The Reel Wish

Eleven-year-old Florencia del Lago lives in the small Utah mountain town of Andromeda, where she trains at Madame Sophie's ballet conservatory. Her mother, Inés, grew up in Argentina wanting to be a ballerina but never had the chance, and she channels that unfulfilled dream into supporting Florencia. When Florencia auditions for the lead role of Clara in The Nutcracker, her performance dazzles the strict French instructor. Her best friend, Selena Beck, auditions next but falters. Florencia is named Clara, the youngest and first Latina to hold the role, while Selena is cast as the maid. Two dancers from Selena's charter school, Zoe and Tenlee, tell Florencia she does not look like Clara and accuse Madame Sophie of casting her to be "politically correct." Selena defends Florencia, and the friends affirm their bond.

The demands of the role overwhelm Florencia. Her grades plummet, and her father, Ricardo, who travels constantly selling medical equipment, threatens to pull her from dance. Late at night, Florencia overhears him tell Inés that Florencia is pursuing ballet for her mother's sake, not her own. Her older brother, Ariel, juggles school, a job, DJing, and competitive soccer with ease, deepening her sense of inadequacy. Before Thanksgiving, Madame Sophie publicly weighs the dancers and berates Selena for gaining five pounds, then showers Florencia with praise, revealing that a director from a New York dance school will attend opening night. Selena, rather than defending Florencia against Zoe and Tenlee's taunts, tells her she is lucky to be thin.

Opening night arrives amid black ice and family arguments. Stuck in traffic, Florencia sees an overturned van with a teenager and a child inside, an image that lodges in her mind. She arrives late and faces Madame Sophie's fury. Backstage, her legs freeze. She misses her cue, moves in the wrong direction, and her mind goes blank. Selena steps seamlessly into the role, having memorized the choreography from months of practicing with Florencia. Florencia throws up onstage in front of the sold-out audience and the New York director. Inés leads her offstage and erupts into a furious argument with Madame Sophie. Florencia faints.

The months that follow are a black hole. Florencia feels nothing. Selena takes over as Clara and never asks how Florencia is doing. Without dance, Florencia's days are empty. She begins weekly therapy with Dr. Philips and takes antianxiety medication. Inés takes a job as an office manager, and Florencia worries that financial strain forced her hand. When Selena visits for a sleepover, she reveals that Inés's public fight with Madame Sophie has permanently closed any door back to the studio. Florencia has another panic attack, and the two families' friendship fractures further.

Florencia pins her hopes on her twelfth birthday, planning a mall outing with Selena. Selena arrives with Zoe and Tenlee. At the mall, the three girls ignore Florencia and mock Inés's accented English. Selena hands Florencia unpaid-for items and asks her to hold them. When Florencia walks through the store, the security alarm sounds. Selena, caught trying to flee, proposes Florencia take the blame, arguing her dance career is already over while Selena's future role as Thumbelina is at stake. When Inés arrives, Selena loudly accuses Florencia of stealing. For the first time, instead of shutting down, Florencia lashes out in anger.

On the drive home, Ariel asks them to deliver his DJing equipment to a dance festival in Provo. There, Florencia stumbles into the world of Irish dance: hundreds of girls in colorful dresses, elaborate curly wigs, and sparkling tiaras, all radiating joy. She watches Olivia, a Latina dancer who has won the Irish dance World Championship three years running, and feels a spark of longing she thought she had lost. That night, Florencia sees the aurora borealis and makes a wish: to dance again, even if not ballet.

Gossip about the mall incident spreads through school. Florencia confronts Selena directly, but Selena delivers a rehearsed denial, blames Florencia's medication for causing paranoia, and calls her a bad influence. In therapy, Dr. Philips praises Florencia for standing up for herself and teaches her a visualization technique for shielding herself emotionally.

After saving Bandit, the Becks' dog, from traffic one Saturday, Florencia discovers a free beginner class at the Acadamh Eire Irish dance studio. Inés dismisses the idea, but Florencia sneaks out and walks to the studio alone. She discovers that a solitary boy from school, Larkin, is a dancer there. Miss Gianna, the warm Latina teacher, welcomes Florencia, lends her ghillies (soft Irish dance shoes), and leads a beginners' class. Florencia's body tingles with joy for the first time in months.

When Florencia confesses that she sneaked out, Inés is furious. Days later, Miss Gianna calls to say Florencia has real talent. A school lockdown caused by a bear in the neighborhood throws Florencia together with Larkin and Candy, the tall blond girl she has noticed sitting alone at lunch. The three hide in a janitor's closet and bond. Candy, who has type 1 diabetes, experiences a dangerous blood sugar drop; Florencia sprints for help and is praised on the local news. That evening, Inés agrees to let Florencia try Irish dance.

Florencia throws herself into learning the reel, a traditional Irish dance form, and practicing intricate footwork. Miss Gianna announces the Strawberry Feis, a beginner-level Irish dance competition, in June. The three friends deepen their bond over shared experiences of bullying. While walking her dog, Pinky, one night, Florencia finds chalk on the sidewalk in front of Selena's house reading "Florencia is a loser!"

Weeks later, Candy and Larkin reveal that an anonymous Instagram account called @TheRealClara has been posting old ballet photos of Florencia and a video filmed through her bedroom window, captioned with the hashtag #FlowersCantDance, alongside hundreds of cruel comments. Ariel comforts Florencia, telling her he is proud she has never given up.

In her backyard, Florencia encounters Selena, who looks thin and exhausted. Selena reveals her parents are divorcing and her mother is engaged to Zoe's father. She admits the Instagram account was Zoe's idea and that targeting Florencia "was just fun." When Florencia tells her calmly that she will inform Inés, Selena shoves her to the ground. Inés, Selena's mother Laura, and Zoe's father witness the aftermath. Florencia speaks up, naming the account and the cyberbullying. The account is deleted, and the parents intervene.

On the morning of the Strawberry Feis, Florencia wakes excited. She watches Larkin compete in a Blind Man special, a format in which judges cannot see the dancers and score solely by the sound of their footwork. He slips during a leap but is allowed to restart, and his second attempt electrifies the room. Standing under bright lights for her own turn, Florencia spots her family in the bleachers and her friends in the front row. Her old fears surge, but she takes a deep breath and hears her heartbeat, steady and strong. The music begins, and she dances, losing herself in the reel. Tears of triumph fall as she finishes. Her family greets her with flowers. Florencia reflects that the anxiety has not disappeared and its scars may never fully heal, but she knows how to live with them. She has her friends, she has Irish dance, and her real wish, to dance with joy, has come true.