Rosa and the Magic Moonstone. Darcey Bussell

in class, then they would go into the centre of the studio and do some more exercises there. After that they would take it in turns to do a set dance and then they had character work to do. Rosa had practised over and over again. What mark would she get? The highest grade you could get was an A, which was also called distinction, and then it went B for merit, C for pass and if you didn’t get any of those you failed. She really hoped she would do well.

      She reached out to turn her bedside light off. As she did so, her eyes fell on the red ballet shoes hanging at the end of her bed. She smiled. They were her most precious things in the whole world. They were made of soft red leather and fitted her feet perfectly, but that wasn’t why they were so special. They were special because they were magic! Sometimes they would start to sparkle and glow and then they would whisk her off to Enchantia, a magic land where all the characters from the different ballets lived. Rosa had been on some brilliant adventures there already. She had met the King and Queen, made friends with a fairy called Nutmeg and her older sister, Sugar, the Sugar Plum Fairy. She had come up against some pretty horrible characters too – like King Rat and the Wicked Fairy. But most of the people who lived in Enchantia were really nice.

      Rosa snuggled down under her duvet. She bet no one in Enchantia had to do exams. When would she go there again? She hugged her arms around herself. She hoped it would be soon!

      In the morning, Rosa arrived at the ballet school early. She got changed into her leotard and smoothed her wavy blonde hair back into a neat bun. She was beginning to feel slightly nervous. She was ready before the other girls arrived, warming up by doing pliés, holding lightly on to one of the sinks as if it was the barre.

      “Hi,” Olivia called over. Her face was pale and her eyes looked wide and frightened. Rosa saw her fingers shaking as she started to pull down the zip on her coat.

      “It’ll be OK,” Rosa told her. She stretched her left foot out in front of her and lifted it quickly upwards as she practised a grande battement.

      Back still, knees tight… the things to remember ran through her head as she lowered her foot slowly to the floor.

      “I feel like I’m going to be sick,” said Olivia.

      “Me too,” said Rebecca, sitting down beside her.

      “And me,” said Asha, looking alarmed. “What happens if we are sick in the exam?”

      As she spoke the door opened and Madame Za-Za came in. As usual, the ballet teacher was wearing a long ballet skirt, bangles and necklaces. Her greying hair was tied back in a bun. She caught Asha’s words. “You will not be sick, Asha,” she said in her slight Russian accent. She smiled. “You will go into the exam room and perform your very best. I am sure all of you are going to make me proud. Now, when you’re ready, please come to studio two and start to warm up.”

      Rosa hurried eagerly through the door.

      Half an hour later, Rosa stood with Olivia, Asha and Rebecca in the corridor, waiting for Madame Za-Za to tell them they could go into the studio where the examiner was. They were going to be the first group in. Rosa was glad. She wanted to get started. Each of the four girls had a different coloured ribbon pinned to her chest so the examiner would know who was who. Each of them was also holding the skirts and shoes they would need for their character work at the end.

      “Does my hair look OK?” Rosa asked Olivia.

      Olivia nodded. “How about mine?”

      “You look great!” Rosa squeezed her hand. “Good luck!”

      “You too!” Olivia said nervously.

      Madame Za-Za held the door open. A bell rang inside the room. “In you go, girls.”

      Taking a deep breath, Rosa followed Asha, Rebecca and Olivia into the studio. The exam was about to begin!

      

      Rosa and the other girls put down their shoes and skirts at the side of the room and curtsied to the examiner who was beside a small table. The examiner, a small slim woman, smiled and looked at their ribbons. “Good morning, girls. Let me just check I have your names and colours right. Asha – pink, Rebecca – blue, Olivia – yellow and Rosa – white?”

      They all nodded.

      “Excellent. Take your places at the barre, please.”

      As they began to go through their exercises, Rosa felt happy and relaxed. She remembered to keep her back straight, her chin up, her hips still and her movements smooth. She wished she could look over at the others and see how they were doing, but she was concentrating too hard. She enjoyed stretching every muscle as much as she could, keeping her arm movements flowing and graceful.

      After working at the barre they went to the centre of the studio. The first few exercises went well. I’m really doing OK, Rosa thought, as they got ready to start their pirouette exercises. I wonder what mark I’ll get. Mum would be so pleased if I…