And Then There Were Two

This girl is only seven inches tall. I'm thinking she needs some companions,  and some sort of London street scene, or magical forest to be walking through.

I want this piece to tell a story about aspirations, courage, and perseverance.  I'm using children to tell the story, but it's a story and a message that applies to all people of all ages. This girl in the foreground will embody the hopes, dreams and imaginings that we all feel deep down inside.
When I saw these dancers milling around in the lobby at Kroger, I was attracted to their costumes and all the beautiful colors and fabrics flowing around together. But when I got home and looked at the pictures more closely, it was the expressions on their faces that had me mesmerized. The differences among them seemed the perfect reflection of the differences among people in all walks and stages of life. Some of them seemed very intent on making sure they looked good. Others were absentmindly going through their dance steps. Several were gathered in little clusters, chatting happily, and looking at their phones. Only this girl had her eyes focused on the instructor... standing in her assigned spot... poised and somewhat apprehensive. She had an air of purpose about her, and an unmistakable pride that was not arrogant or self-serving. But she also had a look of doubt, as though she was not sure of what would happen next.

So far, I've tried to convey those feelings in subtle ways. By drawing her shoe untied, with the ribbons trailing and not tucked in properly, it reveals her naivity and suggests that she still makes mistakes. She is not an accomplished ballerina, perfectly polished and precise. She is not even the best among her troupe.  But she is the one with her eyes focused on a distant point while the others are absorbed in more trivial things.
The shabby clothing is symbolic of the hardships that people face. Whether real hardships or perceived hardships, we all have challenges that daunt us, and we can either summon our courage and conviction to overcome them, or we can succumb to those  hardships and let them hold us back from what we want to do.
The second girl is ready to be rendered in color now, and I plan to use more browns, olives, golds, and darker purples for her clothing. I'm still trying to figure out how to dull and darken her skintones without making them look muddy, so that she doesn't stand out as much as the first girl. I have a feeling that's going to be a struggle for me, as I tend to make everything too bright and cheery looking.  However, I thought the other girls' skin tones could reflect the drab olives and purples from the background, while our main character glows in the foreground?