Ballet

[Sally Kuang]

After knowing that there was a good ballet instructor in Wellington, Sally quickly asked for her father's permission to be apparated to New Zealand. She got up from her bed and wore her ballet uniform underneath her dress. She took her bag and place all the things she need there, including the iPod of hers, in case she had to dance and she prefer to dance with music that she liked. The girl was a big fan of Tchaikovsky, well the whole family were. She liked the choreography of the sugar plum fairy or other which requires a partner.

Sally smiled before leaving the manor and was apparated to Wellington. She walk toward the studio and opened the door, finding a lady sitting who seemed to be a muggle. "I have an appointment with Madeline Dela Merced" The seventeen years old said and followed the lady. She could hear the classical music being played, and could hear some instructors tapping their feet to the ground, making sure that the students knew the rhythm. In a minute, they stopped in front of a door, the lady pushed it and it led them to a huge studio. She walked inside and saw a lady not sure if she was Madeline or not. "Hi, I'm Sally. I've heard about you, and I would like to learn more from you" She smiled as and bowed instead of giving a hand to shook. Even though she was in Durmstrang, the girl liked bowing better than shooking other people's hand except if she insisted.

 

[Madeline Dela Merced]

It was another year for ballet dancing, her old students had come and is teach by another instructor while Madeline teaches the young and new students because she has more discipline than any other instructors that she had worked with, but some older girls who have watched her recitals have some favors for her to teach them herself. Guiding the new students which are six to eleven years old, she started to dance the Demi Plies and after, Madeline watched them do the same thing as she did, some was perfect and some were not. She waved her right hand as she she said to them over and over, "Demi Plie and then Grand Plie." Madeline teach them gracefully like any other ballet instructor would do.

She had passed all the girls when an older girl walked from behind her where the two big doors where. Madeline told the class to continue and she turned to the girl. "Hello, I'm Madeline myself, nice to meet you. Seems your old to be in the six to eleven years old class." She told her, looking straight into her eyes. Madeline might be scary on the first meeting but she is very lovable and sweet to everyone. "Oh, wait. You must be the girl who wants a private instructor. I remember now, my assistant told me that yesterday and completely forgot it." Madeline wasn't very old but she forgot a lot of stuff lately. "I teach private classes after the normal classes which last for one hour and then I can teach you." It was the rule of her school.

 

[Sally Kuang]

Sally wasn't sure if this was the right instructor of hers since the majority of the students in the class were kids from the age of six to eleven and Sally was far from that age. But after looking at them carefully, the way they did the plie was pretty impressive, great posture and timing with the song. The girl nodded and was escorted to the studio right next to it, it was much smaller but at least she could wait for a while there. And she got the permission to practice for an hour until Madeline was finished. The seventeen years old took off her dress, she had her uniform underneath it. She took her pointe shoe out and place it beside her bag.

Stretching was extremely important for Sally, beside Ballet, she was also doing rhythmic gymnastic and figure skating. She loved dancing and she was good at it, unlike Vivian who hurt her self for dancing in a wrong position which was considered as dangerous, at least that was what she thought. Back home she had been warming up for more than an hour so it took her to stretch about 45 minutes here in the studio, she didn't need more than that. Sally took her iPod out and played Tchaikovsky's song, the sugar plum fairy and began dancing.

 

[Madeline Dela Merced]

She called for her receptionist to assist the young girl name Sally to another room where she can wait. One hour of class can be a pain in the butt and the wait is boring, but if the girl is really determine to know more about ballet and wants to be success at the field of arts, she will stay and wait for her. Madeline continued to assist her students one by one, the music grew quiet once she had shouted to some girls who keep asking each other what to do next. The eighteen years old made them took a time out from the lesson for a minute until they stopped asking each other, ballet's first rule is to keep your ears and eyes at the instructor because ballet is very difficult, one mistake and you will fall down to the floor. Madeline is strict when needed and she will be sweet when no one is a stubborn little brat that she hated most of all the time.

The class is almost going to an end, as well as the other classes, once the last song ended from her laptop, Madeline waved her right hand and the song stopped, not knowing she used magic. Madeline quickly put her both hands behind her, the girl will think she has a some sort of remote for her laptop. She then gathered the girls in front of her and told them some secrets about ballet and as well to keep practicing for the up coming recital of the Swan Lake, Madeline told them her good bye and off they went to take their bags and out of the studio where there mother's waiting for them outside. The class had ended in a calm mood when Ambroise came in with a slight bloody lips, her mood change to furious. Madeline looked at it and wiped it with a tissue that she has and told him that she has to meet another student who wants a private class. Ambroise nodded and followed her at the other room where the young girl from earlier was.

Madeline smiled as the two of them went inside, she saw how graceful Sally dance the sugar plum fairy, Madeline had dance the sugar plum fairy at the age of seven and did it perfectly. She then authorized Ambroise to sit down at the benches and her looked back at the girl, Madeline clapped her hands at what she is seeing. "You have a great posture and gentle form of feet and arms." Madeline told Sally, she can see herself to her when she was on her own age. She then walked down toward her, "Your private class starts right now. So, what do you want to know more about ballet?" She asked at the young girl, in her thoughts the girl should be in Broadway now and performing because of her nice and professional moves of ballet.

 

[Sally Kuang]

Right after the music finished, Sally heard someone clapping. She turned to face whoever was clapping. Knowing that it was Madeline, Sally blushed and walked up to her bowing, showing a respect to her. "Thank you" Honestly she didn't know what else she need to know about ballet. "Well I can't correct so maybe you can correct me" She said shyly and smiled at her. She always think of herself not being able to dance so well or did anything correctly, this was why she got frustrated easily because she wanted everything to be perfect, yet she couldn't do it perfectly beside that she over worked and hurt herself, she was also doing figure skating which was so much different than ballet.

