A Staged Set
In the heart of the city, the vibrant dance community thrived, attracting aspiring dancers. It’s here that Dorcas Meadows finds herself, ten years after losing both her parents in a tragic accident and nine months after the passing of her grandmother leaving her with no ties and nothing left to lose.
She began dancing not long after her parents passed, teaching herself by imitating others on the street or on TV, using all her free time to practice. It quickly became her solace, a way to cope with her emotions and gave her purpose, to keep her parents memory alive.
Moving to the city was always a dream, and one that became true when she applied for Rhythm Revolution, one of the largest dance studios in the city.
Dorcas quickly acclimated to the competitive yet inspiring nature the studio gave her and worked tirelessly for months to establish herself as a talented dancer despite her lack of formal training.
The first time Dorcas had heard the name Marlene McKinnon was in between contemporary rehearsals when she overheard a conversation about a legacy dancer being accepted to the rival studio across the street. The next class was then filled with whispers of new competition and Dorcas could hardly contain her curiosity.
Naturally when she returned to her flat she quickly researched the name McKinnon. Without fail was hundreds of articles detailing the life of prima ballerina Marie McKinnon and her daughter Marlene.
Marlene was already headlining herself as she began her own ballet career, apparently 30 feet across the street from where Dorcas herself is also trying to build a name for herself.
Dorcas is appalled.
For one, Marlene is gorgeous, and staring at her instagram feed is not helping her new found revelations.
Second, how dare Marlene waltz in and start drama and rumors without even proving herself. Why does she get articles on top of articles talking about how good she will be when Dorcas can’t even get one about how good she is now. Why should she have to work tirelessly to prove herself good enough when Marlene gets a free pass straight to fame.
Dorcas had decided that night that when Marlene arrived, she would be there. She would watch her dance and she would see for herself and until then she would continue to prove herself, like a real dancer. She was going to make sure she was known and make her parents and grandmother proud. No matter what Marlene McKinnon had to say about it.