Alma's Rainbow 1994

Rainbow Gold is a spirited and tomboyish teenager from Brooklyn, living with her single mother, Alma, who skillfully manages an in-house salon right from their cozy brownstone apartment. After school hours, Rainbow practices her dance moves alongside her friends, Pepper and Sea Breeze, in hopes of securing a coveted audition. As the day progresses, Alma prepares to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her salon with a lively party, where she invites her loyal clients and her boyfriend, Blue.

The festive gathering takes a turn when Alma’s sister and Rainbow’s aunt, Ruby, unexpectedly arrives after a decade, considering herself a glamorous nightclub singer reminiscent of Josephine Baker. This encounter piques Rainbow’s curiosity about Ruby’s life in show business, leading to a heartfelt connection between the two as Rainbow dreams of emulating her aunt’s glamorous lifestyle. However, when Rainbow’s dance partners fail to show up for a crucial practice, frustration overtakes her, and she decides to quit.

As the story unfolds, Rainbow’s academic performance begins to slip, resulting in tension between her and her mother. In a twist of events, Alma confronts Ruby, upset that her sister has awakened aspirations of fame and fortune in Rainbow. It comes to light that both Alma and Ruby once performed together as the Fabulous Flamingo Sisters, but Alma made the significant decision to step away from their partnership to focus on the salon, while Ruby pursued her dreams in Paris, taking their earnings in the process.

The plot thickens when Ruby plans a solo concert and extends invitations to both Rainbow and Alma. That night, Ruby surprises Rainbow by waking her from sleep just to critique her entrance for the upcoming audition. Inspired, the next morning, Rainbow styles herself to mirror her aunt’s charismatic persona, only to discover that Ruby has abruptly departed without so much as a word.

In a significant turn of events, Rainbow finds herself dancing at a nightclub, where an intimate moment with [Sea Breeze] transforms when she learns he lacks a condom, leading to a moment of unexpected realization. Meanwhile, the narrative runs parallel as Alma also engages in a brief encounter with Blue. Upon returning home, Rainbow faces an unsettling scene as she discovers her mother has spent the night with him. The next day, as Rainbow heads out to pursue her audition, Alma stays back, lost in the rhythms of her own passion as she scat-dances joyfully in her salon.