Astrid and Apollo and the Awesome Dance Audition Read online

  To Siri and all the awesome Hmong dancers out there! —VTB

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Meet Astrid & Apollo

  Chapter 1: Gymnastics

  Chapter 2: Best Contest Ever

  Chapter 3: One Billion Hours

  Chapter 4: No Surprises

  Chapter 5: Coffee Grinder

  Facts about the Hmong

  Glossary

  Talk about It

  Write it Down

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Cover

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Start of Content

  Main Body

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  2b

  back cover

  Meet Astrid & Apollo

  Hi, I’m Astrid. My twin brother is Apollo, and we were born in Minnesota. We live here with our mom, dad, and little sister, Eliana.

  Hi, I’m Apollo! Our mom and dad were both born in Laos. They came to the United States when they were very young and grew up here.

  Hmong Words

  gao (GOW) —

  girl; it is often placed in front of a girl’s name. Hmong spelling: nkauj

  Gao Chee (GOW chee) —

  shiny girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Ci

  Gao Hlee (GOW lee) —

  moon girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Hli

  Gao Nou (GOW new) —

  sun girl. Hmong spelling: Nkauj Hnub

  Hmong (MONG) —

  a group of people who came to the U.S. from Laos. Many Hmong from Laos now live in Minnesota. Hmong spelling: Hmoob

  Nou Kou (NEW koo) —

  star. Hmong spelling: Hnub Qub

  pa dow (PA dah-oh) —

  needlework made of shapes like flowers, triangles, and swirls. Hmong spelling: paj ntaub

  tou (TOO) —

  boy or son; it is often placed in front of a boy’s name. Hmong spelling: tub

  CHAPTER 1

  Gymnastics

  “One!” said Astrid.

  Apollo leaned forward.

  “Two!” said Eliana.

  Apollo put his hands on the floor.

  “Three!” Astrid and Eliana said together.

  Apollo lifted his legs and placed his feet on the wall.

  He was doing a headstand!

  Astrid clapped. Eliana jumped up and down. Their dog Luna licked Apollo’s upside-down face. It tickled. Apollo laughed.

  He felt proud! He had recently learned how to do a flip in gymnastics class. Now he could do a headstand too. Apollo put his feet back on the floor and stood up.

  “Nice job! My turn,” said Astrid.

  “This time, I’ll count,” Apollo said. “Ready? One, two, three, GO!”

  Astrid raised her arms and leaned her body sideways. Then she put her hands on the floor and swung her legs in the air. She put one foot down, then the other. Now she was standing up again.

  “Great cartwheel, Astrid!” said Apollo.

  Eliana did a forward roll. She sat up and said, “Me too!”

  Astrid and Apollo laughed as Luna ran in circles around them.

  Mom poked her head in from the kitchen. “Kids, what are you doing?”

  “Gymnastics,” said Astrid.

  “Jim-nah-sticks!” Eliana said. She stood up and ran to the kitchen as Dad walked into the room. He was carrying a tall plastic cup.

  “Careful!” Dad tried to move out of Eliana’s way. He held the cup up high, but it was too late. Eliana bumped into him, and the icy brown drink spilled all over his shirt.

  “Sorry!” said Eliana.

  “What’s that?” asked Astrid.

  “It’s Vietnamese coffee. I have to change now.” Dad walked upstairs frowning.

  When he came back, Apollo said, “Dad, I learned this move from a TV show. It’s called the coffee grinder. Want to see?”

  Just then the doorbell rang.

  “Do it later. That must be Lily!” Astrid said and hurried excitedly to the front door. Their cousin Lily was visiting.

  “Hi everyone!” Lily took off her shoes and followed Astrid to the living room.

  “Hi Lily,” said Mom and Dad. Apollo waved. Eliana smiled. Luna ran to Lily and sniffed her socks.

  Lily held up five tickets. “My dance school will be in a competition this Saturday. You’re all invited!”

  She handed the tickets to Mom.

  “Thank you!” Mom said. “That’s very nice of you.”

  “You’re welcome! A million people come watch. It’s the best contest ever!” said Lily.

  Apollo made a face. Surely it wasn’t a million people. Usually, Lily liked to make things seem bigger and better than they were.

  Lily saw Apollo’s face. “Apollo, you’ll like it, I promise. Everyone loves it, and our school always wins awards. We’re called the ‘Number One Dance School’ for a reason!”

  “What kind of dances do you do?” Dad asked.

  “The school teaches Hmong, Thai, Chinese, Bollywood, and other dances too.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” said Mom. “I loved Bollywood dancing when I was little. I also liked doing the pretty Hmong dances.”

  “Our teacher is an expert in all kinds of dance. We do tumbling and flips too!” Lily said.

  “You do gymnastics?” Apollo asked in surprise.

  “Yes!” said Lily. “A lot of dance schools do gymnastics now.”

  “Awesome!” said Apollo. He and Astrid smiled at each other.

