The Ballerina
Lara POV
"Explain to me, again, why you want me to accept this proposal?" My patience with Sophie is at its limit.
Sophie, my best friend, is also my agent. She knows I hate being in the spotlight and having my life exposed. I avoid any unnecessary attention, as much as possible, and I always try to keep everything within the limits of my profession.
This proposal is anything but that.
"Ah Lara, one day your life as a dancer will end and this is a good way to extend your image to other areas. With the money from this campaign you can finally expand your brand of ballet clothes or even open your own ballet school." Sophie's excited voice says and her little body, in business clothes, jumps with excitement, making my eyes roll at it.
"I really hope you don´t have these childish behaviors with your other clients."
"Lara Rodriguez, for once in your life, try to see a little further!" She says, coming towards me.
"Imagine the countless possibilities that this can create. Life as a dancer is what it is, a short one, you know that!" Her reproachful tone and her posture left hand on hip, right index finger pointing in my direction, with a mad face, made me burst out laughing.
"Mommy, I don't want to see my image spread around", I answered sarcastically.
"I want to live my life as anonymously as possible," I explain the same as before. Annoys me like hell, the fact that i need to repeat, and repeat, the same thing over and over again.
"You know what I get with this project? Invasion of my privacy and money doesn't pay for that, you know mommy?" I say now in a serious way.
"I need you to understand my point of view! Not everything is money or image!" I sighed in despair.
"Lara, you are such a drama queen! You have an advertising campaign that will also be with other celebrities. They will form pairs from different areas. You will have to do some photoshoots for an outdoor campaign, and you will have to show up in a few events, as representatives of the Deior brand." She started to explain the tasks... and it scares me like hell.
"Rob accepted the proposal and will be at these events. You will never be alone." She adds in her art of manipulating me. I roll my eyes hearing that. Using Rob as a weapon is a very smart move for her.
"And who knows, perhaps you can find your rich prince charming!" She teases, blinking at me while biting her own lip. She is always trying to couple me with some random guys she met at work. I´m starting to get really upset with it too.
"The last thing I need is a relationship! I don´t need a freaking clingy guy demanding things or a broken heart!" The truth is, I just want all my energies focused on my career. I gave up a lot of things to be here, and I will not allow my heart to destroy the effort I made for some many years, not only mine but my family´s too! I didn´t have a normal childhood. I didn´t even get the time to live my teenage years... I spent all the time I had, dancing and improving myself, as a dancer. No man and I mean, no man, will interfere. I just allow one man in my life, Rob.
"Think about this proposal, please! It´s a good way to make money and ensure your future!" She almost pleads, looking at me with puppy eyes.
Who knew my childhood friend would become such an agent?
I may not like to have my face all over the world, but I have to value her professional effort and dedication. Sophie doesn't say it, but I know that this is also an excellent opportunity for her.
The guilt of having made her leave our country to accompany us on our professional paths weighs constantly. I know it wasn't easy for her.
I have to admit that her work has been exceptional, she never complained about anything. She risked a lot but she was always with me and Rob, giving support and helping with our career.
I feel I owe her this and, certainly, that was also what led Rob to accept this challenge...
I'm so caught up in these thoughts that I lost the track of what Sophie continued to say.
"Lara, do you hear what I'm saying? Earth calls Lara to the reception!" I woke up from my thoughts, with my friend almost screaming in my ears. I signed deeply. I know I'm going to regret this...
"Listen! Sophie, I accept, but only because I think this will be a good opportunity for you too. I can imagine how this is important for your career and that's the only and only reason I want to accept."
"No, Lara. This is a good opportunity for you, also for me, of course, but I want you to take it for yourself not me. Think about the best for yourself. My career is on the right track, don´t worry. Think of you, please!" Sophie sweetly hugs me, making my soft heart warm to her.
"Oh Sophie, I already said yes! Now let me leave before I regret it!" I said, smiling at my beautiful friend and getting out of her embrace.
