Alex Ko (12 page)

“I’ll have to check with my mom,” I told Eloy. I didn’t want to say that I wanted to go until I knew I could actually do it.

“Check with her,” he agreed. “She can talk to me if she wants. I think it would be good for you to see what it’s like in the city.” That’s how he said it, as though there was only one city in the world. The city. “Going to New York will make you more well-rounded, and anyway, you’ll have to go eventually if you continue being this good!”

Making him proud felt almost as good as making Dad proud.

I called Mom immediately, even though she was already on her way to pick me up.

“I have to talk to you about something,” I said.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing bad,” I said quickly. “But I can’t tell you until we’re home.”

“Aaa-lex,” she said, a warning tone in her voice. She hated when I did this.

If I knew she wasn’t going to respond well to something, I tried to tell her at the best time possible. If I told her while we were still at the university, she would march right back into the studio to talk to Eloy and say no, and I’d never get to New York. I had to convince her slowly.

The whole way home I could tell she was annoyed, but I refused to spill the beans until we were in the house.

“What?” she asked as soon as the front door closed behind us.

“Eloy invited me to New York with him,” I started.

“No,” she said, and turned away.

“But he thinks it’ll be good for me!” I protested.

“No,” she repeated. “End of story. I’m sorry, Alex, it’s a fantastic offer and you should thank Eloy from both of us. But I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

I’d been expecting this, so I wasn’t too upset. I had a plan. I waited a few days, then started begging.

“Please?”

“Pretty please?”

“I’ll do anything you want.”

“Pleeeeeeeease!”

“Anything. I’ll do
anything
.”

“I’ll do extra chores for the next two years.”

“I’ll mow the lawn for the next
ten
years.”

“Anything!”

After a week, she agreed to talk to Eloy. I knew it was a lot to ask, to let your twelve-year-old son go to New York City with just his dance teachers, but I could handle it—if Eloy convinced her I’d be in good hands.

“Let me think about it,” she said after talking to Eloy. She felt better knowing that it was going to be Eloy, Sarah, and their baby going as a family. Also, Eloy mentioned that we’d be staying at Sarah’s sister’s house outside the city, which was both safer and cheaper. But Mom was still worried, and money was still an issue. The trip was a week and a half, so it would be way less expensive than any of the summer programs I’d looked at, but it would still cost money, which we didn’t have much of.

Finally, after weeks of saying “let me think about it,” Mom sat me down.

“Here are the rules,” she said.

“I agree!” I yelled, before she’d even said another word. Her serious face dissolved into a laugh, and I knew everything would work out.

“You will call home every day,” she said when she caught her breath. “You and I are planning out your entire schedule in advance so I know where you are at all times. And you’re taking as many ballet classes as you can, because you deserve them.”

Eloy arranged for me to study at Steps on Broadway, one of the premier dance studios in New York City. I was so excited I could barely believe it. I packed my schedule with as many classes as I could fit. If I was only going to be there for ten days, I wanted to make the most of it.

Little did I know that “making the most of it” in New York City could lead to some very big things. . . .

I’ll never forget the city growing bigger and brighter beneath us as our plane descended for landing. The lights seemed to go on forever. It felt like you could drop Iowa City down in the middle of Manhattan and it would be swallowed up without a burp. I was just some kid, with little money and worse luck. Would I drown in the city, or shine bright? I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

My fear and excitement grew as I entered Steps on Broadway for the first time. People in dance clothes rushed in and out, talking about auditions, rehearsals, and roles. Big picture windows looked out on the busy Manhattan streets below, and as I signed in to my first class, I watched bright yellow taxis whiz by outside. Above my head, portraits of famous alumni smiled down like guardian angels. One day, I hoped, my picture would join them.

Please
, I whispered to myself (and Dad),
let me stay here
.
Don’t let this be PNB all over again
. I was terrified that as soon as I let myself relax, it would all be taken from me. I’d come so close, so many times.

I slipped into the back of the studio, feeling shy and hoping to go unnoticed. As I stretched, the teacher watched me. He had short gray hair and small, wire-framed glasses that looked very sophisticated. He wore all black and was exactly what I pictured when I thought of a dance teacher in New York City. Right before we started, he came over.

“Alex Ko?” he asked.

“Yup!” I nodded. Eloy must have told him about me.

“Wilhelm Burmann,” he said. “Call me Willy.”

We shook hands.

“Some of this might be a little advanced for you,” he continued. “So take it easy when you need to.”

What?
I thought. I knew he was trying to be nice, but he actually made me nervous. Well,
nervous
is the wrong word. He made me . . . more determined. I’d show him what I was made of.

“Don’t worry about me,” I replied. I must have had my “tough face” on, because a tiny smile spread across his lips, which happens a lot when I try to look tough. Before I could say anything else, people swarmed into the room. Willy greeted each one as they came. Everyone stared at me as they entered. I was used to being the new guy, but it was still nerve-racking to have so many people looking at me. I could tell they were wondering what some
kid
was doing there.

At Steps, I wasn’t in the youth division. Everyone else in the class was an adult, and many of them were professionals. I barely came up to their shoulders, but I was determined to show them that I deserved to be there.

As Willy led us through positions, turns, and jumps, I worked harder than I ever had before. When I leaped into the air, I imagined I was flying. When I landed, I pretended I weighed nothing. But it wasn’t the moves that made the class so difficult. It was the pace. Compared to Willy’s class, everything I’d done before seemed like slow motion. And no matter what I did, Willy kept coming over to give me pointers.

