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      Holly Wilde ran excitedly up the steps of her ballet school. She was about to audition for the local production of The Nutcracker, which Madame Za-Za, her ballet teacher, was helping to produce, and there was one particular part that Holly was desperate to get. She could still feel the tight good-luck hug that her aunt had given her at home a few moments before.

      “Just remember what your mum told you,” her aunt had said.

      “Don’t worry, I will!” Holly had replied, nodding hard.

      Holly’s parents were both professional ballet dancers. They had divorced and were so often away on tour with their different ballet companies that it was easier for Holly to live with her aunt and uncle during term time. Holly really missed her mum, but whenever she felt sad she reminded herself that they had two big things connecting them. Firstly, they both loved each other, and secondly, they totally loved ballet.

      And I’ve got a special ballet secret all of my own! thought Holly, as she pushed open the door to Madame Za-Za’s. She glanced down at the red ballet shoes poking out of her bag and smiled. Her shoes had special powers – when they glowed it meant they were about to take Holly on a magical journey to the Land of Enchantia, where all the characters from the ballets lived. It had happened quite a few times already, and each time Holly had an amazing adventure.

      “Hi, Holly! Are you nervous? I am!” Her friend Chloe had caught up with her and they went into the changing rooms together.

      “I do feel a bit nervous,” admitted Holly. “But excited too. I’ve been practising like mad and I’m determined to get the part of a Snow Maiden.”

      “Me too,” said Chloe, “but, you know, apart from us, it’s only older students auditioning to be Snow Maidens.”

      Holly stared out of the window, suddenly wrapped up in a memory of the first time she’d ever seen The Nutcracker. Her mum had taken her to the theatre when she was only five, and she could still remember the magic thrill inside her at the sight of the Prince and Clara, travelling through the Land of Snow in a glittering magic sleigh on their way to the Land of Sweets.

      But the Snow Maidens were even more magical than Clara and the Prince. They had seemed to float around the stage like the softest snowflakes as they’d danced.

      Holly sighed at the lovely memory as she broke out of her daydream, then began to put on her silver-white tutu over her pale tights.

      “Mum said the Waltz of the Snowflakes is very difficult,” Holly told her friend. “She said it’s important to listen to

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