flora declared. "What a lovely sculpture."
"Do you really like it?" Zooey smiled. "I made out of all these cool old things I found at home. It's an elephant!"
"So it is..." Flora glanced at the jumbled items that made the sculpture. "Very creative!"
"Wait, hold on." Zooey added a bow to the sculpture. "I have to add the final touch... There!"
"Excellent." Flora smiled, turning to see James, Vivian, and Khalid. "And here are my hall decorators! I leave it to you to turn this hall into an enchanting gallery of student art!"
"Don't forget to find a good spot for my sculpture!" Zooey added.
"You got it!" James nodded.
"Okay guys, let's get to work!" Khalid declared.
"Um... any brilliant ideas for where Zooey's lion sculpture should go?" James asked.
"That's not a lion." Vivian frowned. "It's a castle."
"You mean a dragon." Khalid countered. "See all the scales?"
"Whatever it is, let's move it over there, by the bench." James suggested.
The three of them pushed the large sculpture across the hall, slowly.
"It's so heavy!" James groaned.
The sculpture suddenly collapsed.
"Oh no!" Vivian gasped.
"We broke the lion!" James gasped.
"You mean castle!" Vivian corrected him.
"You mean dragon!" Khalid insisted.
"Come on." Vivian urged. "We've got to put it back together before Zooey sees it."
A little while later, royal coaches were arriving, ready to bring the students home.
"Students, remember to give your parents their invitations for arts night!" Flora reminded them.
"Don't look so worried, Kari." Sofia declared.
"Yeah." Madeline nodded. "We still have tomorrow and the next day to learn the routine."
"I know." Kari sighed. "I just hope it's enough time. See you, girls."
Kari's mother, Queen Tessa was waiting to greet her.
"Kari, my little superstar!" She smiled. "How was your day?"
"Hi, mom." Kari said quietly.
"What's that?" Tessa pointed to the invitation.
"It's nothing." Kari said quickly. "Nothing at all."
"But I think it has my name on it." Tessa declared. "Let me have a look."
Reluctantly, Kari handed over the invitation, and her mother read it.
"You are cordially invited to Royal Prep's first annual arts night." Tessa said aloud. "Oh, how charming! What will you be performing, Kari?"
"A... ballet." Kari admitted.
"That's wonderful!" Tessa grinned. "I can't wait to see you leap and spin, just like I used to!"
"The thing is... I haven't really got the hang of leaping or spinning yet." Kari confessed.
"I'm sure you're going to make me so proud." Tessa got into the coach. "You always do!"
Kari joined, frowning sadly.
The next morning, Sofia, Madeline and Amber headed over to practice, joined by Miss Elodie.
"Good morning, my prancing Princesses." Miss Elodie smiled as they entered the dance studio. "Ready for rehearsal?"
They found that Kari was already there.
"Oh!" Miss Elodie gasped. "I see rehearsal's already started."
"I got here early to practice." Kari announced, stretching by the bar.
"She is really serious about this." Amber frowned.
"Too serious." Sofia agreed.
Madeline nodded. "Let's try to help her have some fun."
"Whoa!" Kari yelped, as she almost lost her balance while spinning, but stayed on her feet by hopping on her tiptoes.
"That was great!" Sofia smiled.
"What are you talking about, Sofia?" Kari asked. "I totally messed up that pirouette!"
"But you made up a really fun dance move instead!" Madeline pointed out.
"Let's call it... the Kari hop!" Sofia started hopping.
"Ooh, look!" Amber followed suit. "I can do the Kari hop too!"
"And me!" Madeline smiled.
"Nice hopping, Maddie!" Sofia chuckled.
"Watch me!" Amber grinned.
They all started hopping around, even Miss Elodie.
"Okay, looks like fun." Kari joined in.
Flora than entered the room.
"This is a hoot!" Kari cheered.
"Marvelous moves, dancers." Flora declared. "Very spirited."
"Thank you, miss Flora." Madeline smiled.
"I need to speak with Miss Elodie for a moment." Flora announced. "But do carry on. Your parents are going to just adore this!"
As the dancers continued, Flora led Miss Elodie outside.
"Okay, let's get back to practice." Kari declared. "My parents are coming to see me do ballet, not some silly hop."
As they practiced their pirouettes, Kari stumbled, and fell back onto Amber, then bumped into Sofia and Madeline, and finally fell on the floor.
"Ohhh..." She groaned. "I'll never get it in time!"
"It's okay, Kari." Sofia declared.
"No, it's not okay." Kari insisted.
Kari: What is my mom gonna say?
If she sees my ballet
And it's not what she thought it would be
She'll be so disappointed in me.
