[Performing Arts Centre] One, two three. One, two, three

[Anouk]

3rd Spring, 515AV

Professor Leon Zeaumont greeted Anouk incredibly enthusiastically, hand outstretched and an excited smile on his face, "You must be Anouk. It's nice to meet you!" He grabbed the Konti's limp hand before she could even prepare herself for the wave of desires that would undoubtedly hack into her mind. What she sensed was really quite heart-warming: her professor wished her to succeed, for him to recruit another soul into the world of performing arts. There were further desires associated with this, lying deeper in Leon's mind, but he broke contact before Anouk could touch them.

"Yes, nice to meet you too."

She barely finished her sentence before her professor turned dramatically away from her, gesturing to the large stage they stood. "Fantastic place, isn't it?" The Konti nodded timidly, somewhat astounded by her professor's bouncing energy and confidence, "as a student of mine, you'll almost definitely be making a debut performance here by the end of the season. If you continue to study with me after that point, your part and contribution to the performance will only grow and grow."

The idea of performing in less than a season terrified Anouk. She had been aware of the perquisite before signing up for the class, so it was no real surprise. But now, as she stood on the stage, staring at all those empty seats...

"Impossible."

"Hm?" Leon leant towards her, eyebrow arched in confusion.

"Oh, sorry," Anouk realised suddenly that she had spoken in her mother tongue. Nervously, switching back to Common, she translated: "It...is impossible," she said shakily, all too aware of her Kontinese accent and lack of confidence in her Common.

The young man smiled and patted her arm comfortingly. He must have student from all over the place, she guessed, so a language barrier would be a thing he was used to working with. Music and dance is a universal language, Anouk's mother used to say. The young Konti hoped Niva Pavarti was correct.

"Don't worry, all of my students say that. I'm sure even I did, once upon a time." The human offered, speaking as if he truly believed his youth was far behind him. To Anouk, the man was barely out of his childhood. "But you'll see, soon we'll have you oozing with confidence."

I don't think 've ever oozed with anything, she thought drolly, but offered her professor her best enthusiastic smile.

[Anouk]

"But first! We must stretch. It is important to do so before we dance and afterwards."

He gestured to Anouk to stand beside him. After she had done so, Leon outstretched both hands in front of him, palms open. Anouk copied him, wincing as she rested her fingers against his. Trying to ignore the swelling desires and wishes that flooded her mind, she paid close attention to his instruction. "Step your left leg backwards, keeping it flexed but straight - yes, like that. And bend your right leg. I'll do the same, but opposite legs. And push against me. Push, push, push!"

The Konti applied her weight against the professor's hands, bending her right leg and feeling her hip and calf muscles stretch out. She continued stretching until he said "And hold! Back straight, don't slouch."

She tried to remain perfectly still for as long as she could muster, but soon her hairline started dampen with sweat and her legs began to shake. Leon clearly sensed her strain, and the dancer told his student to switch legs. He did the same.

"And now another stretch. Copy me."

Leon stood on one leg, bending his left backwards and catching his foot in his hand. He stood perfect, upright and stiff as a board. Anouk mimicked him, but almost immediately her balance began crooked and she had to hop around to stop herself from falling. Her professor chuckled. "All in good time, Anouk." He offered his arm, and Anouk appreciatively held on for good measure.

Their final stretch thankfully did not require balance, and instead loosened Anouk's thighs and arms. She now felt pleasantly warm and loose, and ready for dance.

"Now," Leon began, clapping his hands together and turning to Anouk with a bright gaze. "Do you have any experience in dance?"

"Some." She shrugged out her answer, then continued: "my sisters and I... we took some classes as girls. Nothing much."

The professor nodded slowly, eyes narrowed in thought. "Right. So you have some basic experience, yes? Good. Let's start at the basics, with the waltz."