  “Jim-nah-sticks like this?” Eliana said as she did a forward roll and landed at Lily’s feet.

  Luna rolled over too. When she sat up, she wagged her tail. Everyone laughed.

  CHAPTER 2

  Best Contest Ever

  On Saturday, Dad drove the family to the city auditorium for Lily’s dance competition. Everyone crowded inside and filled up the seats.

  Astrid was excited for the contest. She was carrying a bunch of white lilies to give Lily.

  But Apollo wasn’t as thrilled. He wished he could have stayed home to practice gymnastics.

  “Found them!” Dad pointed at five seats near the front.

  Astrid, Apollo, and Eliana slid into the row and sat down. Mom and Dad sat next to them.

  They saved the seats in front of them for Lily’s parents, Auntie Kia and Uncle
Tong, and her little sisters, Gabby and Claire.

  Soon the cousins arrived. “Hi!” Eliana said.

  “Hi!” Gabby and Claire replied.

  While Mom and Dad talked to Auntie Kia and Uncle Tong, Astrid watched the stage curtains curiously. They were closed, but she could see dancers moving behind them.

  A little girl peeked out of the curtains. She had a pretty purple and green crown on her head. Sparkly gem stickers stuck to her face. She wore a bright costume with one purple sleeve. Someone pulled her arm. She closed the curtains and disappeared.

  “This will be a nice contest,” Mom said, reading the program.

  “Don’t you mean ‘the best contest ever’?” Dad asked.

  Astrid smiled. She couldn’t wait to see the teams. “I wonder what the dances will be like,” she said.

  Apollo shrugged. “Lily said this won’t be boring. Hope she’s right!”

  The lights dimmed. “Kids, it’s starting!” said Mom.

  Eliana said, “Wow!”

  A big white spotlight shined onto the curtains. Two hosts walked onto the stage. They announced the judges and the teams. They talked about the categories in the contest. Then they introduced the first team.

  Everyone clapped.

  As the hosts walked off, the music started. It was soft at first but grew louder and louder. It sounded like an orchestra.

  The curtains slowly opened, revealing the entire stage. Lights glowed onto the back wall, which looked like an orange sky full of puffy clouds.

  “Pwetty,” whispered Eliana.

  Dancers ran out from both sides of the stage. Their sleeves and pants flowed behind them like scarves. They formed a big circle.

  They were wearing the rainbow costumes and crowns that Astrid had seen on the girl before. They all had sparkly gems on their faces.

  “Pwetty!” Eliana shouted this time.

  “Shh,” Dad said.

  The dancers lay down on the floor in a circle. One of them stood up and danced to the middle of the circle. She leaped into the air, landed, and did a cartwheel with no hands. Everyone clapped.

  The dancer kicked one leg up behind her. Then she lifted up both arms and grabbed her leg. She pulled it straight up in the air like a needle.

  Apollo smiled. She looked like a scorpion he’d seen in a book!

  Then the dancer put her leg down and spun like an ice skater.

  Everyone clapped again. Astrid looked closely. The dancer was Lily!

  “That’s Lily!” she whispered to Apollo.

  “I know,” he said. “She’s good!”

  The dancers moved across the stage, pointing their toes. They swung their arms and kicked their legs high.

  The best part was that they were all kids, like Astrid and Apollo!

  Suddenly, the music became louder and faster. The dancers started doing flips. Everyone clapped and cheered.

  Apollo’s eyes grew wide. “That’s cool!” he said.

  After that, more teams performed. Each time a new team danced, the audience cheered. One team had all boys. They did so many kicks, turns, and flips that the audience never stopped clapping! The kicks reminded Apollo of the ones he did in tae kwon do.

  Eliana was amazed by the bright colors. Astrid smiled at the pretty costumes and dance moves. Apollo clapped when the dancers did gymnastics.

  Mom and Dad looked at Astrid, Apollo, and Eliana.

  “Best contest ever?” Dad said to Mom.

  Mom nodded. “The best.”

  CHAPTER 3

  One Billion Hours

  When the competition was over, the hosts announced the winners. Lily’s team won first place. Astrid and Apollo cheered for her.

  The audience stood up and clapped. Everybody had enjoyed the show.

  As people walked out of the auditorium, Astrid tried to find Lily in the crowd.

  “There she is!” Apollo pointed to Lily’s team posing for pictures by the windows.

  “Lily!” Astrid hurried over and hugged her. “Congratulations!” Astrid handed Lily the flowers.

  “Thanks!” Lily looked at Apollo. “Did you like it?” she asked him.

  Apollo smiled. “It wasn’t too boring,” he teased.

  “So, do you want to join our dance school now? There’s my teacher!” She waved at a woman nearby and said, “Teacher Yang, these are my cousins Astrid and Apollo.”

  Teacher Yang walked over. “It’s nice to meet you! Are you twins?”

  Astrid and Apollo nodded. “Nice to meet you too,” they replied shyly.

  “Teacher Yang, my cousins loved the dances. They said this was the best contest they ever saw! They want to try out for our school.”

