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Dana’s classes, and now she says she’s going to skip dance class to hang out with Jonas.
    She’ll never be a professional dancer. Not if she skips classes and stuff. That’s not the way to further her dance career. It really isn’t.

Eight
    “A gain!” Dana says, and the twelve of us take up our starting positions. I could do this part blindfolded, I think as I count out the beats and move into action. It’s my second week, and only my third class, but I’ve been practicing so much I feel like I’ve been working on this dance forever.
    “One and two and three and…” calls Dana from the front of the room.
    We’re working on a short sequence toward the end of the song, and the timing is tricky. I end up moving forward too soon. Dana stops the music and says, “Lila, your timing is off!” We try again. Two minutes later she calls out, “Lila, your timing!” I grit my teeth and focus on counting the steps in my head.
    For the next section of the music, the twelve of us split into four groups. Bea, Eve and Sam do a wide hip circle, twirl to face the back of the room and fast shimmy for three beats, then twirl back to the front and…oops, Bea trips in the twirl and stumbles ever so slightly.
    Dana stops the music. “Again!” she calls.
    Eve’s face is creased with frustration as they go through the short sequence again. “Two and three and,” she counts as they start the shimmy. Bea gets it right this time, and they move from the twirl into a figure eight in the hips. Their right hips sway from back to front, and then they shift their weight to their right legs as their left hips sway from back to front.
    But once again Bea messes up. Eve throws up her arms, and Dana says, “Get some water, everyone, while I work with Bea on this.”
    Bea’s face is scarlet as we all move to the edges of the room.
    Eve has that brittleness about her again, and when we meet next to the water bottles, she sighs heavily. For the whole time we wait for Dana and Bea to run through the sequence, Eve never takes her eyes off Bea. Man, the girl is focused. I guess that’s what makes her such a good dancer. But I hope she never turns that look on me. It makes me shiver to think about it.
    We stop several more times through the class. Three more times for Bea and a couple more times for me. It’s like I can’t do anything right today. By the end of class our nerves are ragged, and we’re all sweating like pigs.
    “Good work today, girls,” Dana says as we file out of the room.
    “Phew, she’s tough,” I say to Robin as we pull on our shoes.
    “Yeah, don’t you like it?” she asks.
    I sigh and then take a deep breath. “I love it,” I say. “Maybe not at the moment, as she’s drilling me in a movement over and over and over again, but later, when I get it, then I love it.”
    “Me too,” says Robin. “She’s made me the dancer I am.”
    “I know what you mean. Dana doesn’t put up with any sloppiness. Like how she’s always getting us for posture and stuff.”
    “Exactly,” says Robin.
    She waves goodbye as she leaves the room, and I pull on my sweater and gather my bag. As I walk past the door to the studio, I see Eve and Bea in the room, talking to Dana. I wonder what they’re talking about. I don’t think I’d want to be part of that conversation.
    * * *
    At Monday’s class, it’s clear that Bea has spent her whole weekend practicing, and even Eve seems pleased with her after our first run-through. I practiced a lot too, so Dana only has to stop for me once to go over the muscles I should be using in my chest lifts. I concentrate really hard on using my upper back and upper abs in the proper sequence as we go through the choreography a second time. Dana doesn’t say anything, but by this time I’ve learned that’s a good thing.
    When we break, I find myself standing next to Bea, so between gulps of water I say, “You danced beautifully today, Bea.”
    She beams at me and says, “Robin and Alex