Kari walked into the corridor, and Sofia followed her.
When I was just a tyke
And went on my first hike
Climbed a mountain in seconds flat
Mom and Dad were so proud of that
Kari tried to pirouette, but fell again
From math to baking pies
I always won first prize
Now I have to keep up that pace
There no room for second place.
Kari spun again, and fell once more.
Oh!
Sofia and Kari went outside.
Gotta reach a higher height
Shine better than starlight
I've got no choice
I've gotta get it right.
They walked into the playground.
Sofia: You don't need to be number one
As long as you have lots of fun.
Kari: I've got no choice
I've gotta get it right.
I can't have two left feet
Or even miss a beat
I'm not used to falling down
Gotta be perfect all around
And so, I have to try
And soon, I'll start to fly
When I dance so beautifully
Mom will say she's so proud of me.
Gotta reach a higher height
Shine brighter than starlight
I've got no choice
I've gotta get it right.
Sofia: As long as it makes you smile
That's what makes it all worthwhile.
Kari: But I've got no choice
I've gotta get it right.
As they reached the small bridge, Kari spun her way across it.
Sofia: Kari, You did it!
Kari: I did.
Now I can rejoice
I've finally got it right.
I got it right.
I got it right.
They danced their way back into the dance studio.
"Yes!" Miss Elodie cheered. "That was some marvelous pirouetting! Congratulations!"
"Finally!" Kari sat down, exhausted. "I was starting to think I'd never get it."
"Now we can start working on the other dance moves in the routine." Miss Elodie declared.
"Other dance moves?!" Kari gasped.
"Yes, remember?" Miss Elodie nodded. "After the pirouette, you girl will arabesque, glissade, and grand jete!"
"But it took me so long to learn one move." Kari frowned. "How will I ever learn all the others by tomorrow night? There's not enough time!"
"Sure there is." Sofia told her.
"We can do it." Madeline agreed.
"Maybe you and Amber can." Kari frowned. "You three took ballet classes. This is really hard for me!"
"I think you're gonna do fine, Kari." Miss Elodie declared. "But if you want some extra help, I can ask my old teacher Sergio Adagio to give you a special lesson. He's the best there is."
"Really?" Kari smiled. "You can do that?"
"We can invite him to our castle." Madeline suggested. "We have a big ballroom there."
"Oh, Sergio will get you dancing in no time, Kari." Amber declared.
Some time later, Sofia Madeline and Amber opened a door in their castle, revealing Sergio to Kari. Sergio was dancing skillfully.
"That's him." Sofia smiled. "Sergio Adagio."
Sergio leapt, spinning, into the air, and landed perfectly.
"Ah, my warm-up is complete." He declared.
"That was a warm-up?" Kari gasped.
"We really want to thank you for taking the time to do this, senor Adagio." Madeline stepped forward.
"So, we brought you these." Amber gave Sergio a pot of bluebells.
"It is my pleasure." Sergio accepted the gift. "When it comes to ballet, I bend over backwards to help a student in need." He demonstrated his point by actually bending over backwards. "Now, my darlings, what is this dancing emergency of yours?"
"Our friend needs to learn to arabesque, lassard, and grand jete." Sofia pointed out Kari.
"And she needs to learn them fast!" Amber added.
"I don't know how to do any of those moves." Kari sighed.
Sergio tip-toed over to her.
"I am very glad to hear that." He proclaimed.
"You are?" Kari frowned.
"Absolutely." Sergio smiled. "It means you are like a shapeless lump of clay. A shapeless lump of clay I can mold into a chiseled statue of greatness! Let us begin with a grand jete!" He demonstrated a couple of times. "Like so! Now, you try."
Kari leapt a couple of times, but her landings were shaky.
"Hmm, I see that this will require some special training." Sergio mused. "I shall need something challenging for Princess Kari to practice jumping over."
"I've still got some enchanted plant food from class!" Madeline declared, picking up the plant pot. "I can make these bluebells bounce. Will that work?"
Madeline sprinkled the food, causing the pot to bounce.
"Perfectly!" Sergio declared.
"Good thinking, Maddie." Sofia smiled.
"Now, jete over these dancing bluebells, Kari." Sergio instructed. "Jete like you have never jeted before!"
Kari tried to jump over the bouncing pot, but fell.
"Ohh!" She groaned.
She failed the second time also. But on the third time, she cleared it perfectly.
"Stop! Wait! Hold everything!" Sergio declared.
"What's wrong?" Kari asked.
"That, my dear, was an absolutely wonderful grand jete!" Sergio admitted.
"Really?" Kari asked.
"Really." Sofia nodded.
