Chapter 335 - 335: Everything Is Connected

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Onstage, Tang Beibei was surrounded by bright lights as she tried to become her own person.

Her dance ended when the music stopped. Her expression was unrestrained and youthful.

She seldom had this expression in real life. She was very cautious most of the time. Expressing her emotions through dance was something that made Tang Beibei very happy.

Hearing the applause from the audience and Ruan Qi’s cheering, Tang Beibei was a little excited as she gave everyone a 90-degree bow.

The emcee joined her onstage and asked, “Tang Beibei, you started with a classical dance and worked your way into hip-hop. Is the contrast deliberate?” He asked the question tactfully, but there was a hint of mockery in his tone.

Tang Beibei explained, “I learned classical dance first, while my friend learned hip-hop. These two art forms originated from different cultures, just like my friend and I.”

“We grew up learning different dance styles, our life experiences are different. We have different ideas but we are still very good friends.”

“There are no absolutes in this world. Classical dance and hip-hop doesn’t contradict each other. If one found a suitable way, one could still fuse them together.”

The emcee smiled. “Tang Beibei, you’re very brave and you have a lot of personality. I wonder what the judges think of the dance just now.”

The dance teacher judge, Mu Zhi, said with a straight face, “Compared to the last show, Tang Beibei has improved, but I can’t see the beauty of her hybrid dance. I felt the fusion abrupt and awkward. I don’t appreciate your innovation, so I can’t give you my vote.”

Freelance dancer judge, Cheng Jian, liked Tang Beibei’s performance. “I admire her artistic expression. She’s telling a story of friendship. It’s a story about her friendship with her friend as well as with herself.”

“Everyone has to get along with their inner self. Occasional contrast and conflict could inspire many interesting things. You have my vote!”

The choreographer judge, Xu Feng, nodded with a smile.

“I agree with Teacher Cheng Jian. I admire your creativity very much. You’ve cleverly found the right balance. It didn’t feel too exaggerated or understated. You did a good job.”

“Average dancers won’t be able to bring that feeling to live. I can feel your tenacity and thoughtfulness.”

“In life, many friends who are friends have many differences, but as long as they have some shared values, they can talk about anything.”

“Even if there were disagreements, occasional quarrels would only strengthen the friendship.”

“Tang Beibei, your storytelling is pure and simple. Even people who don’t understand dance can understand your story. My interest in you is growing.” “I’m giving you my vote and hope that you’ll come up with more interesting works to move me.”

“Thank you, teachers!” Tang Beibei was grateful.

Each judge’s vote was worth 20 points. She got two votes, which was 40 points. Combined with her popularity ranking online, her total score was 76 points. Her total score wasn’t high. She was currently ranked 10th.

20 more contestants would perform after her. If 15 of them scored more than her, she would be eliminated.

Tang Beibei smiled as she walked off stage to Ruan Qi. Ruan Qi whispered, “I think that Teacher Mu Zhi is not favoring you on purpose. You danced very well. The overall effect on stage was superb and the audience applauded you.” “Different people like different things. I’ve done what I can and I’m just cheering you on now.”

Ruan Qi nodded with a smile and cheered herself on.

Contestant Number 34 was Jia Ran. His fluid dance moves impressed the girls again. When someone was so good, any dance they performed would be amazing.

But Ruan Qi still commented, “This big shot, although he danced very well, the story he was telling was too profound. Ordinary people wouldn’t understand it. Take me for example, some parts were totally lost on me.”

Tang Beibei pondered for a few seconds. “His work is probably more like poetry and painting. It’s a little abstract with blank spaces for people to fill in with their imagination. Those who can understand will like it. People who find it blurry probably have never experienced anything like that before, so they don’t know how to fill in the blanks.”

“How do you know so much?”

“I read biographies of dance teachers, and watched some interviews and documentaries and heard some teachers explained it that way.”

Ruan Qi felt like she had learned something again. “Looks like I should watch fewer dramas from now on and watch documentaries with you. Otherwise, I’ll look like an illiterate.”

Tang Beibei nodded with a smile. “As long as you don’t find it boring. Many dancers and dance teachers spend most of their time in the dance studio. It’s quite boring.”

Ruan Qi gulped as she pictured the documentaries. She figured that Korean dramas would be more enjoyable.

Applause rang out from the audience as all three judges voted for Jia Ran. Combined with his online popularity ranking, his total score was 98 points. He was ranked first again.

Number 36, Ruan Qi went on stage. The title of her dance was “Everything is Connected”.

The story was about her meeting a man. Every step, from the moment they met, to them getting to know each other, falling in love, and finally getting together, seemed to be destined.

Although it was a solo dance, Ruan Qi had put in a lot of effort to express the sweetness of love with facial expressions. People couldn’t help but smile when they saw her young girl in love look.

It was a light, simple and emotional story that won a lot of applause. However, Teacher Mu Zhi didn’t vote for her while the other two judges did. Ruan Qi’s total score was 72 points and she ranked 13th.

After Ruan Qi got off stage, she ran to Fu Jin and asked him, “What’s wrong with Teacher Mu Zhi tonight? Why is she so strict?”

Fu Jin gave her his notebook.

Ruan Qi exclaimed, “Most of Mu Zhi’s votes went to her students. Isn’t that cheating?”

Fu Jin smiled. “It’s just a small show and this kind of biasness isn’t too much. Have a good rest since you are done.”

Contestant Number 40 was Jin Zhao. She performed the solo dance from the ballet “La Bayadere”, which was a complicated drama with extremely difficult dance moves that showed off the artistry of the choreographer.

Ruan Qi didn’t know much about ballet, so she was just a spectator. She asked Tang Beibei if she could understand it.

Tang Beibei explained to her, “La Bayadere is a classic work from the most glorious period of classical ballet. It premiered even earlier than Swan Lake and is a significant part of the ballet repertoire.”

“Many classical ballets were derived from its foundation. It’s considered one of the foundational works in ballet.”

“Some of the movements in this dance are said to be fundamentals for many dancers’ training. Many seemingly simple movements would really challenge the dancer’s abilities.”

“This Jin Zhao is young and her years of dance experience isn’t high, so she’s still a little immature when she performed this solo.”

Fu Jin, who had been dancing for years, turned to look at Tang Beibei. “Oi, top student, you’ve even studied this?”

Tang Beibei blushed a little when she heard Fu Jin call her top student. “I did my homework before I started learning ballet. ‘La Bayadere’ is very famous. I even went to watch the theatrical recordings of this ballet.”

Fu Jin replied, “Ah. I’ve performed this before as the male lead.”

II II

So, the secret prima-ballerino was among them.

Fu Jin pointed at Jin Zhao, who was on stage. “She made a few mistakes and didn’t set up her spin properly. However, she was very confident and tried to salvage the situation. But her disposition was off. The female lead of ‘La Bayadere’ wouldn’t smile so flirtatiously.”

Tang Beibei and Ruan Qi didn’t really understand his comments and didn’t dare to ask or say anything.

Since Fu Jin had pointed out so many of Jin Zhao’s shortcomings, her dancing was probably just average.

However, unexpectedly, all three judges voted for her.

Combined with her online popularity ranking, her total score was 90.

“…???”

Ruan Qi’s face was filled with question marks.

The honest Tang Beibei quietly asked Fu Jin, “Is that rigged or what?”

P.S.. from the author: Are you surprised to see a chapter at this time?