Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Little Dance Troupe's Final Round
"Aren't Xiao Shuai and the others struggling between 'Meteor' and 'Swimming Fish'? I've been thinking, why not dance 'Meteor' in the style of 'Swimming Fish' and perform a unique version of 'Meteor'?" Meng Fanxi had already conceived the stage setup in his mind.
He looked at Zhang Yang, after all, Zhang Yang was the creator of "Meteor Shower," and his opinion needed to be sought.
Zhang Yang was very interested. "You mean you want them to dance in ancient costumes?"
Meng Fanxi shrugged: "Why not?"
Which child didn't dream of wearing ancient costumes when they were little?
Fu Hanfei became interested. "It's a good idea. I can handle the costumes and stuff, but what does it have to do with the third public performance stage?"
Meng Fanxi organized his thoughts and said, "I think that no matter what the small dance troupe's results are in the finals, we should add them to our performance and leave a special stage for them."
The little dance troupe is so adorable, especially their love for the stage and their support for the Eternal Six Stars, which inspired Meng Fanxi to have this idea.
Xu You asked in confusion, "Then why don't we just help the little dance troupe win their final?"
Meng Fanxi: "The other contestants in that competition are also children from various schools. Our presence will definitely have a significant impact on the competition results. Is it fair to the other contestants?"
Lin Ruohe nodded, “That’s right. Our competition is still largely a competition between our trainee teams. This time, each team will use all sorts of tricks, so including the small dance troupe in our performance is within the rules. But if we get involved in the county competition, the situation will be more complicated.”
Xu You understood. "I hadn't thought that much about it."
After submitting the song to the program team, they immediately began preparing for the song. The small dance troupe only had time to practice after school in the afternoon.
During the lunch break, the members of the dance troupe came to the dance studio and, upon learning of Meng Fanxi's idea, their eyes lit up instantly, and they kept asking, "Is it true? Is it true?"
They never expected such a huge surprise to fall on them. They were able to receive guidance from their idols and appear on their favorite shows. It was like a dream come true.
The dance troupe currently has 23 members. Excluding those who have just joined and are still learning the ropes, and those who cannot participate due to other commitments, there are 10 members who plan to perform in the finals, consisting of 5 men and 5 women, with a relatively even distribution of members.
Fu Hanfei waved his hand and said that the dance troupe should just focus on their studies. They would handle the choreography for the final dance and provide targeted training and guidance in the evenings.
The elementary school students, led by Wan Xiaoshuai, cheered with joy. They didn't even want to leave at noon and just wanted to stay there with them.
Zhang Yang came out with a serious expression and said, "Go back and rest first, and then attend class properly this afternoon."
This calmed the dance troupe down, and they obediently went back for their lunch break.
Gu Huailang quipped from the side, "The nemesis of elementary school students."
After Zhang Yang gave him a dismissive look, Gu Huailang fell silent.
Seeing this, Meng Fanxi laughed out loud: "The clingy one got his comeuppance!"
"Say it again!" Gu Huailang thought everyone had forgotten about the nickname, so why did it come up again? He immediately pounced over to cover Meng Fanxi's mouth. Ren Yuchen tried to dodge but was tripped by Xu You, who wanted to join in the fun. The group started playing around together again.
Fu Hanfei: I must have been mistaken before that this group was so mature and outstanding.
The Xijingu Dance Troupe performs in the county's small auditorium, while their Eternal Six Stars performs in the school's small auditorium. They went to scout out the venue that afternoon.
The auditorium was decorated in a solemn and serious manner, and was much smaller than the county auditorium in the photo.
Fu Hanfei was genuinely worried about their chances of getting votes in the competition. "I'll ask the principal to rally more people then. Anyone in the audience should be able to vote."
Now, Meng Fanxi doesn't feel particularly urgent about the third round of voting. He said, "The third round is more about competing with ourselves. The audience that other teams can mobilize is unknown. So as long as we do our best and perform better than before, we will have successfully completed our mission."
As for whether or not we can win first place in the three-stage competition, that's not the most important thing right now.
Most importantly, this is the last mock exam before the finals. They need to continuously explore their potential and perform at their best in the finals.
Fu Hanfei produced a portable blackboard from somewhere. They drew a vertical dotted line down the middle of the blackboard, and on the left side, they wrote "Meteor Shower - Xijingu Dance Troupe ver." and on the right side, they wrote "That Was a Glimmer of Light."
Fu Hanfei and Meng Fanxi stood on the left and right sides respectively. The order of the standing positions on the left and right sides of the stage was designed and changed at the same time. The other five people sat obediently with their knees drawn up, looking to the left and then to the right, and occasionally offering some opinions and suggestions.
Meng Fanxi benefited greatly from his collaboration with Fu Hanfei. As expected of a dance master, Fu Hanfei's ideas were clear and concise, and he would spontaneously break into dance while choreographing, and his dancing was particularly pleasing to the eye.
More importantly, dancing seems to be an innate attribute of his. He can create a lively atmosphere whenever he dances, and his body will change into movements that perfectly match the scene, without any sense of incongruity.
What an incredible talent that must be!
It is said that the opening of this third public performance will be a solo stage show by each mentor, and Fu Hanfei will also have to take some time to go back to Mushroom Park to record this stage show.