"Without a doubt." Madeline agreed.
"Ohh, I can't believe it!" Kari squealed.
"Now we move on to the arabesque!" Sergio led Kari across the room.
Together, they practiced the arabesque, though Kari was having trouble keeping her balance.
"A noble effort." Sergio declared. He picked up two feather dusters, putting one in Kari's hand, and attaching another to her shoe. "But for a proper arabesque, you must stretch out much further!" He pulled over a chair. "Now, use these to dust this table, and this chair. Stretch your arm forward, lift your leg back." Kari complied. "And dust, and dust..." Kari started dusting both objects. "And you missed a spot..."
"Kari, you're doing it!" Sofia smiled. "You're doing an arabesque!"
"I am!" Kari nodded. "This is fun!"
"And now I will teach you the glissade!" Sergio took the dusters. "Watch how I do it, but please, hold your applause until the end!"
Spreading his legs, Sergio nimbly leapt from side to side, holding a bell. Sofia, Madeline and Amber applauded.
"Now glissade to the right, and ring this bell." Sergio instructed.
Kari followed, ringing the bell.
"Now over there, and ringy-ding-ding!" Sergio smiled.
"You're doing great, Kari!" Madeline declared.
"Thanks!" Kari beamed. "I'm really getting the hang of this now!"
"Just remember, girls." Sergio announced. "In ballet, you dance not just with arms and legs, but a joyful heart!"
Sofia, Madeline and Amber joined in the dancing.
Meanwhile, back at Royal Prep, the decorators were still at work.
"Guys, guys, look at this!" James declared, as he attempted to put Zooey's sculpture back together. "I'm pretty sure this mop was the lion's mane on Zooey's sculpture."
"I'm not so sure, James." Vivian frowned. "In fact, I'm not so sure that mop was even part of the sculpture."
"Yeah, I think it fell out of the janitor's closet." Khalid pointed to the open closet door.
"Oh, yeah." James shrugged. "But I still say it's a lion."
"Castle." Vivian insisted.
"Dragon!" Khalid countered.
James face palmed.
The ballerinas returned to Miss Elodie.
"Let's get started right away, girls!" Miss Elodie declared. "This is our final rehearsal before the big show tonight!"
"Miss Elodie, thank you so much for setting up the lesson with Sergio yesterday." Kari smiled. "He was amazing!"
Kari did a perfect grand jete.
"My, my!" Miss Elodie gasped. "You certainly learned the way to grand jete!"
"I can even glissade and Arabesque!" Kari added.
"It looks like you girls are ready to rehearse the entire routine!" Miss Elodie declared. "Remember, we start with the pirouette!" She spun in place.
The girls mimicked her, but Kari fell over again.
"Ugh!" She groaned.
"Kari, are you okay?" Sofia helped her up.
"No!" Kari declared. "I could do a pirouette before. Why did I mess it up now?"
"Because it takes a lot of practice to get it right every time." Amber pointed out.
"And we haven't worked on it in a while." Madeline declared.
"Once more then?" Miss Elodie suggested.
"Okay." Kari held out her arms.
Kari spun, but stumbled once more.
"Let me try again." She frowned.
She spun again, staying upright.
"Very nice!" Miss Elodie declared.
Kari stumbled as she tried to keep her balance in the end pose.
"This is awful!" She groaned. "I can't get it right!"
"But you almost had it." Sofia declared.
"My parents will coming tonight." Kari reminded her. "I don't want to 'almost' have it. It has to be perfect!" She spun again, wobbling as she did. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can be in the show."
"Kari!" Sofia called, as Kari ran out of the room. "Wait!"
You want me to come with, Sof?" Madeline asked.
"I think it'd be better if I talked to her one-on-one." Sofia declared. "No offense."
"None taken." Madeline nodded.
Meanwhile, James and the others had finished the sculpture.
"Well, the good news is this is the best dragon-lion in a castle I've ever seen!" James declared.
"But that's not what Zooey made." Vivian pointed out.
"Yeah, she's not going to be happy about this." Khalid frowned.
"You're right." James admitted, just as Zooey walked down the hall. "Uh-oh. Here she comes now!"
"Quick, hide the dragon-lion!" Khalid yelped.
"Hi, guys." Zooey smiled. "The halls look great."
"Thanks." James nodded, as he stood in front of the sculpture.
"Um, is that my sculpture?" Zooey pointed.
"What sculpture?" James asked.
"Where?" Vivian added.
"I don't see any sculpture!" Khalid played along.
"That one, right there!" Zooey pointed. "What happened to my elephant?"
"So that's what it was." James realized.
"Okay Zooey, the thing is, we accidentally knocked over your sculpture, and it fell apart." Vivian confessed.
