Title: “Let’s dance!”
Author: Silvina Carrasco
Characters:
- Lidia: Music teacher. She enrolls her students in a dance contest so that they can overcome their limitations through experience and strengthen themselves as a group.
- Luli: She tends to behave with an air of superiority because she has studied dance since she was a child and knows how to dance. After the contest, she will have learned to be more humble and to help her classmates.
- Martín: He is the joker of the class. His need for attention is more important to him than the option of being responsible for the efforts of his classmates. After the contest, he will have learned to soften his individualistic tendency to value being part of a group.
- Anto: She is comfortable with her intellectual development but not with her physical development and although she likes dancing very much, she is prejudiced about this activity. After the contest, she will have learned to overcome them to enjoy what she likes to do.
- Sofi: She is very insecure and does not really feel capable of learning to dance. After the contest, she feels more confident and has a higher self-esteem.
- Marcelo: He is very competitive and winning at everything is his only goal. After the contest, he will also value fun.
(Characters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are between 15 and 16 years old. They are school classmates).
ACT I
Characters that take part in this act: Lidia, Luli, Martín, Anto, Sofi and Marcelo.
Scene: The gymnasium of a high school.
On the floor, the teenagers are sitting and waiting for the teacher to arrive.
-Anto: I insist, this contest was not a good idea. The teacher took us by surprise and we accepted without realizing what we were getting into.
-Luli: How exaggerated! How much more fun than preparing a choreography and dancing it to pass a subject! We don’t even have to win the contest to pass!
-Martin: You say that because you know how to dance, you don’t lose anything, you don’t risk anything.
-Luli: I’m risking something: I have to dance with you; it could turn out to be a big role.
-Martin: You’re so full of yourself, baby!
-Anto: You’re so big!
-Marcelo: Look at it this way: besides passing a subject without studying theory we can win the contest prize, and if we think about it, it’s not so difficult: Luli has always danced; I can win in everything I propose; Anto is very intelligent, she learns everything quickly; Martin brings the grace… And… Sofi…… well… we will find something for her to do.
(The boys laugh)
-Anto: How bad!
(Sofi, a little apart from the group, looks at the floor in silence).
-Anto: Sofi, are you okay?
-Sofi: (As if talking to herself) I can’t participate. I don’t know how to dance and I can’t learn. I’m going to make a fool of myself… I can’t, I can’t… I’d rather fail the subject….
(Teacher Lidia arrives in a hurry.)
-Lidia: Sorry for the delay, are you ready to rehearse?
(Gestures of doubt among the kids)
-Lidia: Okay, it’s not the attitude I expected but… Let’s dance!
(Luli, Anto, Marcelo and Martin stand up and get ready in front of Lidia to start. Sofi remains motionless on the floor)
-Lidia: Sofi?
-Sofi: I’m… sick… I feel… dizzy. Excuse me, I can’t dance.
-Lidia: (Understanding that Sofi is only making excuses because she is afraid) We’ll wait for you until you feel better.
(Sofi unwillingly stands up and stands next to her partners)
-Lidia: Well, let’s start.
(Lidia turns on the music and does a dance step. The teenagers try to imitate it. Anto does it clumsily and stumbles, which makes Luli, Marcelo and Martin laugh out loud).
-Luli: Haha, but you’re even more of an idiot than I thought!
-Marcelo: You’re made of wood, Anto!
-Anto: No, this is not my thing and I don’t want to participate! I can study different types of dances and put together our choreography, but not dancing. Physical skills are not my thing.
(Lidia turns off the music)
-Lidia: Guys, we all think we have limitations, but we have to try to overcome them. I assure you that when the contest is over, you will have learned a lot more than dancing.
ACT II
Characters that take part in this act: Lidia, Luli, Martín, Anto, Sofi and Marcelo.
Scene: The same stage as in Act I.
The five teenagers dance a synchronized choreography. At one point, Martín interrupts the synchronization; pretending to be funny, he starts dancing a dance that has nothing to do with the original choreography.
-Luli: Martin, what are you doing! Always attracting attention
-Marcelo: You’re always trying to call for attention! Take it seriously, it’s a group work, it’s not about you!
-Martin: Oh, what a poor sense of humor! Are you doing it for the group? You only do it because you have to win in everything… And you, Luli, all you want is to show off and be praised by everyone…
-Lidia: (Turns off the music) Okay guys, silence. You already know the choreo, we have practiced it for many days, it’s time to learn other things: Luli and Sofi over there (points to a sector), Anto and Martín over there (points to another sector) and you Marcelo come with me.
(The students go to where Lidia indicated)
-Lidia: Luli, you have the task of making Sofi do the part she says she “can’t learn”; Martín, you are going to rehearse with Anto and control her progress, trying to make her perform better than you; and Marcelo, you are in charge of the group in general: your task is to find the formula to win. Enjoy the remaining weeks of rehearsal, see you the day before the contest.
(Lidia grabs her bag and leaves)
-Anto: But teacher….
-Lidia: (Leaving) Don’t worry, you’ll be fine….
(The students are puzzled)
ACT III
Characters that intervene in this act: Lidia, Luli, Martín, Anto, Sofi and Marcelo.
Scenario: A competition stage.
The teenagers perform their choreography, greet each other and come down. Excited, they stay talking in a corner. Lidia approaches to congratulate them.
Lidia: Congratulations, it went great!
-Martin: Yeah, I don’t think we’ll win, but it was a lot of fun.
-Marcelo: Yes, you were right, we learned a lot of things while we were preparing.
-Lidia: For example?
-Marcelo: I realized that when we were less thinking about winning, the choreography came out better because we had more fun.
-Martin: I learned to work as a group. I no longer feel the pressure of always being the cool guy who makes everyone have fun.
(laughs)
-Anto: Always so humble, Martin.
-Sofi: (Shy) I learned that I can learn new things even if it scares me.
-Anto: I learned not to be so prejudiced and to give a chance to the things I like.
-Luli: And I know that there may be others better than me. The truth is Sofi that with a little practice you could surpass the teacher.
(laughs)
-Lidia: I’m glad you have been such good apprentices. As a reward, I’m going to postpone the final exam for a few weeks.
(Students look puzzled)
-Lidia: How? Did you really think you were going to get out of the final exam?
(She leaves.)
THE END