Free Ameera, Unveiled by Kathleen Varn Page B

regarding choreography. Her dance troupe performed and executed original choreographies that she formulated from song inspiration or classic storylines.
    As I approached the building, I saw Jill in her office on the phone. I opened the glass door, escaping the chilly wind.
    Jill looked over her shoulder as she continued talking on the phone, motioning me to come in. I heard music in the rehearsal room and assumed the dancers were preparing for next week’s performance. Within a minute, she’d ended her call and was walking toward me.
    “Kat! How’re you? What can I do for you?” Jill smiled brightly, looking straight into my eyes. “You sounded so stressed and down yesterday.”
    “Thanks for meeting with me so last minute,” I said. “I know you’re really busy, but I suck at this solo-choreography assignment for my dance class. I’m so out of my element.”
    “Tell me something specific,” she said.
    “I understand the elements of what Sybil wants in the dance, but she insists that I do the whole four-minute song,” I said. “The audition’s only two minutes. When I showed her what I’d put together, she just shook her head and told me to change it. I feel like I’m blindfolded and don’t know what I’m swinging at. And . . . I’m trying to use a veil.”
    I prayed I didn’t sound whiney or defeated. What was it Sybil saw in me that she kept raising the dance-class stakes?
    “Do you know your song?” Jill asked.
    “Yes,” I answered.
    “Then let’s put this in three categories: time, energy, and space.” She went on to explain, “You already know your allotted time. Energy involves the quality of your dance movements—for example, soft and smooth or sharp and energetic. Don’t start your dance with your best moves; build and interact with the audience. You’re using a veil. Switch up the accents. Find your character.” As Jill shared, she leaned forward in her chair.
    “That’s everything Sybil said,” I agreed, hoping bulbs would pop off in my head.
    “Third element: space. That’s the area the dancer performs in. Space has levels: low floor moves, medium standing moves, and high leaping and lifting moves,” Jill said. “It also refers to how a dancer moves through an area. Direction of movement can be straight, curved, diagonal, or changing. Does your song have a chorus?”
    She reminded me of the Energizer Bunny, firing off information as if she’d known the questions in advance. My head was swimming. I realized I should’ve brought my dance journal with me to take notes. “Yes,” I said.
    “You can repeat a dance sequence with the repeated chorus,” she tutored me. “Don’t be afraid to interact with your audience. Find your ham.”
    She stood and motioned for me to follow her to the rehearsal room. We stood to one side to watch the dancers practice a scene for an upcoming ballet. Jill waited until they repeated the same dance scene and pointed out all the elements she’d laid out in her office.
    “Watch Melissa,” Jill advised. “See if you can identify the use of those dance elements.”
    Melissa was one of my favorites. I watched Jill’s choreography flow as she’d broken it down with me in her office. Melissa was in character, even in rehearsal. At the end of practice, she ran up giggling and gave me a hug.
    “Hey, Kat, what’re you doing here?” Melissa asked. Her practice leotard hid very little. Her body fat was nonexistent.
    “Jill’s helping me with choreography basics so I can knock out an audition solo,” I said, smiling and raising my eyebrows.
    “Still belly dancing?” Melissa asked. “Awesome! I need to get back to practice. You’re coming Saturday night, right?”
    “Wouldn’t miss it!” I replied.
    Jill and I went back out to the lobby. I knew I needed to let her focus on the thousand details on her plate.
    “You can do it, Kat,” she encouraged me. “Feel free to get one of the dancers to help you.”
    “I’ve gotta knock this