Keep It Crescendo
Chapter 8: NYCDR Tryouts
Thanks for all the feedback guys, I don't have an anecdote for y'all today. Just enjoy the story.
If you were to travel to Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Inland Empire, or heck, even the Bay Area, and you told someone that Sonic the Hedgehog had lost a dance competition… they would probably think you're crazy.
But he did. He lost, in public. And on purpose.
Why? Well...
She needed the money more than he did.
He came to the realization when he saw her limping onto the platform. His mind had drifted back to the conversation Cream had with Tails in their apartment. The less money she had, the harder it would be to steer away from Scourge. He couldn't bear to take advantage of her twisted ankle to beat her. It wouldn't be fair, and besides, that's boring competition.
Sonic was competitive, but he was also a good sport. If he was going to lose in something, he would want it to be against someone capable of giving him a run for his money. Otherwise, it wouldn't be winning.
If he would have done the contrary, and beaten Amy despite her injured ankle — not only would it feel like a stolen win, but he would also feel emotionally awful. Who knows how much of a difference that money will make in her life.
Sonic the Hedgehog lost, but he didn't feel like a sucker.
He didn't want her to know that he lost on purpose though. If she was anything like him, finding out he handed her the win would humiliate her and she'd no doubt get angry. "Do you think I'm not worthy enough of beating you on my own?" she'd probably ask.
And then what would he say? "No Amy. It's just that you need the money more than I do considering that you're barely living off every paycheck and I don't want to be more of a burden especially with that abusive boyfriend of yours blah blah blah."
Then she would ask how he knew all that, and she'd probably accuse him of spying and well... no thanks. She'd definitely take it the wrong way. It's best if she didn't know anything.
He heard a knock on his apartment door. He was in the process of packing for the dance competition when he heard it. It couldn't be Tails, considering that Sonic had given him his own key just in case he needed anything and Sonic wasn't home.
He opened the door and was faced with Knuckles, who was leaning against the doorway.
"Oh! Hey Knuckles, come in!"
Knuckles chuckled, "Thanks, but I won't be here long. Rouge and I wanted to invite you to our annual Halloween party. Tails and Cream already said they were coming, and it'd be nice to have you there too. It won't be anything big, since we're busy with wedding preparations. But I was just wondering if you wanted to join us."
Knuckles handed him an invitation, which Sonic took happily. "Yeah, sounds fun, count me there!"
"Great," Knuckles nodded as he noticed Sonic's suitcase lying on the couch. "Are you going to the NYCDR tryouts this weekend?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Sonic asked.
"Rouge and I are going too, to support Amy. It's good to know that another guy is going to be there. You'd think Amy constantly third wheels Rouge and I, but the reality is that it's me who third wheels them."
"You support Amy but not me? Wow, I see how it is," Sonic chuckled playfully.
"Rouge would kill me if she found out I was supporting another studio that isn't Amy's, sorry bro. I'll cheer you on for this competition, but when NYCDR comes around, I'll be rooting for Amy."
"Yeah, I get it. No worries. Too bad she's not going to win," Sonic smirked.
"Oooo," Knuckles said as he lifted his hands up in defense. "Someone's confident."
Sonic shrugged to the side, causing Knuckles to laugh.
"Well we'll see you there, I need to get back so that we can leave on time. Later Sonic."
"Later Knuckles," Sonic waved.
Amy wished she didn't have to see Sonic during the weekend, but it was like the universe was turned against her.
Why had he let her win? Was she not good enough for him? Oh she'll show him! She was SO going to show him! Suddenly her dislike towards Sonic grew to about 80%. What a narcissistic, cocky, self-centered, conceited, egocentric, self-obsessed jerk!
She puffed her cheeks and let out a long breath of air. Sonic the Hedgehog was SO going down this weekend, she'll make sure of that!
"Listen up everyone!" she announced, catching the attention of the students in her bus. "I've met the competition's choreographer. His name is Sonic the Hedgehog and he was hired by Eggman to lead his studio's Varsity team. To put it simply, they're good, but NOT as good as you are. Show Sonic and his team what Keep It Crescendo is made of this weekend. They won't know what hit 'em, I promise you! Lemme hear how excited you are!"
