Name of the chapter is self-explanatory. Here's the chapter. Hope you guys like it!
After hours of begging Miss Dianne to leave the dance studio open, Riku and Ryo-oki dug through the collection of music Miss Dianne had sitting in the backroom. They were going to do the classical, Sora and Kairi the tap, and Effie and Jacob—a pair they drafted for it—were going to do the modern. Tossing another hip-hop CD behind them, Ryo-oki gave a sad sigh.
"How we doing on CDs?" Kairi asked, walking into the backroom with a couple cans of pop. She handed Ryo-oki a juice, since she wasn't a fan of soda. "Need to raid my stash at home?"
Riku gratefully accepted his soda. "Well, we found a couple that we aren't sure about for you guys, but we haven't found one for the classical or the modern."
Just then, a girl with strawberry blond hair walked in and pulled out of her a pocket a CD. "We'll be using this," she said calmly. Ryo took it and placed it into the boom box next to them.
First a voice came on and said, "What can I do for you?" and the music started. A steady beat played. Finally, the main part played in Japanese.
"Real Emotion?" Riku inquired, blandly. "You sure that's a good idea, Effie...?"
Effie grinned broadly. "We've been preparing a dance to this for forever! We'll do it!"
"It sounds more like it'd be for Hip-hop or Jazz dances..." Kairi pointed out. "I don't think you'd be able to do much with it..."
Effie shrugged and pulled out a water bottle. "You guys are only paying me in chocolate."
"That's because you wouldn't work for anything BUT chocolate!" laughed a voice behind her. Jacob stuck his head in. He had dark, tanned skin and even darker brown eyes, but that was because he was always outside. His hair was brown, but once again, was streaked blond in places because of his outdoors obsession. He only started taking dance because his basketball coach forced the team to. The team folded four years before, and yet he was still taking dance. Whatever reason was beyond the group, but he was definitely a welcome member of their team for the contest.
Kairi hit the stop button and put the CD back into its case. "So, what were your ideas for us to dance to?" she asked, sifting through the discs. She stopped. "'Every time we Touch'?"
Riku grinned smugly. "It's you and Sora, after all."
Ryo-oki was still skimming the different music Miss Dianne had piled around. Finally, she pulled one down from the shelf. "What did Ansem mean by classical anyway? Just moves or music too?" she questioned, flipping the case over a few times in her hand, inspecting it slightly.
"Why do you ask?" Riku glanced at the CD. "Eyes on Me?"
Ryo-oki nodded. "It's one of my favorite songs of all time. Think we could pull it off?"
Tapping the case thoughtfully, he considered the speed, the song, the music, and what they could possible do to make it work. "I guess we could manage it. We'd have to get a lot of practice though."
"Then let's start now!" Sora yelled, running in. He slipping on the carpeting because of his tap shoes and crashed into the wall with the CDs. Every case fell onto the floor. "But first, let's clean up!"
Riku hit Sora on the head. "Damn it Sora! We don't have time for this! If Ansem wins... he'll destroy everything!" He turned away, not wanting anyone to see the tears that were forming in his eyes. "He'll use me to do it too..."
"I won't let that happen!" Ryo-oki said, picking up the CD cases. "We have to get to practicing!"
Once the CDs were back where they belonged, the group went into one of the rooms. Effie was fiddling with the stereo. "We'll do that tap number, since that'll take the most work. Sora sucks at dancing."
Kairi listened to the song once through. Then, when they played it again, she started fooling around with the steps. She waited for the first two lines, and then started shuffling her feet and scuffing out some rhythms. Satisfied with the idea, she repeated the beginning and taught Sora the basic idea.
The music got faster for the chorus, and Kairi grabbed Sora's hand to test a move. She spun so that it looked like Sora had pulled her into a hug, much to his surprise. Then she spun away so their hands created something of an arch. Kairi let go and did some Maxy Ford turns, shuffling her feet and then spinning as she jumped to tap her toe. She told Sora he had to do the turn at the same time in the opposite direction for it to look right. When the line "Can't you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last!" came up, Kairi put her hands over her heart, and moved them back and forth, signaling the line.
Once the dance had been put together, Kairi sat down and pulled out her water bottle. "All right," she breathed. "What did you guys think, and who's next?"
They all agreed that it was amazing Kairi choreographed it so quickly. Effie and Jacob were next up.
The first line played, and then they started doing Balancés (a rocking step where you move from one foot to the other in a bouncing motion) and then a bunch of spins. Effie placed two hands on one of Jacob's, like she was balancing, and lifted her back high into the air. They mixed a lot of jazz with the classical Ballet. It was a good thing Modern was on of the categories, or else they'd never have been able to put the dance into the contest.
Next up was Riku and Ryo-oki. They nodded to each other, not having any idea of what they'd do. Their music started up. When the first notes played they started moving exaggeratedly slow. They stayed together in the Pas de Duex, (Dance for Two) holding the other's hand the entire time. Finally, when the words started, Ryo Chaînés (a series of turns on the points or demi-points done in a straight line or in a circle) away from Riku. She jumped into the air and did a few beats (jump into the air and move one foot in front of the other and back before landing). They continued slowly throughout the song, and finally, the last not played, with Riku and Ryo-oki posed together. Ryo was on her points, arms in fifth (rounded above the head) and Riku was holding her waist to help her balance.
Everyone applauded, shocked that this was the first time they'd done it. Even Riku was surprised that they'd danced a dance that would have taken weeks of planning perfectly on the first try. Ryo-oki smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, making Riku blush furiously, and Sora start snickering. Kairi quickly silenced him with a bop on the head.
"Sora and I have to practice more, but it looks like everyone else has it down-pat!" she said with a grin. "Let's get some lunch and keep practicing, k?"
Everyone agreed that lunch sounded pretty good. They'd gotten up early to find a CD, a three hour search through Miss Dianne's amazing collection, and most had skipped breakfast. They headed over to the nearby Fridays.
Credits:
I used the ABT Dictionary online for the spellings and basic definitions on the Ballet dance steps.
I do not own "Every time we Touch". I hear it on the radio a lot, and like it. No idea who sings it.
"Eyes on Me" is from Final Fantasy VIII.
"Real Emotion" is from Final Fantasy X-2.
The restaurant Fridays belongs to... Whoever owns Fridays.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter will probably be the end... Wow... Anywho, I now have a new appreciation for my dance teachers. It's HARD to choreograph a dance. That's why I got lazy and only matched a couple of moves to the song. You can insert just about anything you want when I don't say what's there. Anywho, see you next time!