"So we put it back together." James continued.
"But the bad news is, some things may not be in exactly the same place you had them." Khalid admitted.
"Or even close." James cringed.
"We're really sorry." Vivian apologized.
Zooey looked hard at the sculpture.
"I can't believe what you did." She declared. "It looks even better than before!"
"It does?" Vivian frowned.
"But it looks totally different!" Khalid pointed out.
"It doesn't matter." Zooey smiled. "Making it was the fun part!"
"That's true." Vivian admitted.
"It was!" Khalid agreed.
"Yeah." James nodded. "Hey, do you have any other sculptures we can mess up!"
Kari then ran down the halls, followed by Sofia.
"Kari, come back!" Sofia called.
"What's the point?" Kari turned to Sofia, running backwards. "I just can't do it, Sofia!"
Kari was running right toward the sculpture.
"Watch out!" James yelled.
"Stop!" Vivian urged.
Kari bumped into the sculpture, causing it to fall apart.
"No!" She gasped. "I messed up something else! I'm ruining arts night!"
"It's okay." Sofia comforted her. "Everyone makes mistakes."
"And we can just put the sculpture back together." Zooey added.
"We did it before." Khalid smiled.
"It's really fun!" James agreed, as they started picking up the pieces.
"It's just like with dancing." Sofia told Kari. "Doing it is the fun part, even if you don't do it perfectly."
"But, my parents-" Kari started.
"Will see you having a fun time, dancing in the show." Sofia finished. "you think ballet's fun, don't you?"
"Yeah, I really do." Kari admitted. "The last few days have been great... when I wasn't getting all mad at myself."
"Then stop worrying, and just do the show." Sofia smiled. "Because it's fun!"
"Okay, I'll do it!" Kari agreed.
"Great!" Sofia beamed. "Let's go change."
That night, the parents were gathered in the theatre, with show about to begin. Flora flew on stage.
"I hope you all enjoyed the art exhibit in the hall." She declared. "Now, onto the next arts night presentation!"
As Flora left the stage, Miss Elodie spun her way into the center.
"Ladies and gentle kings, may I present to you: Princess Sofia, Princess Madeline, Princess Amber and Princess Kari!" She announced, as the girls joined her.
The parents applauded.
"There's my mom and dad." Kari whispered.
"Just remember what Sergio said." Sofia reminded her. "In ballet, you dance not just with arms and legs, but a joyful heart."
"Right." Kari nodded.
"Good luck." Madeline added.
The orchestra started playing, and the girls went into their routine. Unfortunately, Kari fell over during the pirouette.
The crowd gasped, and the musicians stopped.
"Kari!" Kari's mother gasped.
"Uh-oh." Sofia gulped.
Kari pouted for a moment, then stood up again, and performed her "Kari hop."
"She's doing the Kari hop!" Amber smiled.
"Let's do it too!" Madeline declared.
The others joined Kari in her hop, and the crowd started a applauding. Kari almost lost her balance on the arabesque, but stayed upright. They performed grand jetes, glissades... Finally, Kari posed in the center of the stage. The other girls posed behind her, than posed beside her.
"Fabulous!" Kari's mother smiled, as the crowd applauded.
The girls bowed.
"Brava, girls!" Miss Elodie congratulated them.
As the lights shut off, Kari's parents walked onto stage.
"Mom, dad, I'm sorry." Kari apologized.
"Whatever for?" Her father asked.
"I made all those mistakes." Kari declared. "My arabesque was wobbly, I completely flubbed my pirouette..."
"We don't expect you to do everything perfectly." Tessa told her.
"But mom, you were such an amazing ballerina." Kari reminded her. "I just wanted to do as well as you."
"The most important thing is you did as well as you could." Tessa smiled. "We're so proud of you, Kari."
"Thanks, mom." Kari hugged her.
"Kari!" Amber called, as she led Roland and Miranda over. "People are asking if you could show them how to do the Kari hop!"
"Do you mean that adorable dance move you were doing?" Tessa asked. "I'd like to learn that!"
"Me too!" Kari's father added.
"I'm in!" Roland smiled.
"Okay. Just go like this with your arms." Kari waved her arms. "And hop on your legs, like this." She hopped.
"Whoo!" Her father declared, as they all copied her. "I'm doing it!"
"Why, it is fun!" Roland grinned.
"Whoa!" Tessa lost her balance, tilting to one side on a single leg. "I'm having trouble with the Kari hop!"
"Yes, but you invented a new move." Sofia declared.
"Yeah, the Queen Tessa trot!" Madeline added.
The crowd applauded as they danced together.