The students cheered, pumping their fists in the air. The group's captain, Bunnie Rabbot, stood and cheered, "WHEN I SAY KEEP IT, YOU SAY CRESCENDO! KEEP IT—"
"CRESCENDO!"
"KEEP IT!"
"CRESCENDO!"
"KEEP IT!"
"CRESCENDO!"
Amy cheered along with them, feeling pride for her students.
Oh yes, Sonic was going DOWN!
To Antoine D'Coolette, dancing was a state of the art. A way to express yourself without utilizing words. He himself was a professional waltz dancer in Paris, France. He was the best of the best, if he said so himself. He was happy to be one of the judges in the NYCDR Competition. He knew his feedback could be of use to some of these dancers and their choreographers. Oh yes, the choreographers. The heart of every dance routine. If a team did bad in terms of technicality, he would pin it on the choreographer. Never the dancer, but the choreographer, that was his motto.
He was happy to be working with Sally Acorn, a successful salsa dancer from the Latin Americas. She was skilled, quick on her feet, and very smart. She saw herself as fair, and able to give constructive feedback without making someone feel awful.
Silver the Hedgehog, a famous hip hop dancer from Seattle, Washington was more lenient. He remembered a time where people doubted his abilities, and look at where he was today. He didn't want to crush anybody's dreams, and hoped to give as much positive feedback as possible.
Twenty teams were competing, and only five were going to make it to the official competition. The first day consisted of the first round, where only ten teams would make the cut by the end of the day. They had four minutes to dance, and two minutes for feedback.
"We have two teams from New York City competing," Sally noted as she eyed the list of teams on a piece of paper.
Silver and Antoine looked over her shoulder.
"Oh look," Silver exclaimed. "It's Keep It Crescendo. They're good, they made it to Top 5 last year."
"Eggman Studios…" Antoine muttered. "Such an odd name for a dance studio. I'd change it if I were them."
"Don't be rude Antoine, it might be someone's name," Sally told him.
Antoine scoffed, "Poor thing, whoever has that name. If that were my name, I would lock myself in my home until I was old enough to go to the registry and change it."
Sally rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Who's up first?" Silver asked.
"A studio from Manhattan."
"Shadow! You came?" Amy asked as she embraced the hedgehog.
"You think I'd miss this? And also, Rouge showed up at my apartment this morning and dragged me here," Shadow glared at Rouge, who gave him a cheeky smile.
"Hey! Knuckie needs to talk to SOMEONE while I'm gossiping with Amy, unless you want to join in on the gossip."
"No thanks," Shadow crossed his arms. "I guess it's you and me Knuckles."
Knuckles nodded, "Thank goodness."
"Hey! We're great!" Rouge exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around Amy.
Amy wasn't smiling. Her eyes were trained on the blue hedgehog that walked out of his studio's bus, holding a clipboard and a pencil over his ear. His emerald eyes flickered towards her own, and he winked, causing her to cross her arms and whip her head away with a hmph.
"You alright Rose?" Shadow asked, turning his head and noticing Sonic, who was speaking to one of his students.
"Peachy," she answered.
"Oh, by the way Amy, Knuckles and I invited Big Blue to the Halloween Party. Just a heads up," Rouge notified her.
Amy scoffed and turned her head, "What? You invited the enemy to our event!"
"You seem to get along with him well during our wedding meetups," Knuckles scratched his head. "We didn't mean to make you upset."
"Oh ignore her, she's just being competitive right now," Rouge waved him off.
"I'm not even sure if I should go," Amy frowned.
"Why not?" Rouge exclaimed. "You can't abandon me just because we invited Sonic!"
"It's not him, it's Scourge. He's going to want to come."
Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge's expressions soured. Amy sighed.
"He's mad that he wasn't invited to the wedding. If I tell him he can't come to the Halloween Party, he's going to get mad."
"Rose, forgive me for saying this. But if that bastard does anything as little as glare at you, I'm going to break his face," Shadow warned.
"See, this is exactly why I don't think I should go," Amy lamented. "I don't want to ruin the party. You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves."
"What if you don't tell him?" Rouge asked.
