◎She is the daughter of a dancer and a dancer herself◎
While Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi were waiting for the draw, Xu Chi was smoking in the smoking room. Although he was confident in the strength of Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, he was actually a little nervous.
So far, Ji Tiantian's performance has been excellent, and he has gained many surprises from her. But he is not sure whether Ji Tiantian can still perform stably on the court.
Many players are easily affected by the competition environment. They are fine in practice, but not in the competition. The situation on the ice is ever-changing, which is actually a test of mentality.
Xu Chi secretly comforted himself, there must be no problem. After all, they had rehearsed so many times, and Tiantian and Tang Yi's mentality had always been stable.
According to Xu Chi's idea, Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian should be able to get the top results this time, at least in the top 5. If there is no dark horse like Ji Tiantian emerging from other places, then medals should be no problem.
There are no groups in the National Championships, but the content follows the international trend. Adults skate the Golden Waltz, and those under 16 skate the Vienna Waltz. Although there is no advantage in scoring when skating the Vienna Waltz in the youth group, being able to skate a complete pattern dance is already rare enough in the National Championships. Many athletes cannot do it. If it were not for this, the competition would not be divided into groups.
There are actually very few domestic ice dancers like Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian who have the ability but have to skate in the youth group because they are too young. Most of the skaters have to choose the adult group because of their age.
Unlike single and double events with a relatively complete training system, ice dancing has not had a relatively complete plan for selecting young talents in an environment that emphasizes jumping over skating. To discover young talents, coaches either look for them themselves or recommend them to other places, such as Ji Tiantian. Many players, even in the three northeastern provinces, the flagships of figure skating, are already quite old when they come into contact with ice dancing. They are over 20 after just a few practices and can only challenge the content of the adult group. Fortunately, the service period of ice dancers is longer than that of other events.
This year's National Championships will definitely have places that recommend adult players who are competing for the first time. They will have to face the most difficult Golden Waltz right from the start, so you can imagine how they will perform.
There was nothing to be nervous about. Xu Chi prepared himself mentally, put out his cigarette and walked out of the smoking room. He glanced at the line of people waiting to draw lots and suddenly felt something was wrong.
"It seems like there are a lot of people participating this year?" Xu Chi said to Jiang Lin who was standing nearby. The draw line was very lively, with many children jumping around.
"Would you like to take a look? I just got it." Jiang Lin handed a stack of information to Xu Chi. On the top was the list of ice dance contestants for this year's National Championships. "My friend is a judge this year, and I asked her for it."
It was noted on the list that this year there were 8 adult groups performing the Golden Waltz, which was the usual level, but the number of children performing the Viennese Waltz increased to 6. This was twice the number of children performing the Viennese Waltz as usual!
There are actually very few kids who have been exposed to ice dancing in advance and can practice the technical movements for competitions before the age of 16. Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian are already special cases. Generally speaking, there won't be so many groups.
"Why are there so many groups of little kids?" Xu Chi was puzzled. "This number of people can be divided into separate groups. Is our country's ice dancing going to rise?"
"Forget it. It's impossible to divide us into groups for ice dancing and judge the awards separately. We don't have the manpower. And this year, so many people must be a special case. Why are there so many groups of little kids? Don't you know the reason?" Jiang Lin looked at Xu Chi deeply, "It's all because of you."
"What do you mean because we..." Xu Chi was about to refute, but immediately came to his senses.
Tang Yi and Qian Xiyue's separation directly resulted in Tang Yi's inability to participate in the 2010 International Youth Ice Dance Competition. Before the National Championships, he had been practicing with Ji Tiantian.
This sends a signal to local figure skating teams - the current national team's youth seeded players are temporarily unable to cope with international competitions. If they want to surpass him and seize his resources and quota in the national team, they have to do it now. Before he and his new partner have a good run-in. If they don't hurry up, there will be no chance in the future.
The local ice dance coach who was ambitious and capable saw an opportunity in Tang Yi's splitting of the group, so he forced his young players to participate in the National Championships. Whether their skills were up to par or not was put aside, and they had to participate first.
After careful consideration, Xu Chi realized that if Tang Yi made a mistake and was surpassed by other kids, his position as the top seed in the youth group might be shaken. He might be kicked out of the national team or removed from the list for the World Youth Championship. If he didn't participate in the competition, it might be easier to deal with.
The leaders of the Sports Bureau and the national team didn't like Tang Yi very much, and preferred the young talents promoted by regular local teams. Qian Xiyue's departure further aggravated the leaders' prejudice. The leaders thought that Tang Yi was a wild one, and he was not well trained when he was young, so he couldn't get along with the regular team, which led to Qian Xiyue's tragedy. If Tang Yi didn't perform well in this national championship, the consequences might be really bad.
