"Alright ladies! From the top of the sequence. Get into groups of three and line up along the wall. Nina, your trio will go first. And remember this time ladies, adagio! Romance! Keep your steps light! Doris, if you please.."

Bernard a.k.a Bernie the choreographer clapped his hands and Nina made eye contact with the two girls in the company who didn't give her daggers every time she walked by, her new friends Joanna and Elise and the two of them wove through the other dancers to join her at the front.

After an eight count of music from the accompanist, the trio began. Nina tiptoed across the floor slowly extending her hand with every step. She felt herself getting lost in the slow, romantic melody coming from the piano, After a perfectly executed triple pirouette and a few graceful pique turns, she made it to the other end of the studio. She gave Elise and Joanna a small smile and a thumbs up and turned to look out the huge bay window that was facing out towards the city.

For an afternoon in August in Chicago it was a surprisingly gorgeous day, mid-80's temperature with a slight breeze. She admired Chicago's skyline and could faintly make out the turquoise hue of Lake Michigan. This view was nothing like the view from the studios at Juilliard and for that she was glad. As much as she loved New York and could easily be there right now, Nina knew she had made the best decision by accepting an offer from Chicago's Joffrey Ballet Company after graduation. She had grown up in an affluent suburb of Chicago, north of the city, right on the coast of Lake Michigan, so dancing in Chicago felt like home to her. It also didn't hurt that she was becoming quite the local celebrity. If she had stayed in New York she would be in the ABT junior company waving a rose back and forth while her friend Misty Copeland continued to be star and poster woman for American ballet. Now that she was back in Chicago, people were beginning to pay attention to her. Society magazines were calling and asking her to do interviews and cover stories, hoping to feature her as the stunning and talented hometown beauty who was escaping the Big Apple in order to dance in the Windy City. Nina wasn't sure yet how she felt about her newfound celebrity status but as she reflected upon her life at that moment, she couldn't help but feel happy and excited for what was to come.

Nina turned back towards the studio to see that the last trio of dancers had finished the exercise.

"Ladies, Ladies, gather round I have some important announcements for you all". Nina and the other dancers in the company gathered in the center of the studio around Bernie.

"Well, I hope you all learned that across the floor routine well because that was just part of your audition for the first ballet of the 2015/2016 season!!" Bernie announced with the excitement and fervor of Oprah announcing her "Favorite Things" episode, earning claps and cheers from the dancers.

"This year is a very special year for the Joffrey Ballet Company because it is our 60th anniversary. We have chosen a spectacular line-up of ballet's old and new. To start off, we are opening the season with a showcase called Illuminations that will premiere next month and it will feature pieces choreographed by some brilliant guest choreographers. October we will be putting on Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. This Christmas, the company director decided that this will be the final year of our annual Nutcracker performance". This news was met with a chorus of "awws" from the dancers.

"I know it's sad, but the directors are in the process of developing a brand new ballet for the holiday season that will premiere next year. And this year we will be closing out the season with another one of Prokofiev's ballets, Cinderella!".

Once again, a round of cheers came from the class. Nina smiled to herself but inside she felt a little uneasy. Dancing the roles of Juliet and Cinderella in the same season would be a dream come true for her and even though she was confident in her chances of earning at least one of those roles, she knew that among some of the other girls in her company, she already had a target on her back. When she first met with Ashley Wheator, the creative director of the Joffrey Ballet, he had made Nina feel like she was the missing piece that the company had been searching for, promising her a bright future filled with leading roles, solos and the beginning of a rebirth of the company with fresh choreography and contemporary ballets. She hadn't spoken of the conversation to anyone in the company but she had only been there two weeks and already girls were acting sour towards her. Nina could only assume it was from the little bit of media attention she was getting and the fact that she was one of the youngest and newest girls in the company.

"So ladies, Auditions for Romeo and Juliet are in two weeks and they will be based off of this class as well as your pas de deux rehearsals so choose your men wisely. There will be an open call audition for Illuminations next Thursday where all the guest choreographers will be there observing and choosing ensembles. Some dances may be full company, others may be small groups, duets or solos. Note that the only limit to how many numbers your in is on how much you feel you can handle. That's all for today ladies, enjoy your weekend!"

---

After rehearsal, the girls gathered in the dressing room, chattering on about Bernie's big announcements as they changed out of their tights and point shoes and into their street clothes.

"Ugh I would kill to get the role of Juliet..."

"I was in the Joffrey Nutcracker when I was five years old. I played a mouse.."

"No way am I dancing with Sergei! Have you seen how sweaty he gets! Gross!"

"I hope they get Myles Thatcher to guest choreograph! He's a legend in San Francisco..."

Nina sat in the corner of the dressing room observing the conversations alongside Joanna and Elise.

"Hey so Jo and I were thinking of going out tonight. DJ Snake is playing at Studio Paris and my cousin was able to get me three VIP passes. Do you want to come with us?"

Nina bit her lip and contemplated Elise's invitation. Her last night out to a club had been two years ago during her summer in Moscow. To this day, she could remember that night like it was yesterday. But she also couldn't forget how one night of letting go of control almost cost her everything so after that night she vowed to not to let anything waiver her focus.

"I can't tonight, Elise. Thanks though".

Elise frowned. "C'mon Nina, it's not like we have rehearsal tomorrow. One night out isn't going to hurt".

"Yeah Nina Ballerina" Joanna said, nudging her playfully. "Let that bun down and come out with us!"

On second though, maybe her friends were right. After all she had been living in downtown Chicago for two weeks and had yet to explore any of the nightlife. Also she didn't want to brand herself as the stuck-up girl in the company when girls already didn't like her for no reason.

"Alright, fine. Count me in" Nina sighed reluctantly.

Elise and Joanna grinned. Elise put her address into Nina's phone.

"Meet at my place around 10. We want to pre-game a little before we head out".

"Ok, sounds good. See you ladies tonight". Nina exited the dressing room and headed out the doors of the studio onto the busy Chicago streets.

She hoped she was in for a good time.

Notes

1. If you are a ballet dancer! Please no hate! I know not all my facts are right and I probably won't use a lot of the correct lingo because I don't know what all the french words mean. I took dance class when I was a kid and I love dance movies so I'm trying my best. Bear with me!

2. Some Joffrey Ballet facts are real, others are made up for the story.