"Yeah, do you HAVE to tell him you're coming?" Knuckles asked.
"It's Halloween, he's going to want to do something with me."
"Girl, did you even check my invitation?" Rouge asked. "Knuckie and I need to meet with the wedding planner on the 31st, so we made the party on the 30th."
Amy blinked, and scratched the back of her head nervously, "Sorry, I've been busy."
"It's alright, so, can you come?" Rouge asked.
Amy hummed, "I think I might be able to make it happen."
Everyone was seated in the order in which they were performing. Keep It Crescendo was performing before Eggman Studios, so they sat in front of them. Knuckles and Shadow sat in front of Sonic, and Amy watched as Knuckles introduced Shadow to Sonic. Knuckles and Sonic suddenly laughed at something while Shadow snorted.
Sonic's laugh irritated her. His smile irritated her, especially that grin of his. Ugh, he irritated her in general.
"Staring at Big Blue?"
Amy froze and whipped her head to look at Rouge. "W-What?"
Rouge smirked, "He's kind of cute, don't you think?"
"Excuse me, aren't you engaged?" Amy rose an eyebrow.
"Oh honey, I'm not checking him out, I'm stating a simple fact. Besides, you shouldn't worry about me. Strong, hot headed echidnas will always be my type."
"Hmph," Amy crossed her arms.
"You haven't answered my question."
"I have a boyfriend!" Amy exclaimed.
Rouge gave her a half lidded look, clearly unamused. "Uh huh, right. Scourge definitely counts. He's so great, that he's outranked Justin Beaver on the 'great boyfriend' list and was even given the privilege to talk to prisoners on Prison Island about how great he treats you."
Amy rolled her eyes, "Scourge may be an asshole, but he's far from being a criminal."
"Stop avoiding my question."
Amy let out a whine, causing Rouge to snicker. "You're not letting it go are you?"
"Do you even know me?" Rouge answered.
Amy sighed. "He's…" she started. "Intolerable."
Rouge laughed, "Oh you are SO into him."
"AM NOT!" Amy exclaimed, catching the eye of some of her students and her friends.
Sonic made eye contact with her, and with one word to Knuckles, began walking toward her.
"This should be interesting," Rouge analyzed.
"Nervous?" Sonic asked as he leaned behind her on her seat. He was grinning, and oh she wanted to punch him in the face.
"Me? Never," she waved him off. "Are you?"
He shrugged, "I'm nervous, but for you. I don't think you're used to losing, and it's going to hurt seeing you so distraught when you end up losing NYCDR."
"Is that the only reason you're here? To taunt me? Very mature."
He laughed, "You're so easy to rile up, it's hilarious."
"I am not riled up!"
"Then why are you pouting so much?"
"I am not pouting," she crossed her arms.
"Got something on your shirt," he said as he pointed at it.
Amy looked own, only to be flicked on the nose by Sonic, who walked back to his seat with a wave of laughter coming out of his mouth. Amy flared up and her cheeks grew pink, "Oh I am SO gonna get him back for that!"
She turned to look at Rouge, "Can you believe him?"
Rouge slyly smirked, "Oh I believe something alright, and it's a little something I like to call sexual tension."
Amy whacked her on the shoulder with her clipboard.
The Manhattan Renaissance had just finished their dance routine, and the audience paid close attention to the judges and their feedback, especially the choreographers. Know the judge, Amy always told herself. She did her research on all three judges beforehand and created a dance routine that she believed would appeal to all three.
Antoine scribbled on his clipboard and then set his pen down, eyeing the dancers with critical eyes. "Who is your choreographer?"
"I am," an armadillo claimed.
"Mighty, correct?" Antoine asked.
"Correct."
"Tell me Mighty, have you ever given your students a ballet lesson?" Antoine asked as he fixed the helm of his coat.
"Uh—"
"Because your students were incredibly stiff. As the choreographer, it is your job to teach your students how to loosen up. You can do this through yoga, ballet, or stretching. Do this, and you will see vast improvement. I'm sorry, but I will not be nominating you for the next round. Good day."
Amy noticed a few of her dancers shiver, and she whispered a few words of encouragement. Sonic uttered a small curse, "Damn…"
"Hey, I thought they did good," Silver argued. "Your coordination was really good. I liked that. Staying in sync shows unity, keep up the good work."