"Girl, before you go, I want you to see the Ballet Glamour article about you!" She asked me with a broad smile, going back to her desk where she takes out a magazine and hands it to me.
Whenever Sophie has a smile like that on her face, full of excitement, it's because a bomb will blow and I will most likely not like it. Yes, we are friends but we have very different aims. Sophie's job is to be an agent, so she wants to sell my image. I, on the other hand, try to run away from it as much as I can...
I sigh, grabbing the magazine and building up the courage to look.
When I saw the cover photo my eyes widened.
I am the cover! Oh gosh! The image is in fact a well-taken photograph of the ballet Romeo and Juliette. I run my fingers lightly on the cover, it´s divine and if I didn't know I wouldn't be able to say it was me. It´s amazing! I opened the magazine and start reading the article:
"Lara Rodriguez is a 21-year-old beauty and a star of the Royal Kingdom Ballet. The brunette ballerina with her lovely green eyes has conquered hearts around the world. She is recognized worldwide as one of the best dancers of this time, due to her perfect technique and her magnificent ability to interpret the different roles of the ballets we know. Portuguese by nationality, she has been in New York for almost two years, where she has given us excellent performances. She is praised by the Kingdom Director himself who mentions her as a true star, praising her beautiful dance lines, the delicacy of her jumps, and the magnificent way in which she makes us feel the emotions of the roles she plays. As for her dance partners, Rob Puente, Ivan Volkov, Ignacio Monticelli, and David Grant, the opinion is unanimous, praising her dedication to work and looking forward to more opportunities to work with her. Several ballet critics have praised Puente and Rodriguez's work on Romeo and Juliette as one of the most sentimental they have ever seen. Kingdom exclusively announced to our magazine that the pair was magnificent but that the next ballet of our favorite soloist will be Giselle and with Volkov as her main partner. Here among us, anxiety is extreme. We can't wait for the next season to start. Rodriguez as Giselle must be awesome to see."
"Wow!" That's all I can say. There are no words to explain how I feel.
My heart fluttered as I read the article, it means a lot to me to be recognized for my work. All the sacrifices I made and make are being paid.
The emotions I feel are running throw my veins. I worked so hard, that I even quit thinking that I have a personal life, I just live to and for dance.
I started dancing at age 6. From age 6 to 10, I was an ordinary child who wanted to dance but my teacher saw something more in me and decided to bet on me as a dancer. There were many hours of training, many competitions, much pain, and hard challenges.
At 15, I left my country, Portugal, and went to study dance through a scholarship. It was very difficult, I didn't know how to speak German, and the language barrier was a true challenge. Luckily Rob's path has always crossed mine and I've never been alone.
Sophie came with me to Germany too. We did a lot of emotional blackmail on her parents, and they finally agreed. I studied dance and she finished her studies and started the business management course.
At 18 I joined Berlin Ballet Company. At 19 I auditioned for new companies and luckily was selected for a few. One of them was Kingdom, the best ballet company in the USA. It was my best option, but having Rob there also made it a lot easier, as also Sophie.
Sophie was my neighbor in Portugal, a schoolmate and like me, she took dance lessons. However, while I wanted to pursue dancing as a career, Sophie only danced for pleasure. She had more time for school and it was her who, on many occasions, helped me to follow the subjects.
About 9 months ago, she graduate and decided to officially become a celebrity agent.
When she decided to work as our agent, 2 years back, we thought it was a crazy idea, she wasn´t even graduated. However, over these two years, she proved to be extremely important for us professionally. She got us other opportunities as freelancers and helped us launch our dancewear brand and we´ve been working as a team since then.
Today she is recognized in the artistic world and even has celebrities from other areas as clients.
So this article is amazing, not only for me but for her as well.
"This is amazing for us. Thank you my bestie" I say with tears in my eyes while hugging my friend, again.