The dance formation of the small dance troupe has been largely arranged, and the overall concept of the dance is becoming clearer.
Fu Hanfei was deeply impressed by the performance of the six eternal stars in a circular formation on the stage of "Swimming Fish," so he incorporated that formation into the stage of "Meteor." The emotions expressed by the children were no longer the faint sorrow shown by the six eternal stars. The original singers' performance focused on the heartfelt excitement and nostalgia for youth.
Rather, it is the children, as youth itself, who use their innocence and confusion about growing up to reinterpret and allow the audience to immerse themselves in a different kind of fairytale atmosphere.
After discussion, they decided to include period costumes as part of the performance, but not throughout. About one-third of the performance would involve on-stage costume changes, which would bring a sense of novelty to the audience and add layers to the performance.
It simply makes clothing more convenient.
Seven people huddled together, staring at the single cell phone in the center of the circle, as they selected costumes for the small dance troupe's performance and their costumes for the third public performance, using funds provided by the production team.
With the final date approaching, the dance troupe chose costumes from a nearby location.
Helping the little dance troupe practice was even more fun than I imagined. Elementary school students are indeed one of the most energetic groups. They learned all the dance moves in one night and their positions were pretty much perfect. And the whole process was filled with laughter.
Only Fu Hanfei and the six eternal stars were exhausted in the end. Their eyes were unfocused as they watched the children chattering and playing, and they could still shout, "One more time!"
This spirit deeply moved Meng Fanxi. He walked shakily to the sound system and turned it off completely, which earned him the doubts of the dance troupe and grateful and approving looks from his teammates.
Finally, after much persuasion from Fu Hanfei, the children reluctantly agreed to leave.
When it comes to the competition, all the children have obtained their parents' consent to stay at the school during this period, regardless of whether they live on campus or not. Otherwise, it would be impossible to guarantee their safety if they practiced so late every day and then ran on campus.
Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, Xijingu Village boasts lush forests and abundant vegetation. The night sky is filled with stars, and there are no sounds of traffic in the city. Amidst the children's laughter, one can also hear the babbling of the stream. Meng Fanxi took a deep breath of the village air, which was filled with the fresh scent of earth, and felt incredibly soothed.
The package carrying the six eternal stars and the costumes of the little dance troupe was quickly and urgently delivered to the package storage room at the school gate. Meng Fanxi and the others retrieved the package immediately, sorted the clothes, and picked up the scissors, needles and thread they had prepared beforehand to start the costume modification project.
The costumes for their performance of "Swimming Fish" were specially made by the production team and still needed to be altered. Naturally, these costumes ordered online would need to be modified separately to match the performance.
Without the help of the production team, they had to rely on themselves.
Thus, a rare but extremely harmonious scene unfolded in the dance studio.
The seven people worked together meticulously with needles and thread, helping and guiding each other from time to time, afraid of making a mistake and ruining the clothes.
The needlework involved various stitching techniques, and the production team was so stingy this time that they didn't even provide tablets, so they had to learn the tutorials on Fu Hanfei's phone.
"Fanxi, is this the way we go?"
"Xu You, take it easy, don't be so decisive!"
"This tutorial is so difficult, it's like magic."
"It can be considered that I have mastered a skill."
"Zhang Yang, the stitches you made are so crooked."
"...It's alright, it's not noticeable on black clothes."
There was no music or dance in the dance studio, only the exchange of experiences among everyone immersed in clothing alteration.
The children somehow found out that the costumes had arrived, and they couldn't wait any longer. As soon as school was over in the afternoon, they rushed to the dance studio, only to find that instead of the cool and flowing ancient costumes they had imagined, they were given long robes and vests that had already been modified.
Although they had been informed beforehand that their performance costumes would be modified, the elementary school students in front of them were clearly not very accepting of the results.
"...That's it?" Xiao Shuai held the clothes in his hand, his eyes filled with deep doubt.
"The costumes for performing 'Swimming Fish' with my brothers are completely different!" You Lan, the youngest girl in the dance troupe, almost burst into tears.
Startled, Fu Hanfei quickly picked up the clothes and began to explain, "Look, this is for easy changing. This ancient-style robe has a hidden button. As long as it's buttoned up, it will look like an ancient style. Press it to unbutton it and it will turn into a vest that you can change into anytime."
Fu Hanfei pulled Xiao Shuai to the front to be a model. Xiao Shuai first put on the black long-sleeved inner layer, and then put on this robe vest. He fastened it with a hidden button, so you couldn't tell that it was a simple vest. The clothes looked natural as a whole.
When it's time to change, the hidden snaps allow for an easy transition out of the period costume.
Moreover, they modified the skirt to a style that did not cover the dance movements, based on the "Swimming Fish" theme. In general, after their modifications, the dress took on multiple functions.
Although the children were initially skeptical, they were also very receptive and quickly accepted Fu Hanfei's explanation. One by one, they put on their clothes and walked to the dance mirror to admire themselves as they twirled around.
The seven people breathed a sigh of relief without making a sound.
Before the finals, the staff at Xijingu Primary School also regarded the dance troupe's competition as part of the program and attached great importance to it, working together to take care of the boys and girls in the troupe.
With everyone united, they boarded the bus bound for the county.
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