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Chapter 1

Reese held the audience in the palm of her hand

There wasn’t a single movement in the sea of silhouettes

She didn’t need athis routine since childhood “All That Jazz” was engraved on her bones

Hands up Stretch Make every ers a meal No wasted efforts

She walked all five digits down her thigh like an elegant daddy longlegs spider, popping her left hip twice in quick succession Bump Bump

Inhale

Slow head roll

There was a loud voice intruding in the back of her nored it and kept dancing, never breaking the spell she wove

Toe ball heel, toe ball heel

Step left Cross it over Turn

She swayed those ar on a diers snapping in ti It rose inside of her like the wings of a phoenix battling the north wind Her e her throather next few moves even sharper Two turns were executed flawlessly, the te up She threw her head back and watched her hands arc, left then right

Here it ca up to deliver the standing ovation to her home run They’d walked in off the street, but she’d transported thehts and femme fatales

Inhale Quick head turn

Throwing those hands up in the air, she was a puppet for the higher purpose

A vessel for the arts

Again, that nasal voice droned so about free coffee in the lobby, but nothing could stop Reese froers Or froenius note And she did, satisfaction coasting from the top of her head all the way down to the sore toes crae oxfords she’d worn to capture Roxy Hart