“Extend more,” he’d say, tapping my leg as I tried to hold it rock steady and high in the air. Or he’d look at my feet and say, “Point! Point!”

I burned with shame every time he talked to me, but I wouldn’t give up. All the other dancers were full-on staring at me, and I thought I’d die of embarrassment. I know now that having the attention of your teacher is a good thing, but at the time I thought it meant I was messing up—big-time. It made me feel insecure about my technique and what I had to offer to ballet. But it made me work all the harder.

After that class ended, I went right into my next one. At the same time, Willy, Sarah, and Eloy had a private meeting in the next room. I don’t know exactly what Willy said, but it must have been good, because the next time I looked up from class, Sarah and Eloy were peeking in the door, giving me two giant thumbs-ups! Only then did I relax and really feel comfortable.

I wanted to stay at Steps 24-7. I remember wishing that life were just one big long day, in which we could dance all the time without having to sleep or eat or do homework. But one particular day was better than all the rest combined. That’s when I met Ray Hesselink.

I was getting a drink at the water fountain before class when I noticed this giant of a guy wearing strange tap-shoe covers. They were made from thick, black, quilted material, and looked like Snuggies that had been shrunk down to foot size. I must have been staring for a while, because when I looked up (waaaaaay up), their owner was looking down at me.

“Hi, Alex,” he said. “I’m Ray. Ray Hesselink. I teach tap here.”

He stuck out a big hand to shake, and I took it tentatively. I’d never taken a class with him, and right away I was weirded out that he knew my name.

“Hi,” I said, hoping he’d let me get a drink and leave.

“Do you tap-dance?”

“No,” I said. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I was kind of a ballet snob. But Ray uttered the two words that changed my life forever.

“I work on a show called
Billy Elliot.
”

He paused, obviously waiting for me to say something.

“On Broadway?” he continued, trying to prompt me.

“Cool,” I responded. I’d never heard of
Billy Elliot
, I had no idea what he was talking about, and I really wanted to get to class. But I couldn’t figure out a way to leave without being rude.

“I’ve been watching you,” he said.

Aaaand that was my cue to exit! I stepped back so fast I nearly fell over. This was exactly what Mom had worried about. I opened my mouth to call for help, but he rushed to continue.

“Dance. I’ve been watching you dance. You’re a very talented young man.”

“Oh. Thanks!” I said, feeling bad that a second ago I’d been convinced he was a creeper.

Ray pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to me.

“Look, I think you’d be perfect for the role of Billy. We’re holding auditions soon. Have your parents give me a call if you want to try out.”

As he walked away, it dawned on me: I’d just been asked to audition for a Broadway show. Broadway, like in all the songs and movies. Broadway, like where Hugh Jackman and Patti LuPone sang. Broadway, like the place I’d dreamed about for as long as I could remember.

Broadway.

I was calling Mom before I even realized I had the phone in my hand.

Chapter 14
The Audition

S
ometimes I imagine life as a big set of scales. Every time something bad happens, one side goes down a little farther. But eventually, something good balances it out, if you work hard enough or get lucky enough. Suddenly, after years of the scales tipping in one direction, it was as though someone reached down and put their hand on the other side (thanks, Dad). My life started to look up. Way up.

Not only was Ray Hesselink a legit big deal, he really did want me to audition for
Billy Elliot
. When Mom called him, he explained that the show needed a ballet dancer mature enough to handle a Broadway schedule but young enough to play an eleven-year-old. I was twelve, and while I was definitely young, the last few years had helped me grow up fast. Ray had seen me in my classes, and he thought I’d be great for the role.

The show, Mom said, was about a boy in Britain in the 1980s who lived in a mining town with his father. His mother was dead, and the family had very little money. It was a tough community, full of strong, proud, harsh people living in a harsh world. The miners’ strike was a real historical event, although Billy was a fictional character. No work means no money, and life becomes all the harder as the miners fight for their safety and dignity. But Billy dreams of being a great ballet dancer more than anything else in the world, and despite all the odds against him, he finds a way to learn to dance, although he has to hide it from his father. When Billy gets sent to take boxing lessons at a local community center, he stays behind and joins a ballet class. The teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, recognizes the talent inside him, and helps Billy realize his dreams of getting into a prestigious ballet school and escaping from his poverty-stricken town. In the end, his father stands up for him and his dreams, and encourages him to go to London and become the best dancer he can be. From the moment Mom told me the plot, I knew I wanted to do the show. Billy’s life was so much like mine that even hearing a summary of his story gave me chills. Maybe I wasn’t a great ballet dancer yet, but like Billy, I wanted to be, and I knew I could channel that hope and fear into his character if I got the part.

One thing that really confused Mom and me was race. Was Billy Asian? Did it matter? Ray explained to us that the creative team was devoted to blind casting. That means they thought the race of the Billy character didn’t matter. “Given the talents of these kids, any doubts about their right to be in the show would be swept away as soon as someone saw them on that stage,” said Stephen Daldry, the director of
Billy Elliot
.

This was June, and the show was set to open in November. Because the part was for minors, they had to cast the part with three boys, who would alternate performances, to stay within child labor laws. They already had the first three Billys, but they were starting to look for more.

After Ray discovered me at Steps, the teachers there offered me a great gift: a full scholarship to their six-week summer intensive. They were impressed with my technique and positive attitude, and getting that audition was the icing on the cake. Now I could train with them in New York and get ready for my audition, which would be in July. I had a little over a month and a half to prepare. I’d been dreaming of a way to return to Steps, and now I’d found one before I’d even left.