Sally walked toward her bag and took two piece of papers and gave it to Madeline. "I don't know what to do" She said handing a paper of her getting contracts from both pair skating and ballet. "I can't do both because they're so much different. "She was really good at rhythmic gymnastic that was why her body was so flexible. But again, she didn't know what to choose. She couldn't pick out of those two, she loved ballet and skating and now she had to forget one of it which was very hard for her. "Anyway I need help with an original choreography, I have no idea which kind of songs should I choose. I'm pretty frustrated now" She added a little laugh and sighed.

 

[Madeline Dela Merced]

The young girl seems to have blushed and thanked her as well. "Your very welcome and what's to correct about you?" She asked smiling, Madeline knows that the girl is having a hard time, it was the same as her when she was younger and having a perfectionist parents makes you think that your not doing a perfect job on what you do. Sally handed her a paper that looks like contracts, Madeline looked at it, her smile fading, this girl has a lot of thinking to do she thought and looked back at her again, handing her the paper back. "Just follow your heart and not your brain, the brain will just give you confusion and you might regret it someday." Madeline told Sally, it was the same quote her mother told her and she did what was on the quote had said, she went to a ballet school and wizarding school to purse both her passion: Magic and dancing.

Madeline didn't take her father's wanted for her, to be a business woman. She hated the things about business because she knows that it is pain in the @ss. "I think I got a song for you." Madeline turned slightly where her brother was and and said, "Go to International song on my laptop and click 'Arirang' to play for the song." Ambroise obey what his sister told him and looked for the song that has the name Arirang, once he found it, it played starting with a flute instrument. It was Madeline's favorite, "Its Korean song and it is very easy to choreograph to it." She told Sally and smiled once she turned to her back again. The music was loud enough for her to try an example, she backward a bit and started the dance from diving into the lilacs, a beautiful piece from Blanchine.

 

[Sally Kuang]

Of course when Sally was asked what to correct about her, she didn't know. She didn't know if she was making a mistake or not that was one of the reason why she wanted meet her. She kept quiet and started thinking about her movements, she couldn't remember what she did right or wrong. "I... I've no idea" She muttered softly and looked to the ground hoping that she wasn't rude for not talking to the older woman right on the eye. "I... I don't know because my heart is always telling me to do something that isn't right, I've tried following my heart before and I ended up" She paused and finally looked at her in the eye "Regretting" It was last summer when she had to choose either to work with her father or somewhere else later after she had graduated, now her brother had to work even more because she wasn't going to be there to help him.

As soon as Sally heard the music Arirang, her eyes began to filled with tears for several seconds. Knowing that there were people in there, her tears were gone. She wasn't going to cry in front of other people, her father told her that it was considered as a weakness. The song reminded her of her mother who passed away long time ago. She watch Madeline carefully and followed her steps. "This is amazing" She smiled, she loved the choreography and the music as well. Just as she thought, the woman was brilliant, she didn't regret going there and meet her. "Do you think I'll need to find a pair?" Finding partners was pretty hard for her since she didn't really know anyone, but she was light and small so anyone could lift her easily.

Out of Character:

r u a ballerina?

 

[Madeline Dela Merced]

Once the song ended, Madeline glide gently into the ground with her toes touching the floor. She once did the dance of a recital which happened at New York city, "A pair you say?" She asked Sally and looked at her back where her brother Ambroise was, Ambroise knows ballet as well, she made him learn about it, Madeline enrolled Ambroise at Royal Academy Ballet in England and he only finished two years of it. She then looked back to Sally and smiled, "The guy over there needs a life, he finished two years of ballet at the Royal Academy Ballet at England. He might be stubborn but helpful at times." She winked at her and smiled more because in this case, Ambroise will work very hard not to dropped a gorgeous lady like Sally.

But she hopes that the two will get along and if not, Madeline has to pick another partner for Sally which is going to come from her twelve and above students. "But to really make a different choreograph is to mix up some of the routines, but for that song, you will need some extra drama as the song is soft and gentle, the dancer must as well be like the song which is soft and gentle. While gliding, take yourself up, be very weightless if your partner is going to carry you." Madeline told Sally, the thing about being a ballerina is the weight of your body, Madeline might be looking chubby but she weight less because of what she eats.

Out of Character:

No, but I know a bit about ballet. My mom is once a ballerina.

 

[Sally Kuang]

Sally looked back and saw a boy standing and bowed at him as well, respecting him. He seemed nice and he shouldn't be that bad. Sally had been through worse especially since she was enrolling in Durmstrang, the students there had no heart at all, at least some of them. Beside, her younger brother frustrate her, he was stubborn and too carefree. "I've never really dance with someone before but I did pair skating before, I'm not sure if it's the same" Honestly, the girl was quite excited since she had never had such an experience before. She used to be traumatized in pair skating tho, she broke her arm back then because her partner didn't lift her in a correct position, yet their speed was pretty fast. "Do you think it's safe? I mean I couldn't dance because I fell on the ice. I know it's a silly question but I just want to make sure" She might sound stupid but she'd rather ask than not knowing at all.

Expressing emotion through dancing wasn't a big deal for Sally, she was good at it but what she was worried was getting along with someone. "I was thinking about mixing the contemporary ballet and classical ballet all together with Gershwin's song. But I'm not sure if it'll work so I'll just stick with your ideas." She shrugged. Some younger students were already at the door probably they were hoping that Madeline dance even more. "So what should I do now? I'll work hard, I promise and I wont let you down" She said meaning it, she needed this choreography to impress the company. But then again she was still confused if she should stick with ballet or figure skating.

Out of Character:

Awesomeeeee