Chapter 21 Dance Practice
"Mother!"
Xin Yiru suddenly jumped up from the bed and rushed into the living room in two steps in her slippers.
Seeing his daughter running towards him noisily, Xu Zihan, who was immersed in the plot of the TV series, was suddenly interrupted from his sad mood.
Reluctantly pulling her attention away from the plot, she took a tissue to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked over with red eyes, "You're already an adult, stop being so startled all day long."
As she spoke, she blew her nose, pressed the pause button, and asked seriously, "What did you call me for?"
Xin Yiru couldn't explain it clearly for a moment, so she handed the phone over and said, "Look at this photo!"
Xu Zihan took it without knowing why, and then saw a familiar face on the phone.
"What do you mean by showing me Mo Bei's photo..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she was startled.
Wait, why hasn't she seen this photo before?
As a die-hard fan of Mo Bei, even though he has passed away for many years, she still has a lot of photos of him saved in her mobile phone and computer.
Xu Zihan can proudly say that she has seen every photo of Mo Bei without missing any.
However, she had no impression of the photo before her...
The boy in the photo was wearing a slightly old-fashioned dark blue polo shirt and a pair of wrinkled jeans. The place where he was standing was dimly lit, and at first glance it looked like a theater stage.
Such clothing and scene were far different from her impression of Mo Bei.
Just when Xu Zihan was puzzled, he heard his daughter Xin Yirui say, "Mom, you also think he looks a lot like Mo Bei, right? I was shocked when I saw him just now!"
Hearing this, Xu Zihan was stunned.
"He's not Mo Bei?"
"Of course not. He's a contestant on the talent show 'Youth Project'."
"A talent show?" Xu Zihan asked hurriedly, not caring about watching the drama. "Where can I watch this show? What's the host's name? Is there a video?"
Seeing her mother suddenly interested, Xin Yirui smiled awkwardly, "Well, the show hasn't aired yet. I only saw the photo on the official Weibo of the program team. As for his name... I don't know either."
Perhaps as a marketing tactic, the production team has not yet released the contestants' names, ages, or other personal information, only photos. Furthermore, these photos are mostly audition photos.
Upon learning that the program had not yet been broadcast, Xu Zihan looked regretful.
Seeing this, Xin Yiru hurriedly said, "I heard that this show will be airing in two weeks. It will be online on Pineapple Video. We can watch it together then."
Xu Zihan glanced over at him when he heard this. "The midterm exam is coming up soon, and you still have the energy to watch the show? If you fail again this time, all your pocket money for next month will be forfeited!"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Xin Yiru's face suddenly froze.
Xin Yiru, Xin Yiru, why are you talking so much nonsense?
Now, I've shot myself in the foot! If I don't pass the exam, all my pocket money for next month will be gone!
While Xin Yiru, filled with regret, was sent back to her room by her mother to do her homework, the official Weibo of "Youth Project" was already in an uproar.
This program took more than half a year to prepare and warm up. Although the production team had previously held online and offline auditions across the country with great fanfare, perhaps because the production team did a good job of keeping it secret, the outside world did not know who the contestants were until the offline auditions were over.
Just when everyone thought that the production team would keep the secret until the show was launched, the official Weibo of "Youth Project" suddenly released photos of 100 contestants.
Unlike the official photos that everyone expected, some of these photos look like candid shots from the audition site, while others are screenshots of videos uploaded by the contestants when they registered online.
Although it may seem perfunctory, it gave a shot of confidence to those netizens who had been waiting impatiently for the show to air. It also gave them something to do next.
After all, it would take a long time to dig up the identities and backgrounds of these 100 contestants.
However, when they actually looked through the photos of these 100 contestants, they were surprised to find that the program team's banner of amateur talent show was actually watered down.
Because among these contestants there are not only unknown internet celebrities, but even child star actor Chang Jun!
"Looks like another one of them is here to take advantage of the talent show's popularity to film a movie."
For a time, there was a lot of complaints on the Internet.
Although some people are dissatisfied with the program team's practice of selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton, most people don't really care whether the contestants are amateurs.
After all, for fans, appearance is the primary productivity. Especially for idols who are active on the stage, stunning at first sight is a must.
Even if the contestants are all amateurs, netizens will not buy it if they all look ugly.
What's more, there are also some handsome amateurs among these 100 contestants.
For example, the mixed-race former boxer Lei Lie and the feminine-looking Bai Li. Their photos immediately captivated countless fans. Even before the show aired, some had already invested in shares and established fan clubs and support groups.
