The image of Addison walking down the street; her sweatshirt engulfing her body, her face shielded by the fabric but the sadness surrounding her so visible, still haunts me. I can’t seem to shake that image or the need to understand her pain. It’s been a couple of days since I caught a glimpse past Addison’s guards and into her world. I never mentioned that fateful sighting before but it plagues me.
I’ve felt a significant shift in our relationship, actually in everyone’s relationship or lack there of with Addison. She’s almost completely retreated into herself and the only time I see her is when she comes out for rehearsals. Addison’s been a full fledge member of the tour for a couple days now and has been rehearsing with the entire crew, myself included. I’ve tried desperately to get her alone but she avoids me like the plague and I haven’t quite gotten to the level of stalking her. However, I haven’t ruled that out yet.
I’m reading through the line-ups for the tour and finalizing some last minute details before the tour kicks up again in a couple days. There’s one piece, however, that’s been nagging at me and I’ve been tossing the idea around in my head for some time now. During my intermission, I was thinking about adding a section for my dancers, sort of a time in the show that they get to express their individuality, dance in their own styles to music that they choose. Not many artists allow their dancers a time to do what they love, in front of thousands of people, without the constringes of choreography. I really want to do this for them and I’m willing to adjust the schedule to see that it does.
Knowing, I needed to clear this with my band director. I take off down the halls of the rehearsal arena towards his practice room. Folding the line-up in half, I tuck it into my back pocket and pick up my pace. If I’m going to pull this off, I need to get it approved and implemented in about a day’s time, not an easy task that’s for sure.
I make my way up to his door and rap my knuckles across the wood panels. A shuffling of feet can be heard from inside and I take a deep breath, mentally preparing my speech. The door swings open and I’m met face to face with Kevin.
“Justin…come in man.” He says, opening the door wider before backing into the room.
“Hey Kevin…I’m sorry for just barging in on you like this.” I say while taking the line-up out and straightening it in my hands.
“No problem…what can I do for you?” He asks.
“I’ve been tossing around some ideas in my head and there’s a section of the show I want to modify and add too.”
“What were you thinking of doing?” He asks while sitting down on the chair and leaning in towards me.
Running my hands down my pants and taking a quick breath, I pull up a chair and explain my idea about having each dancer bring a part of them to the show. The words practically rush out of my mouth and my head is already spinning with ideas. Kevin looks carefully over the itinerary and his face is void of any emotion. I can’t tell if he loves it or hates it.
He carefully scratches his head and leans back on his chair. His mouth contorts into a slight smile before he opens his mouth. “I think it’s a great idea…I don’t know how we’re going to work the timing out but I’d be willing to bet we’ll figure it out.”
I can feel a sense of relief wash over me with his approval. Kevin’s been with me since the very beginning and I value his opinion a great deal. “Oh, that’s awesome man…” I say with a hint of excitement in my voice.
“Have you told your dancers yet?” He asks.
“Not yet…I wanted to make sure you thought it was doable before I told them.” I respond.
“I think it’ll be great…it’s something different and it’s an innovative way to highlight your dancers. I can make the necessary arrangements with everyone to make sure the technical aspect runs smoothly. Just let me know if you need anything else?” Kevin says before standing up.
“Thanks man…I really appreciate it.” I say while extending my hand and shaking his firmly.
“No problem Justin…” He responds before I walk towards the door and disappear down the hallway.
My head is working in overdrive and all sorts of ideas are flowing through my brain. No other artist has done something of this caliber and I can’t wait to share this with everyone. This tour would be nothing without my crew and I can’t think of a better way to say thank you, then to let them each have a moment in the spotlight.
Quickly, I finagle my way through the mess of hallways continuing on my journey towards the stage. Finally, reaching the doors the whole arena comes into view and I notice all the dancers sitting on the corner of the stage. Walking up towards them, I notice Addison off in the distance on her cell phone. She looks up slowly and I wave her over.
“Hey everyone…I got some news.” I yell out and their attention immediately focuses on my approaching form.
Quickly, Addison ends her conversation and pulls up a spot next to Marty. Once I know I have all of their attention I prepare to unleash my idea.
“I know the tour starts back up in a couple days but there’s a new section I want to add.” I start and a slight groan can be heard throughout all my dancers. “Stop whining…this is something all of you are going to love.”
Their moans stop and their heads immediately snap back towards me. “During the intermission, each of you is going to have a time to dance solo on the stage to anything you want.”
There’s a chorus of gasps and immediate chatter amongst themselves before Marty pipes up. “Wait a minute…you mean that each of us can dance any style we want, to music other than yours, on the stage by ourselves?” He asks trying to get some clarification.