"I agree with Silver on your coordination, but I also agree with Antoine. You did seem a bit stiff, I highly recommend you stretch before coming on stage. It truly does make a difference," Sally advised. "Thank you very much, we will inform you of the results when all studios have performed."
Mighty and his group nodded as they exited the stage, some looking more solemn than others.
"Tough panel," Knuckles whispered to Shadow, who nodded in agreement. "Especially that Antoine guy."
"Hmph, he's probably a real joy to have around at parties."
Knuckles snorted.
After a few more groups performed, and received scrutiny from Antoine, it was finally time for Keep It Crescendo to head backstage.
Sonic wished Amy luck, and she turned to scowl at him, but noticed that he was being sincere.
Her scowl faded, "You too."
"Next up we have Amy Rose and Keep It Crescendo," Sally announced.
Amy gave Bunnie a nod, who let out a long deep breath and sashayed onto the stage. Missy Elliott's I'm Better began playing and Bunnie smoothly wormed her way through the choreography. This segment of the piece was supposed to appeal to Antoine. Amy wanted to demonstrate that her dancers did pay attention to detail and technicality.
She heard many of the dancers in the crowd cheering for Bunnie, and she felt pride for her. This was the most rewarding part about being a choreographer. To see your students improve so quickly in just a week and being rewarded for their talent. These competitions were what reminded her why she was willing to put up with so much.
She watched Antoine, who kept a straight face and wrote a few notes in his notebook. He was hard to read, but at least he wasn't scribbling as furiously as he did with the other contestants.
Suddenly, the song switched, and all her students danced onto the stage to the song Rompe by Daddy Yankee. Amy muttered a cheer to herself when she noticed Sally perk up in interest. Sally smiled, this was the first latin song she had heard all night, and she was honestly pleased.
Silver was bopping his head to the song, which wasn't surprising, considering that he had been rockin' out to most songs from every performance.
The song switched to I'mma Shine by Youngbloodz, in which Silver completely lit up. This was the song that had given his dance career a big break. Amy knew this, and gave herself a mental pat on the back.
From where he was sitting, Sonic watched with horror as Keep It Crescendo completely dominated the stage, and by extension, the competition. They were good. Damn… they were real good. And Amy's song choices were on the nose. He had expected success, but he didn't think it'd be this much success.
They finished their piece and the crowd burst into cheers, and Amy walked onto the stage with her students. The judges were writing down last minute notes before the three made eye contact with them.
"Can I start?" Silver asked. "Can I just say… wow… you all blew me away! That was amazing! Great song choices, great choreography, great talent. Wow, I'm speechless. You all have a bright future awaiting you."
Amy beamed and turned to look at Sally, who was smiling sincerely, "I have to agree with Silver. You all did amazing. I compliment your use of latin music. It lacks representation, and you've all demonstrated to me that you're well rounded, and capable of dancing to pretty much anything. One thing I would say is to watch your facial expressions. Stay in character. But other than that, I was pleased with what I saw."
Antoine cleared his throat, and eyed the line up sheet. "Hm, where is the choreographer?"
Amy raised her hand.
"Miss. Rose, I have one thing to say to you," he said as he suddenly smiled and stood up, applauding her. Amy heard Bunnie and a few of her other dancers squeal in excitement. The crowd cheered.
"I applaud you, and you want to know why?" he asked. "It's because you, my dear, pay attention to detail. Most choreographers focus on the spectacle and the grand finale. That is superficial, and there is nothing special about it. I am pleased with your performance. I do have a few small critiques though. I am glad Miss. Acorn addressed the facial expressions, because I also noticed that. I would also like to advise you to work on your entrances. It appeared a little rusty when you walked in to dance the latin song."
Amy nodded, and they exited the stage. At some point while they were receiving feedback, Sonic and Eggman Studios had gone backstage. Amy passed by him and sent him a wink, in which he rolled his eyes.
"You underestimate me, Miss. Rose. Do not underestimate me," Sonic told her.