  Astrid and Apollo looked at each other in surprise. Lily was exaggerating again.

  “Wonderful!” said Teacher Yang. “Ask your parents if you can come to our rehearsal next week. We will teach a dance for the upcoming audition.”

  “If you get in, we can compete together!” Lily said to Astrid and Apollo.

  “What?” Astrid whispered, but Lily didn’t hear her.

  “Do you like dancing?” Teacher Yang asked Astrid.

  Astrid wasn’t sure what to say. She did like dancing, but only for fun. She never danced in front of other people. She nodded anyway.

  Teacher Yang smiled at Apollo. “I’m so glad you are both trying out.”

  Apollo didn’t know what to say either, so he said, “I like gymnastics.”

  “Perfect! We do a lot of that. See you at our next rehearsal!” Teacher Yang waved and left to talk with other families.

  Astrid was afraid to audition, but she felt like dance school could be fun. Apollo was interested in doing flips and kicks.

  “Will it be hard?” Astrid asked Lily.

  “Yes, you will have to work harder than you ever did before! You will need to practice for one billion hours!” Lily said.

  Astrid and Apollo stared at each other, unsure.

  “But it will be the most fun you’ll ever have!” Lily said and clapped her hands in excitement.

  On the drive home, Astrid and Apollo talked about the audition.

  “Lily said we can try out for her dance team,” Astrid told her parents.

  “If we get into her school, we’ll be in the dance contest next year,” Apollo said.

  “Sounds good,” said Dad. “Is it what you want to do?”

  “I want to do gymnastics,” said Apollo.

  “Jim-nah-sticks!” Eliana yelled.

  “And I want to learn cool dance moves,” said Astrid.

  Mom looked back at them. “Auntie Kia told me Lily practices almost every day.”

  Apollo nodded. “Lily did say it takes one billion hours!”

  Mom laughed. “Well, if you like dancing, you should try it,” she said.

  “We’ll have to work very hard,” said Astrid, thinking.

  “You both are the hardest workers I know. I bet you’ll be fine,” said Dad.

  Astrid and Apollo looked at each other. “Let’s do it!” said Apollo. Astrid smiled and nodded.

  CHAPTER 4

  No Surprises

  On the day of the audition rehearsal, Astrid and Apollo arrived at the dance school. They were wearing the dance uniforms the school required. Mom and Dad parked and walked the twins toward the building.

  They passed a bubble tea shop and an ice-cream parlor. Then they saw a sign above two huge doors. It read “Number One Hmong Dance School.”

  Astrid took a big breath and opened the doors.

  They walked down a hallway with chairs in front of a window. Parents and families were sitting in the chairs.

  Astrid and Apollo tried to look in the window, but curtains inside blocked the view. Next to the window was a door that was halfway open. They peeked in and saw a big room with lots of mirrors. Blue mats lined the floor in one corner of the room.

  Kids were already inside. Some looked like good dancers. Others seemed like beginners. Just like Astrid and Apollo were.

>   “Go ahead.” Mom nodded and pointed at the door.

  “We’ll wait out here. Have fun!” said Dad, giving them a big thumbs-up.

  Mom, Dad, and Eliana sat in the chairs by the windows. Astrid and Apollo stepped into the room.

  Lily waved at them. “Hi! You’re just in time. We’re about to start.”

  Teacher Yang smiled at them. She asked all the students to have a seat on the floor.

  “Welcome to the Number One Hmong Dance School! We’re excited to have you here. Today I will teach you a special Hmong dance. You must learn this for your audition.”

  Everybody listened carefully.

  “We’ll practice today. Then you will go home and practice more. In one week, you’ll return to try out,” she said.

  Astrid looked at the other kids. She couldn’t wait to learn the dance. Apollo looked at the blue mats. He couldn’t wait to do the kicks and flips.

  “Before we begin, we must warm up,” Teacher Yang said. “Let’s stretch.”

  She showed them how to stretch their shoulders, arms, and legs. They leaned on the floor, stretched forward, and posed like frogs.

  Next the students stood by the wall. Teacher Yang taught them how to reach back with their arms and climb their hands up and down the wall.

  “This is a good stretch for your backs. If you’re comfortable, go all the way down to a backbend,” she said.

  Then she took them to the mats and asked them to do cartwheels.

  Astrid and Apollo smiled at each other. They had thought they might be too shy for dance school, but this was fun!

  Finally, it was time to learn the dance. Teacher Yang turned on the music.

  At the front of the room, she raised her arms and swayed from side to side. She danced to the beat of the music and leaped high in the air. When she landed, she leaned forward, rolled over, and slid into a split.

  Teacher Yang did more dance moves. She cartwheeled across the floor. The kids watched, amazed.

  Then she did a turn. She pushed her arms out and spun in a circle. She ended in a pose with her palms together in front of her chest.

  Astrid and Apollo watched with big eyes. Could they do this? And how would they remember it all?