“That’s exactly what I mean…listen you guys have put in ridiculous hours of practice and actual touring time that I want each of you to just have a moment in the show that’s yours.”
Their excitement can almost immediately be felt and seeing how happy all of them are makes it even more enjoyable for me. Each one of my dancers is talented in their own way and I can’t wait to see what they come up with. It’s going to be a memorable part of the show for everyone.
“There’s one condition though…” I start. “You need to have your song choices into me by the end of today and the choreography ready for rehearsing by tomorrow afternoon. I know that’s rushing it but we need all of the technical stuff worked out as soon as possible.” I finish and everyone’s nodding their heads but something seems off when I glance at Addison who’s starring off into space. Her face is void of emotion and I can’t tell whether she’s excited or pissed off about the changes.
“All right…well that’s all I have…I’m sure you all have some work to do. So I’ll let you be but come find me when you know what song you’ll be using.” I say before giving Addison one more glance and walking back towards the door. Yells of gratitude can be heard from my dancers as I leave the arena and head back towards my room. The one thing that plagues me though is the look on Addison’s face. Trying to analyze Addison is practically impossible but I still find myself doing it despite by best efforts to stop.
________________________________________________________________________
To say that Justin’s little surprise addition to the show shocked me is definitely an understatement. I really don’t know what to think about it, I’ve never heard of any artist ever handing over the stage to their dancers. I’m surprised but at the same time really excited to just perform something that is one hundred percent me. From the music, to the choreography, to the emotion; it’s entirely my creation. Honestly, I don’t need much time to work this out because I already know exactly what I want to do.
Ever since the announcement everyone’s been off in their own world practicing. Me, on the other hand, I’m on my way to find Justin to let him know what I’ve chosen to do. Figuring he’s probably running through the technicalities with Kevin, I start in that direction. Rounding the corner, I slam into a hard chest.
“Damn…” I yell out as I draw my hand to my forehead.
“Whoa, Addison…sorry about that.” Justin says, reaching out and putting his hands on my arms, trying to steady me.
Rubbing my hand over my head, I let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry about it. I have a hard head.” Justin smiles at my joke and retracts his arms. “Listen the whole reason I’m down here is to talk to you about the intermission dance.”
Justin nods his head and starts to walk back towards his room. “You already know what you’re going to do?”
“Yep!” I say while falling into step next to him.
“Wow…that didn’t take long.” He says looking over at me before reaching his room and opening the door. He plops a spot down on the chair and prepares to listen to my idea.
For some reason, I wave of anxiety washes over me and suddenly I’m worried about what he’s going to think. Taking a deep breath, I try to push those thoughts aside and sit down on the couch.
“So what do you have in mind?” Justin asks.
“Something completely different than what you’ve seen me do. I know this is going to sound cocky but I know I can dance pop, I’ve proven that through the several tours I’ve done. But this time, I want to take on a different challenge. Professionally, no one’s seen me do contemporary.”
“Contemporary, huh?” Justin repeats and his head turns up slightly as he contemplates it.
“Yeah…a dance with meaning, a dance that tells a story, something personal and that people can connect with.”
His head turns to look directly at me. “It sounds like you already have your choreography worked out too.”
“Yeah I do…” I say hesitantly.
“What are you thinking?” He asks.
“I think once you see it…it’ll make more sense.” I say trying to avoid any further explanation.
He nods his head and doesn’t prod any further. “What song do you have in mind?”
I intertwine my hands with each other and turn to look at Justin. “Usher’s, you’ll be in my heart.”
Justin’s face contorts into a look of bewilderment before he asks. “Can I be honest with you?”
My stomach drops, thinking he absolutely hates my idea. “Yeah, definitely…”
“First, I love the idea and I can’t wait to see the choreography. But you’ve completely caught me off guard. I didn’t expect anything like this from you…” Justin says sitting upright and uncrossing his legs.
“That’s kind of the point…” I say with a hint of defiance in my voice.
“All right. Well, Kevin wants everyone to start their run-through’s in the afternoon. Will you be ready to go then?
“Yeah…” I say while standing up and getting ready to leave.
“Listen Addison, there’s one more thing I have to ask?” Justin says while standing up and following me towards the door.
“What?” I ask turning around slightly with my hand firmly on the door-knob.
“Is everything ok?” He asks softly.
I look at him with a hint of confusion but quickly push it aside before he can ask anymore questions. “Yeah, I’m fine…I’ll see you tomorrow at rehearsals.” I say before opening the door and disappearing down the hallway, away from his watchful eyes.
Author's Chapter Notes:
*Hangs head in shame* I know, I know...it's been forever!! I'm sorry but I did finally sit down and crank out an update and I hope you all like it!! Enjoy!!
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