Arthur, Suzette, and the Flying Pirouette

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Visit nextplayground.com, that's nexplayground.com, to explore active family gaming today. Hey Tale Blazers, I'm Vivian. I'm Rebecca Cunningham. This is GoTails, a kids podcast packed with girl power and stories where every child's voice matters. Today's story is an adaptation of a story written by the Tale Blazers who attended our Brooklyn event earlier this year. I'll read you their version of the story at the end of the episode. Now on to our episode. This is Arthur Suzette and the Flying Pirouette. Enjoy! I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine, Suzette. Suzette was a young girl who lived in freshwater and who loved to dance. When she was five, she started to take dance lessons and ever since, I cannot remember seeing her when she was not dancing. She learned how to salsa and dance merengue. She took ballet classes and tap. She joined a step team and one time she started a conga line that grew so long with everyone in freshwater that it ran from the most northern point of the town to the most southern point. She would dance up and down the main street of freshwater, doing twirls and leaps and shakes. And it was impossible not to stop and become an audience member or a part of the dance yourself. You should have been there for the marathon macarena that I swear to you went on for one whole month of July. One summer, Suzette was dancing in town when a stray German shepherd came running out of nowhere. Suzette was practicing her pirouettes when the dog ran by so she didn't even notice him. A pirouette is when you bring one foot up off the ground and spin in place. She was trying to learn the pirouettes for an upcoming dance competition. The winner of the competition was going to get featured in their own dance performance in front of the whole town on the freshwater town hall stage. She knew she would win if only she could get her grand finale right. Five pirouettes in a row. She was trying to focus her attention on one spot in front of her to then turn her head quickly to catch up to her spinning body. This technique was to make sure she didn't get dizzy while spinning, but so far she wasn't so great at it and was feeling a little woozy. The dog who had darted past her chasing a scared squirrel darted right back to where Suzette was when he saw her twirling. Suzette was trying and trying to twirl as many times as she could in one place, and at this point she had gotten up to three. This was very impressive to the dog, but Suzette wanted to do more. She kept trying but couldn't do more without getting too dizzy. The dog sat down in front of Suzette who was deep in concentration as she kicked off with one foot and propelled herself around. One spin, two spins, three spins, and she saw a bird fly off in the distance and she let go of her concentration and the world around her blurred and she fell. The dog ran up to her and licked her right in her face. "Oh go away dog, I've got to get past three." The dog sat down in front of her and just stared, waiting for her to spin again. "Oh fine, if you are going to just sit there and stare at me then I am going to stare right back." Suzette got up to spin again. She stared at the big German shepherd sitting there back at her and she kicked off. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. She couldn't believe it. She had done 10 pirouettes without losing concentration or getting dizzy. Did this stray dog have magical powers that made Suzette more confident she wondered? Or was it that him sitting there in stillness gave her something to pin her focus on so she didn't get distracted or dizzy? "I did it dog and you helped me." The dog jumped up again and again and tried to lick her face. She laughed. "I'll stop it. What's your name?" The dog looked at her quizzically and tilted his head to the left. "Okay, okay, that's fair. I've never heard a dog introduce themselves before anyway but worth a try. Can I call you Arthur? One of my favorite choreographers is named Arthur, Arthur Mitchell. He danced for the New York City Ballet and then started his own dance company. He helped so many dancers become even better than they were before. He guided them. Like you just did for me. Yep, I'll call you Arthur. Thank you Arthur." Arthur jumped up and did his own circle in front of Suzette and then he leaned forward on his front legs, almost like he was bowing. "Oh good, you like it." Suzette got up and did another 10 pirouettes and then when she was done Arthur ran in circles to imitate her. They did this for the rest of the afternoon. Soon enough, Suzette had gotten up to 15 pirouettes. They say that the official world record is 36 but someone once got up to 55. Suzette wants to meet those dancers someday and show them how she can do it. And now show them also how Arthur is the key to her success. Arthur and Suzette came back to that same spot in town every day that week. And the next day they didn't do pirouettes but started to make other dances together. Suzette would do a plie in second position, squatting down with her feet turned out away from each other. And then Arthur would mimic by hopping on his hind legs. When Suzette lifted onto her toes into a releve where she lifted up off the ground balancing on the tips of her feet, Arthur would hop on his hind legs with her. The next day they were cha-ching across the town together, side together, side stepping in unison. People started to gather and watch. They became such a great team. At first Suzette wondered where Arthur had come from and she even asked around town if anyone was missing a great dancing German shepherd. But no one was. Soon enough it felt like Arthur mustn't belong to anyone and Suzette and Arthur were becoming great friends. Suzette even entered that competition with Arthur at her side and she won. They couldn't wait to prepare a whole show to be performed at the town hall. Suzette would wear red sequins on her dance shoes and she made a red vest with feathers and sequins for Arthur to wear too. This performance was one you could not miss and the whole town was clamoring for a ticket. The night came for Suzette and Arthur to perform at the Freshwater Town Hall. Before the show began they peaked their heads out from behind the big curtain to sneak looks at who was there. They