"Old Xu, you can't blame others for this. There are only so many resources for ice dancing, and motivated coaches want to make achievements. We are not the Big Goose or Europe, and we can do well in domestic competitions. If we don't show up in foreign youth competitions, the hard training of our young players will be in vain. If this vicious cycle continues, there will be fewer and fewer domestic ice dancers." Jiang Lin looked at the frowning Xu Chi and said, "There is only one spot for the World Youth Championship. If there is no quota limit, it would be fine, but there is, and everyone wants it."
"I know that." Xu Chi took a deep breath, regained his composure and asked Jiang Lin, "Most of these kids are from your three northeastern provinces. Introduce them to me. Who is the rival of our Xiongwa and Tiantian?"
"There really are strong rivals, and they're not in the three northeastern provinces." Jiang Lin pointed to a group of names on the list, then flipped to the detailed resumes of the contestants.
"Xia Qiu and Lin Aili?" Xu Chi quickly scanned the personal information of the two contestants. The boy's photo looked quite ordinary, but the girl Lin Aili was different at first glance.
"Lin Aili is 15 years old this year. She is of Chinese and British descent and has lived in Hong Kong for a long time. She also danced ballet when she was young, and then she developed an interest in ice dancing. Her parents are both relatively wealthy, and they have been paying her a high salary to hire a professional coach from the UK. She practices on her own." Jiang Lin looked at Xu Chi, who looked distressed, and continued, "You can say that she is a mixed-race version of Tiantian, but she has been exposed to ice dancing for a longer time. A friend of mine who knows her said that the girl has good physical conditions and skills. She can perform twists and pattern dances with good completion, which is at the level of the World Youth Championships. She has won two championships in local ice dance competitions in Hong Kong. Her partner is going abroad to study recently and will be separated from her. So she came to the mainland to find a new partner."
"What about the boys?" Xu Chi asked with a painful look on his face.
"The boy Xia Qiu is okay. He's 18 years old, from Ningcheng, and has been training with his local team. He has participated in some club leagues before, and always made it into the top three, but he's not sure he'll get first place."
"That doesn't sound like it's okay." Xu Chi was even more distressed, "Why didn't you tell me earlier."
"You didn't ask."
Xu Chi took a deep breath. He didn't ask about the contestants in advance because he thought the situation of this national championship would be much the same as before. He didn't expect that his two kids would face a strong opponent from the youth group!
This was Ji Tiantian's first competition! Xu Chi started to get nervous.
"Oh, I heard Coach Ma talk about this summer and autumn." Jiang Lin suddenly thought of something and spoke to Xu Chi, "Coach Ma originally wanted to choose him as the dance partner for the season, and he agreed. Later, he met Lin Aili and chose her."
Xu Chi rubbed his solar plexus painfully and looked up at Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi who were waiting in line for the draw.
Ji Tiantian waited in line for a while when she suddenly heard some noise behind her. She turned around subconsciously and saw a very beautiful mixed-race girl and her dance partner hurriedly running over to line up for the draw.
This is Lin Aili, Tang Yi's third dance partner in his previous life. Ji Tiantian certainly remembers her. If nothing unexpected happens, she will also be Tang Yi's third dance partner in this life.
Lin Aili has beautiful brown curly hair and an oval face with clear folds that most Asians don't have, which makes her look particularly small. Her unique beauty instantly attracted the attention of people around her, and Ji Tiantian couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
"You are Ji Tiantian, right? Do you recognize me?" Before Ji Tiantian had seen enough of the beauty, she heard a voice. Ji Tiantian frowned and looked in the direction of the voice. It was Lin Aili's dance partner who spoke.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Ji Tiantian asked.
"I'm Xia Qiu. Didn't you and Coach Ma ask me to be your dance partner? I'm sorry... I didn't choose you." Xia Qiu smiled and spoke with uncontrollable pride in her eyes. She didn't seem to feel any guilt at all.
Ji Tiantian remembered what he said. Before she decided to partner with Tang Yi, Coach Ma did find her a dance partner who was five years older than her. This partner had originally agreed to come to Nancheng to team up with her, but later vaguely said that he couldn't come. She wanted to choose again, and in the end, she chose someone else. In short, she had no sense of contract.
It turned out that this person was Xia Qiu. Ji Tiantian didn't like him and was too lazy to remember his appearance and name.
"I was worried that you didn't have a dance partner, but I didn't expect you to be so good and find a member of the national team right away. You have only learned ice dancing for a short time, and there is such a big gap between you and your partner. It must have been very hard, right? But it's okay. Successfully completing the two programs this time is a victory." Xia Qiu said to Ji Tiantian, then turned to look at Tang Yi.