[Anouk]

Anouk did not have to wait long before further instructions came. Leon positioned himself opposite her, their feet separated by two steps or so. "The waltz centres around the Left Box step, where one's feet creates a box. It also follows a three-point beat. See?" The professor twisted himself to face away from Anouk, then proceeded to demonstrate the steps of a waltz. He stepped his left foot forwards before bringing his right forwards and diagonal, resulting in his standing with his feet approximately shoulder-width apart. Finally, Leon bought his left foot beside his right. It seemed slow - easy, even - much to Anouk's relief.

"See? Three steps, resulting in a box-shape made on the floor. Now, as a woman, you will do the reverse." The professor bought himself to stand opposite to Anouk once again, "when I step my left foot forwards, you'll step your right foot back." Again he moved slowly, hovering his foot above Anouk's so she had no real choice but to step it backwards. "Good, good! And when I step sideways, you'll do the same with your right foot."

Anouk mimicked her professor's steps, her eyes downcast to watch her own movements. They continued with the steps for several more turns, counting aloud together to keep up a slow rhythm. One the tenth or so attempt, Leon clasped his hands togeter. "Excellent, well done. But of course, when we dance the waltz, we do so holding each other. Which brings us to our next lesson. The waltz hold."

[Anouk]

It was this part of the lesson that Anouk had been dreading: prolonged skin-to-skin contact with her professor. The onslaught of desires would overwhelm her, giving her migraine and overtime mouldering her own wishes to match Leon's. The one downside to being as blessed as our people, her mother would say.

Fortunately, Anouk had come prepared. Excusing herself for a tick, she turned away from Leon and ferretted around in her bag. She retrieved a pair of lace gloves. "The gift I have centres around touch," she explained, embarrassment fringing on the edge of her voice. The Konti blushed, but Leon smiled graciously before continuing with his lesson.

"The waltz utilises the ballroom hold," the young professor was saying, extending his left hand towards Anouk. His fingers were clasped together, his thumb pointing upwards. With a skinny finger, Leon traced down the 'V' of the gap between his forefinger and thumb, "place your hand here, please."

Anouk did so, and Leon pressed her fingers down to ensure she held her hand properly atop his. "my other hand will go on your left shoulder blade, yes?" After the Konti nodded her consent, the professor snaked his right hand under her arm, resting it gently on the back of her shoulder. Her left arm stuck out awkwardly. "Place your hand on my shoulder, fingers pointing towards my neck. Relax your arm slightly, be fluid but formed. Good, good.

And now, we dance!" He gave her a gentle push, urging Anouk to step backwards on her left foot as they practised before. Her movements were jolty and clumsy. More than once, Anouk forgot her steps and had to come to a complete stop, blushing profusely and apologising in Common and Kontinese. Leon was patient and encouraging, reassuring Anouk whenever she seemed unsure and praising her on the rare occasions she completed the three waltz steps without stopping or tripping up.

[Anouk]

"That was excellent, well done!" He clapped his hands before bending downwards to bow towards Anouk. Giggling, she curtsied in return. Leon was by the far the most supprtive of the professors she had met, and his compliments so far seemed genuine rather than patronising, "for the second part of your lesson, I will partner you with another student, so I can observe and make comment on your posture. Yes?"

Anouk nodded, but the idea of dancing with another student did not sit well with the Konti. Her dancing was not up to scratch yet to be seen by someone else other than her professor. Leon must have noticed her displeasure: "Don't worry, he's another student. He's had an introductory lesson as well, but it's difficult for males to learn how to lead without a following partner."

Well, dancing with another amateur is better than dancing with a professional.

Shortly after the ringing of chimes to indicate the time had changed from the thirteenth bell to the fourteenth, the door to the performing arts centre opened. A young man stood in the doorway, and after raising his hand up in a silent greeting, he made his way onto the stage. "Ah, wonderful. Anouk, this is Theo. Theo, Anouk. The two of you have now had the same number of lessons as each other, so you should be up to speed to dance."

The two students regarded each other, both equally anxious. Leon strode across the stage, taking a seat in a wooden chair that stood to the side. "Today, you'll just dance the waltz with no music. You remember the steps, Theo? Good. It's important that we knock out any bad habits earlier on, so as you develop as performers you do so without issue."