saw their closest friends, Ella, Roxy, Audrey and Emily, who had been helping them rehearse their dance in preparation for the show. The audience was cheering to see them except for one person who wasn't making a sound at all. No, instead he was writing down notes on a big pad. Was this a reviewer? Were Arthur and Suzette going to get a big write up that would make them famous? Suzette got so excited thinking about it that she was planning to do more pirouettes than she had ever done before. That night Suzette got to 20 pirouettes. At this time they had been practicing this move in a new way where Arthur would run around Suzette while she spun and he would go in the opposite direction. The effect of this made it look like Suzette was spinning even faster, almost as if she was spinning off the ground. At the end of the performance they got a huge standing ovation and the crowd cheered and clapped. Suzette and Arthur ran off stage in opposite directions. They did this as if the show was over to then of course run on for a second and sometimes even a third bow. Suzette ran off and then almost immediately came back for the second bow. But Arthur didn't come back. The crowd thought maybe Arthur was about to return but he never came on stage. Suzette didn't know what to do. She ran off after Arthur and saw the door leading from backstage to the alley closing shut with a slam. Quickly she was in the back alley. A van was screeching out of the alley into the road with that man from the audience behind the wheel. The van disappeared into the night leaving the red feathers blowing behind it in the wind. That man with the big pad was not a reviewer. He was there to steal Arthur. Suzette couldn't believe it. He didn't want to make them big stars. He wanted to take Arthur for his own and become a star himself. At least that is what Suzette guessed. She wondered if really that man was Arthur's owner and instead Arthur had run off with the man because he so badly wanted to go home. But no that couldn't be the case. Arthur wouldn't do that without saying goodbye. Suzette needed to catch that van. She didn't have a car and she couldn't actually drive but she did have her dancing skills. It would be hard without Arthur with her but maybe she could do it. Suzette took one big deep breath. Lifted, bent down and kicked off with her right leg and she spun her body in the direction of the van. Something magical happened here that she had never felt before. She was spinning down the street after the van at a greater speed than she had ever moved. Soon she had done 25 pirouettes and then she passed the record of 33 and was quickly gaining on the van. She was inches away from the van when it screeched to a halt. The driver ran out and tried to tell Suzette to stop. She could tell he was scared now. No one had ever seen anyone dance like that. Suzette thought, of course, he was going to give Arthur up. The man came running up to her and tried to say something. He wasn't going to release Arthur from the van though. She had to act and had to act fast. Suzette didn't think she had enough energy left in her to pirouette after the van for much longer so she needed to stop him before he could drive off again. She needed to battle him. She needed to dance. She ground herself in first position with her feet directed right at the man who stole Arthur and she started to put her arms out in front of her one at a time. She was moving her arms one by one in front of her and then one by one onto her shoulders and then one by one behind her head and then one by one onto her hips. She was doing the fastest paced macarena the man had ever seen. Then she rotated her hips while shouting "Hey Macarena!" before she jumped and turned 90 degrees to the left and then she did it again. I don't know if you've ever done the Macarena but there's something about this dance that once it gets started near you, you have to join in and the man knew he had to join in. But Suzette was fast. The man couldn't get through one round of the steps before he tripped himself up and stumbled. Ha! She had him. But then he counteracted her dance with a dance she had never seen before. He used his hands to make what looked like a bird bee and he opened and closed them. Then he bent his arms at his elbows and flapped them like they were wings. Then he squatted real low and shook his whole body before he started the moves again. He was doing the chicken. Suzette wasn't sure of it at first but soon enough she was on paced with the wing flapping man and again she could dance faster than him and he stumbled. Next, the dog napper began his own conga line but there was no one around him to join in so he quickly looked even sillier than before. Suzette knew this was her chance to really defeat him. She was going to have to use the last of her energy to do those pirouettes. There'd be no other way. She was worried she wasn't going to be able to do these alone now that she was so tired but when she looked up at the van she saw Arthur peeking out from the back window. He was urging her to keep going. So she started and she used her best friend as her spot doing one spin after another. The man tried to do his own pirouettes but he immediately fell and then he tried to do a leap in front of her but he couldn't land on his own feet and fell again. Suzette was out dancing the dog napper. Finally the dog napper was trying to perform some dance moves that looked like a slow motion robot but she was so focused on Arthur and keeping herself spotted that she couldn't tell what it was and then it happened. He had gotten so dizzy as she did her twirls that he was now on the ground begging her to stop. Stop! Please no more spinning. I don't think I'll ever not be dizzy again. I'll stop but you have to give me Arthur back. He's my best friend. I will. I will but first I need to take him back to the clinic and make sure he's properly vaccinated and taken care of. Suzette was confused. Why would this dog thief be so worried about Arthur being taken care of? You have to trust me. My name is Max. Max Olajion and I am an animal rescue veterinarian. I have been hearing reports of a stray German shepherd that was roaming the town of freshwater and showing some odd behavior like dancing and red feathers around the town. I had assumed that this dog was at risk of having a disease like rabies