Amy waved him off and headed back into the audience with her dancers, whispering encouraging and congratulatory words to them. Rouge squealed when she returned to her seat, and Knuckles gave her a thumbs up. Shadow watched her fondly, and nodded in approval to her.
The lights dimmed and the audience went silent.
16 Shots by Stefflon Don played, the song Sonic had been teaching them earlier in the week. The crowd cheered automatically. His dancers were all in sync. He eyed their facial expressions and smiled as he noticed them all keep the facial expressions he had asked them to use. They must have taken Antoine's advice about Amy's group to heart.
The song switched to Fall Into You by Cosmic Gate, and Sonic swallowed inaudibly. He knew using EDM was risky, especially considering that this was the segment that was supposed to appeal to Antoine. His students struggled the most with this piece, but the day prior they had mastered it near perfection. He hoped they didn't forget their steps.
He watched Antoine closely, who observed the group curiously. He wasn't writing any notes, and Sonic sincerely hoped that was a good sign.
The song changed and his dancers with the exception of Marine and Charmy slowly kneeled, directing their attention to the two dancers in question.
Hikaru Michi played, and Marine, in the beautiful white dress she had hidden under her coat, twirled around the stage. The purpose of this segment was for Charmy and Marine to tell a story through their dancing and facial expressions.
The audience was dead silent, completely intrigued with the beauty of the performance. Marine and Charmy had Sally, Silver, and Antoine's full attention, with neither of them turning away to write notes.
Amy too, was intrigued. Her mouth was wide open. Where did Sonic come up with this choreography? What was his inspiration? How could Sonic, the arrogant hedgehog with the annoying grin, come up with something as beautiful as this?
As soon as the song ended, the crowd burst into cheers. Silver and Sally gave them a standing ovation, and after a few seconds, Antoine also stood, and applauded the group with utter gratification and joy.
Sonic walked onto the stage, and put his arm around his tallest dancer, eyeing the judges with anticipation.
"That was… what was that?" Silver asked, directing his attention to the other judges. "Look, I don't know what that was, but it was the best darn lyrical routine I had ever seen in my life time. Hands down! You all did a great job!"
"The lyrical component saved you, I'll be honest," Antoine confessed. "I am not a fan of utilizing EDM as a form of dance. EDM is its own art, but I appreciate the risk."
"I disagree completely!" Sally exclaimed. "Your EDM routine was one of my favorites I've seen tonight, and I encourage you to keep experimenting with other forms of music. It's unique, and that's what's going to make your studio stand out."
Silver nodded in agreement, "Nice facial expressions!"
"Ah yes, the facial expressions were perfect," Antoine nodded. "I do appreciate a studio that listens to our advice. It demonstrates character and willingness to grow. Mr. The Hedgehog, congratulations, you should be very proud of your group."
"I am," Sonic smiled.
"They're good," Amy heard Bunnie whisper to one of her colleagues. "They're better than I thought. We got competition."
Amy crossed her arms, indeed they did.
There was an intermission before all the groups needed to return to the auditorium to hear the results. The three judges stood on the stage, facing the audience.
"There was a change of plans," Sally announced. "We will only be passing eight groups to the next round, and of those eight groups only three will be chosen to compete in NYCDR."
The crowd became uneased, many wondering why they had made that change.
"We have come to that decision because there were two groups in this room who exceeded our expectations, and instead of passing them to the next round, we will be passing them directly to NYCDR," Sally continued. "Silver and Antoine will be announcing these two groups."
Silver cleared his throat, "The first group that will be moving on to NYCDR… is Keep It Crescendo!"
Amy gasped, and Rouge grabbed her shoulders in excitement. Her dancers cheered loudly.
"The second group is the group that came right after them, Eggman Studios! My goodness, you do need to change that name," Antoine lamented.
Sonic cheered loudly with his group, who high fived each other in excitement. He eyed Amy, who smiled back at him. He nodded in acknowledgement.
"Do not make me regret nominating you to the final round," Antoine warned. "I hope you realize that the pressure your studios carry on your shoulders has now increased. I do not wish to be disappointed."
This was my absolute favorite chapter to write. I really enjoyed it. Let's try to squeeze 60 reviews here, c'mon guys we can do it! The more you review the faster I'll update ;D