In addition, former Star Entertainment trainee Sheng Yanyu, top student Lin Jiongyi who was admitted to National Tsing Hua University, and cute younger brother Tao Xiaotie also attracted widespread attention from netizens.
Among these handsome amateur contestants, one stood out.
It's not just because of his slightly rustic clothes in the photo, but also because his face is extremely similar to the singing and dancing superstar Mo Beiji who passed away 20 years ago, you could even say that they are exactly the same!
In the internet age, information spreads at breakneck speed. As soon as the production team releases the contestants' photos, marketing accounts on the other side immediately repost them.
Some popular contestants who have attracted much discussion have also come to the public's attention.
When passersby and Mo Bei's old fans saw the face in the photo that was almost exactly the same as Mo Bei's, they were stunned for a moment.
At this moment, they only wanted to know one thing urgently——
Who is this person?
…
While the contestants' photos caused heated discussions on the Internet, the protagonists of these topics are still practicing hard in the classes of their instructors.
Whether in his past groups or in his current personal work, An Jun has always maintained high standards and high demands. This is still the case even when he is currently serving as a dance instructor in talent shows.
The dance levels of the students in Class C varied greatly. Considering that some of the contestants had weak foundations, he deliberately extended the teaching time by half an hour.
After ensuring everyone had roughly memorized the movements, he gave the contestants another 15 minutes to practice independently. After that, he began the one-on-one assessment, where each contestant was called out individually to perform the dance in front of him.
If any mistakes occur, An Jun will correct them one by one.
This teaching method is undoubtedly extremely stressful for those without a dance background. They already lack confidence in dancing, and now they have to dance in front of so many people. Add to that the serious-looking instructors waiting to correct their mistakes and the rows of cameras surrounding them, and the pressure is unbearable.
People with weaker psychological endurance can easily make mistakes.
An Junze couldn't understand why he had memorized all the movements during the class, but failed miserably in the test?
Either the old habits that were corrected previously recur or the movements are forgotten.
Looking at the contestants in front of him whose faces turned red because of their mistakes and who didn't know what to do, An Jun couldn't help but hold his forehead.
Faced with this situation, he didn't know whether he should continue to be so strict.
After a while, as if he had adjusted his mindset, he looked at everyone sternly, "I know you're nervous. But now you must find a way to overcome it. Because you don't have much time left."
"The theme song assessment will be in three days, and the theme song stage recording will begin in five days. If you continue at your current level, you won't be able to perform on stage at all."
"Singing and dancing idols are supposed to show their best side to their fans and the public. But now, let alone showing your best side, you can't even perform normally."
"Competition is cruel, like rowing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. While you are standing still or even regressing, the contestants in other classes are making progress."
"Just imagine, in three days, when others are standing on the A- and B-level stages and you might not even get a C-level spot, you can only stand in the audience and watch others perform, and you may not even get a single shot from beginning to end, how will you feel then?"
An Junze's tone was calm from beginning to end, but the content of his words was thought-provoking and eye-opening.
After all, this is a talent show, a competition, and not a children's game or a dance class.
Here, every performance of the contestants is captured by camera. If you're struggling due to poor mental preparation, forget about entering the entertainment industry. After all, reality is even more brutal than the test.
As an artist, you have to endure all kinds of criticism every day. If a few words from the outside world cause you to lose your mind and become unable to perform normally, how can you continue to work in the future?
Having been in the industry for so many years, he's seen many artists with unstable cores. Often, due to the abuse from netizens and haters, they resort to plastic surgery or force themselves to change their acting style to play roles that are not suitable for them, but the results of these actions are usually not very good.
Especially when you make changes, the outside world may even say that you are not as good as before.
This is true for actors and idols alike.
Whether the live performance is on microphone, whether the microphone is broken, whether the dancing is slacking, whether the fan photos are bad, the attitude towards fans and passers-by, and the management of one's body image, etc., every point will be paid attention to, magnified and judged.
Compared with the above, his current assessment of the contestants' individual dances is nothing compared to them.
The contestants in Class C naturally understood the instructor's good intentions. One of the contestants who had made a mistake in the assessment suddenly stood up and bowed to An Junze, saying:
"Teacher An, please give me another chance! I will definitely perform well this time!"
Seeing this, several other players who made mistakes followed suit.
However, An Junze didn't respond. He just glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "The class is about to end, so there will be no further assessments this time. However, I will continue with random checks in class tomorrow. You should prepare yourselves."
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