and could be a danger to anyone around him. When I saw him on this stage with you tonight I saw that he didn't have any tags and then when he was chasing you around the stage in circles at the end I was certain I would need to get him back to the animal clinic for testing before he could harm anyone or himself. He wasn't chasing me that's our grand finale. He and I created that dance together. Now it was Max's turn to be dumbfounded. How could this kid and this dog create dances together? In all of his time working for animal rescue he'd never seen a dog choreograph a dance. Suzette continued. You have to believe me. We have been working on that act for weeks and the red feathers were Arthur's idea. He picked them out himself. Suzette ran back to the van and pulled open the door before Max could stop her. Let me show you. What you saw is our greatest move yet. If we dance it again like you saw before will you believe me that it's not because Arthur is sick but instead because he's got great pizzazz? Max wasn't so sure about this idea but Suzette and Arthur saw they had one chance to convince him and they took it. They began their pirouette routine. Suzette kicked off and spun and Arthur ran in the other direction. They had practiced and performed this move again and again but this time there was a different kind of grace and ease. Something about having one last chance to prove they belong together as the great dancing duo gave them the skills to reform like never before. I wasn't there but the story goes that at this point it didn't only look like Suzette was elevating into the air as she spun but now she actually was beginning to fly. She had kicked off the ground into the air and Arthur was bounding in circles beneath her keeping the beat. Max at that moment realized he was incredibly wrong. Oh my oh wow I had no idea anyone could dance like that. I was so terribly wrong. I had been focusing so closely on Arthur on stage and got so worried about his safety that I was certain he wasn't in control but instead trying to chase you. I didn't have any idea that two dancers could dance like this together and with that Max began to laugh and cheer. Usually there was a great big audience for Suzette and Arthur's dances. This time it was only Max but his cheering and clapping made up for the small audience. When Suzette finally landed and the two dancers took a bow Max had to catch his breath from the joy he felt. Max gave Arthur and Suzette a ride back into freshwater and Suzette promised that she would bring Arthur to the clinic the next day for a full checkup. When she did it turned out he had gotten all of his vaccinations before. They also discovered that he had an owner before and there was a report of his vaccinations all under the owner's name. A. Mitchell. But Mr. Mitchell had died recently and it looked like Arthur was in need of adopting. Of course Suzette was willing to open her home. Suzette and Max didn't really know who a Mitchell was but Suzette had a suspicion. It was her favorite choreographer Arthur. How else could this dog be such a great dancer himself? Arthur and Suzette kept dancing together and now they've opened up their own school in freshwater. They don't do the flying pirouette anymore. They say it was never the same as that one day but the story still lives on about the girl and her dog and how they spun so fast they flew. Here is the original story written by tailblazers in Brooklyn and was inspired by a photograph taken by famous street photographer Vivian Meyer. You should be able to see the photo in the podcast episode information. I'd like to tell you about a friend of mine. Her name is Suzette. She loves dancing so much that she went to a dance studio every Sunday. She also owned a dog. His name is Arthur. Arthur was a German shepherd. A man came up to Suzette and her dog and tried to take Arthur. She told him to stop but he didn't listen. Suzette tried to save Arthur by pulling the leash back when it broke. At that moment Arthur began to float into the sky unexpectedly and when Suzette looked up she noticed Arthur's dog friends in a flying contraption. They came to rescue him. Success! Suzette saw Arthur up there with his dog friends but remembered her severe fear of heights. She danced by pure a wedding all the way up there. Dancing gives her confidence to do scary things and be brave. When Suzette dances she realizes the dogs all have rabies. Oh no! The man follows her also dancing the cha-cha up in the sky with the medicine to cure the rabies. Arthur and all his friends were cured and came back down to earth. That was Arthur Suzette and the Flying Pirouette. Written by Harry Poster. Adapted from the original story written by the tailblazers who attended our Brooklyn event. Harry's version of the story was written with help from the Girl Tales Club members who gave us their feedback on this story. If you would like to hear Girl Tales stories before anyone else and join me in Zoom meetings to give me your feedback on our stories grownups can head to patreon.com/girltales and sign up for the Girl Tales Club tier or above. It gets you into the meetings and other perks like special shout-outs or a birthday shout-out and into our brand new Girl Tales Penpal program. Today's episode was produced by Megan Bagala, performed and executive produced by yours truly Rebecca Cunningham. Girl Tales is a Cordelia Studios production. Grownups, you can get access to ad-free episodes of Girl Tales as well as a range of other shows for the kids in your life by subscribing to Starglow Plus on Apple podcasts. If you'd like to hear me narrate the original stories of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, the wonderful Wizard of Oz or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, head to patreon.com/girltales and join Team Sunnybrook or above. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. And hey, if you loved this story, share it with a friend. Oh and remember, I believe in you. There's a hill and a road and a path where I know you must go Through the sun, wind, rain or snow But wherever you venture, you can always come home 'Cause I trust your heart, I trust my heart And I trust your mind, I trust my mind And I trust the friends, I trust the friends I know you will find or the hill And on the road, so off you go And remember, I believe in you Starglow!