Xia Qiu tilted his head and continued, "Brother, I heard that you chose your dance partner this time, and it's not assigned by the government anymore, so you have to take responsibility and don't throw your dance partner away like you did before. I mean, this is your third one, right? Although Ji Tiantian's qualifications may be a little worse, you shouldn't change her anymore, just make do with what you have. Instead of looking for a dance partner, you might as well spend more time polishing your own work, what do you think?"
The surrounding contestants probably had never heard such offensive words before, and they all turned their heads, their eyes wandering between Tang Yi and Xia Qiu.
Tang Yi looked at Xia Qiu quietly. After a while, he slowly said, "Did I eat your rice?"
Xia Qiu choked up, he didn't expect Tang Yi to answer like this. He was thinking about how to fight back when he heard Ji Tiantian speak.
"Why did you suddenly speak such a long paragraph? It gives me a headache. If people who don't know hear us, they would think we are queuing up for a poetry recitation." After Ji Tiantian finished speaking, the people around her, including Lin Aili, couldn't help laughing.
"Hey, I think I quite like Tang Yi as my little dance partner."
"Yeah, it's so cute."
Several other contestants who were watching murmured quietly.
Xia Qiu was a little annoyed. He always felt that it was a great fortune for him to find a mixed-race dance partner like Lin Aili. He was also very proud and wanted to show off to everyone he met. In front of Tang Yi, a rival who had a bad relationship with dance partners, he wanted to show off even more.
He couldn't wait to see Tang Yi's envious and angry eyes, but he didn't expect that not only did he not see it, but he was also dazed by a combination of punches from Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian.
After the fight, the two of them smiled at each other, as if he was a little biscuit to relieve boredom.
"Lin Aili and I have a good cooperation, and we are very confident in our work. This time we are here for the medal." Xia Qiu tried his best to keep his face calm and smiled at Tang Yi and Ji Tiantian, "I hope you can also get good results."
After that, the two groups of players didn't talk anymore and lined up separately.
Ji Tiantian waved at Tang Yi, and when Tang Yi bent down slightly, she spoke in his ear: "Why is that man talking so sarcastic? It seems like he is not just looking down on me."
"He wants to show off, but he's also afraid that I'll steal his dance partner." Tang Yi leaned close to Ji Tiantian's ear, her long eyelashes fluttering gently, "After Qian Xiyue left, there have been rumors that I'll steal someone else's dance partner. Some male contestants are quite worried. But there's no need to worry."
After all, if your brother Yi really wants to dig, he will be able to do so.
"Thank you for your hard work." Ji Tiantian paused and spoke, unexpectedly saying the same thing as Tang Yi.
Ji Tiantian was stunned for a moment, then she and Tang Yi smiled at each other. "You must have had a hard time in your last life... You must have worked hard." Ji Tiantian said softly.
"I'm prepared. But you may not be." Tang Yi nodded, looked into Ji Tiantian's eyes and said solemnly, "Thank you for your hard work."
Thank you for your hard work and standing at the forefront with me.
The drawing of lots started in front, and Ji Tiantian's heartbeat started to quicken.
I hope all the hard work is worth it.
"This competition is harder than I thought." Xu Chi stood by and talked to Jiang Lin, "I only have one wish now, that is, Tang Yi and his team don't get to play first, that would be too much of a test of mentality..."
"coach!"
Before Xu Chi finished speaking, Ji Tiantian, who had just finished drawing lots, ran over like a little deer, full of energy, "We've finished drawing lots!"
"I got first place." Tang Yi added from behind.
Xu Chi subconsciously took a breath of cold air, feeling his high blood pressure acting up. "This year isn't my zodiac year, strange, why am I so unlucky..." he muttered to himself.
Before the ice dance competition begins, a draw is usually held to determine the order in which the short dances will be performed.
In international competitions, before the short dance, contestants are usually divided into groups according to the draw order and the current number of contestants. Four pairs of contestants are grouped together, or five pairs are grouped together. For the free dance, the contestants are grouped into groups of five pairs in reverse order of the short dance scores, and the order within the group is random.
Domestic rules are more relaxed and grouping is determined by the number of participants.
There are 6 pairs of young players in this competition, so they are divided into two groups. Each group has 3 pairs. The main purpose of grouping is to warm up before the game. After the three pairs of players in the first group warm up, they will play in order. After the second group finishes, it will be the turn of the adult players.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi drew a group of number one, the first number.
On the day of the competition, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi got up early in the hotel where they stayed. With the help of their coach, they began to put on makeup and put on costumes, which are performance costumes.
