Part 2

That evening, Samantha had downloaded the files with the two pieces of music she would be required to dance to at the audition and the video showing the choreography she was supposed to learn for the group dance. The solo dance she was supposed to choreograph for herself. There would be two rounds, the email exclaimed, and since the Sidney’s dancers usually performed nude or very close to nude, those who got through to the second round would be required to perform the routines naked, to show that they were comfortable dancing like that in front of an audience. That is why Samantha had done most of her rehearsing in her birthday suit and indeed it now felt fairly natural but she could not deny being a little nervous about all the other hopeful dancers, the judges and all the watching parents and other strangers looking at her naked body. Still, she reasoned, all the girls would be naked so it’s not as if she would stand out that way, especially as all were likely to have similarly toned and athletic figures. No, to stand out she would have to be the best dancer!

Girls from the dance teams did sometimes volunteer to be cooked, she knew that. In fact sometimes it was made a feature of the last performance of the evening, with the lucky girl being featured on that week’s promotional flyers and posters as “Star of the Show” but it was far from compulsory and rare enough to be a big event when it happened. Far more of the girls got recruited by professional dance academies or hired for music videos, that sort of thing, and even those who did not end up taking things further in either direction ended up having a great time, benefiting from some of the best dance teachers in the country and getting to perform regularly on stage before highly appreciative audiences. Not forgetting the complementary girl-meat meals between the second and final shows on performance days!

“We leave in twenty minutes, honey.” Samantha’s mum put her head around the door some time later. “Time to get dressed.” Smiling and excited, Samantha got dressed in her leggings, leotard and trainers that she would wear for the initial clothed part of the auditions, towelling sweat bands around her wrists and her dark brown hair tied in a short ponytail, her fringe short enough to stay out of her eyes as she danced. With sweatpants and a loose t-shirt slipped on over her dance gear, she was ready to go. Even the clothed dancing would be barefoot, the email had explained, but she put sweat-socks and her trainers on to travel.

The audition was taking place in the newly constructed dining room of the not yet open new branch. Instead of the tables for diners, rows and rows of chairs had been set out facing the stage which was wedge-shaped and built into the corner with two sets of steps connecting it to the main hall and two doors at the back, one on either wall, leading to the backstage area. Some construction work was clearly still under way and the cooking equipment in the carvery area to the left of the stage had yet to be installed but the work had been paused for the afternoon to allow for the auditions to take place uninterrupted.

As Samantha and her mum arrived, they were quickly shown the audition area then her mum was invited to find a seat while Samantha was shown into the back area. There was a small changing room with a row of lockers and benches along one wall where some girls who had come a little less prepared than Samantha were changing into dance or gym clothing. Samantha found herself a vacant locker and quickly peeled off her outer layers, using her date of birth as the combination to lock her belongings safely away.

With a quick smile to the other girls she followed the signs leading through a swing door at the end of the room which led to a larger room, a typical dance studio with laminate floor and a mirrored wall. One end of the well-lit and air-conditioned room was an inverted V shape with sound equipment mounted on the wall and two sets of steps which led up onto the stage. Built onto the front of the V, presumably for the teacher, was a wide platform low enough to step up onto without assistance but high enough that everyone in the room would be able to see whoever was up on it with no problem.

This room was much fuller than the changing room, with more that forty girls and others arriving all the time. Samantha looked around at the competition. There was a range of ages from seven up to thirteen or fourteen but it looked as if the majority were between ten and twelve, just like her. Most of the girls were dressed in dance-wear that implied they were already part of a club or at least had been and were experienced dancers but a few were just in shorts and t-shirt. There was even one girl, a little blonde of around nine, who was dressed in her vest and panties, having presumably not read the email carefully enough and come expecting to try out only in the nude!