There was that word again: performers. Anouk danced because she enjoyed it, not to perform or entertain others. The thought of strangers watching her still sent nervous shivers down the Konti's spine.

But now wasn't the time for nerves. Theo stood opposite Anouk, left arm reached out towards her. She slipped her hand over his, placing her other on his opposite shoulder. When they had taken the correct stance, Leon told them to start dancing.

Anouk moved her right foot backwards instead of her left, so Theo ended up stomping on her toes. After much apologising and laughing - more from Leon than either student - they started again. Their professor counted for each of their steps, maintain a slow rhythm. "One, two, three. One, two, three."

They danced in a circle, spiralling slowly around the stage. Leon stood up from his seat, began following the pair and touching Anouk's spine or Theo's elbow to improve their positioning. "We want to be tall and elegant, Anouk, not hunched like an old hag. There, much better."

[Anouk]

Their dancing was improving, though it was not without fault. Both Anouk and Theo paid more attention to their feet than each other, but the professor nevertheless seemed pleased with their progress.

"Now, let's add some flourishes." He decided, after it seemed to Anouk and Theo that they had danced around in their circle almost a thousand times. "The box turn is one of the basic flourishes to add to a waltz. It not only changes the direction of the dance, but it also helps beginners to form that slow rise and fall that comes with the waltz." Leon demonstrated briefly the two students, positioning his body stiffly so it seemed he was holding an invisible dance partner. Again he was counting his steps aloud so Anouk and Theo could keep track. "On the second step, just as we cross diagonally, I want you to turn both your bodies to the left and then lead in that direction with your second step."

He demonstrated again. When his left foot stepped forward, Leon twisted his body around to the left, before leading in the same direction with his right foot. The professor finished the dance normally: by bringing both feet together. "When you both cross over to the left, keep your leading knee flex, bending it downwards as you move to the left and raising again before you finish on the third step."

It sounded easy enough, but Anouk soon realised that she had underestimated the difficulty of this next task. The first step was simple, easy and well practised. But the turn complicated things dramatically. Theo guided Anouk to the left, but on their first attempt, she carried the turn on and bumped into Theo's side.

They started again.

This time it was Theo who mistimed the turn, bringing himself up to far so he ended up yanking Anouk a step too far. After he'd held her steady so she wouldn't fall, the tall male apologised profusely.

"Shyke, sorry. Who knew it would be this petchin' hard?"

The Konti was equally exhausted and frustrated, but she managed to throw him a kind smile and reply, "oh don't apologise. I must have stomped on your feet half a dozen times."

One their fifth attempt, Anouk and Theo managed to carry the half turn off without error. Though they should have continued the dance, the two students were too busy celebrating to bother. They hugged, laughed and sighed with exhaustion.

"My arm hurts."

"My back aches."

Leon tutted loudly, but he was smiling regardless. "You two will have to build up your strength if your going to perform together on stage."

Anouk threw her partner a glance, and was relieved when he seemed just as terrified as she. "Perhaps we can be backing dancers." She suggested hopefully, but Leon was less enthusiastic.

[Dravite]

Anouk

XP Award:

• Socialisation: 4
• Dancing: 5
• Endurance: 2
• Observation: 3
• Rhetoric: 1

Lore:

• Leon Zeaumont: The Preforming Arts Professor
• Dance: A universal language
• Dance: The importance of stretching
• Dance: Balance
• Dance: Left box-step of the waltz
• Anouk: The dread of skin-to-skin contact
• Using gloves to block the Konti Gift
• Dance: Correct hand grip for waltz
• Leon Zeaumont: A patient teacher
• Theo: An amateur dance partner
• Dance: Catching mistakes early to eliminate error later on
• Dance: The waltz box-turn

Penalties:
Anouk’s muscles will be sore tomorrow.

Loot:
N/A

Notes: Another beautifully executed thread and a very enjoyable read. Let me know if you think I have missed anything here and be sure to edit your grading request!

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