The ice dancers' looks are more refined than those in other events, and the skirts of ice dancers are longer, more flowing and more dazzling than those in other events. A good performance look will definitely add points to the performance.
Ji Tiantian wore a gradient-colored costume for her short dance, with a light blue sling on the upper body and a black skirt that was short in front and long in the back. The skirt would flutter when she was skating, like the wings of a swallowtail butterfly. This kind of skirt can show beauty while not blocking the judges from seeing the contestants' leg movements.
Tang Yi wanted to wear a white shirt with black trousers. There are only a few styles of men's coats, not as many as women's.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi's costumes were not bought recently. Ji Tiantian's costume was modified from Zhang Lilian's past performance costume. Tang Yi's costume was modified from Wei Yu's past costume in the adult group. Both of them made good use of some unused clothes and saved some money.
Of course, although they were remade from unused clothes, they were carefully crafted. Before coming here, Ji Tiantian and her mother put rhinestones on the hem and chest of the skirt, making the whole Costume even more dazzling, and Jiang Lin embroidered a small butterfly on the chest of Tang Yi's top, which echoed Ji Tiantian's clothes.
The two arrived at the competition site early wrapped in coats, and checked each other's clothes before waiting to go on stage to warm up. The International Skating Union stipulates that if a competitor's clothing accessories, even a small rhinestone, falls on the ice, the competitor will be deducted points based on the final score. Compared with other figure skating events, ice dancing, which has more diverse styles, is more likely to be deducted points. In order to avoid such a situation, pre-match inspections need to be sufficient.
After the inspection, the two men came to the ice wearing ice skates with hard blade covers to warm up.
"The first group of ice dance players are about to start warming up. Please get ready." Soon, a cold female voice was heard over the broadcast at the venue.
There was an immediate commotion in the audience. Ji Tiantian raised her eyes and quickly spotted her family and friends in the dense crowd.
Tang Yi's parents did not come to watch the game. Besides the fact that they both had their own businesses to take care of, they also had always left Tang Yi alone and didn't care much about his personal performance.
Ji Tiantian was at the other extreme. Her parents, Chen Yusheng, her deskmate Wang Hao, and her homeroom teacher, Mr. Shen, were all there. It was quite a sight to see so many people sitting in the audience.
"Come on, Ji Tiantian!" Chen Yusheng shouted loudly.
"Come on, Tiantian!" Zhang Lilian also shouted.
Ji Tiantian smiled and waved at them, then took off the hard knife sheath and slid the ice blade onto the ice surface.
Xia Qiu and Lin Aili were drawn to be the second in the group. Ji Tang would compete next and they would warm up with them.
The two pairs of contestants were familiarizing themselves with their program moves on the ice, and their eyes met from time to time. Ji Tiantian could see an expression of enjoying a good show on Xia Qiu's face.
In Xia Qiu's opinion, Ji Tiantian was brought in by Tang Yi, who was not lucky with his dancing partners. Ji Tiantian might be good, but no matter how good she was, she could not compare to Lin Aili.
Xia Qiu thought so, feeling extremely happy, and his feet slid faster and faster. Defeating the national team players, ah, something that he had never dared to think about before was about to come true.
Ji Tiantian didn't pay attention to Xia Qiu. She was concentrating on warming up.
She had her battles to fight before passing Tang Yi to her next dance partner.
"Practice time is over. Please leave the ice. Please get ready, first pair." Three minutes later, a clear broadcast voice sounded.
Ji Tiantian's family and friends in the audience all looked nervous, including her homeroom teacher, Ms. Shen, who had seen many dance performances, but this was her first time watching a figure skating competition.
"The ice dance short dance competition is starting now. The first pair of contestants to appear is a joint team of the South City Sports Bureau and the national team, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi. They are 13 and 15 years old."
As the announcement sounded, applause broke out from the audience.
Ji Tiantian was like a little swan with high morale. She pushed hard on the ice, and her slender legs left a long and narrow arc on the ice. The powerful sound of the ice blade cutting the ice echoed clearly in her ears.
"This kind of union... is so strange. The faces of people from South City are so strange."
"I'm a dancer who has only been on the ice for half a year."
"A rookie who has been on the ice for half a year, and the most promising next generation of the national team? What kind of combination is this?"
"How strange. Can you hold your own as the first one to appear?"
In addition to a large group of friends and fans of the players, there were also ice fans who came to watch the game. They only paid attention to the program and did not have a thorough understanding of each player. After hearing the broadcast, they all expressed confusion. Everyone cast their doubtful eyes towards Ji Tiantian on the ice.
Ji Tiantian slid straight forward with her legs, took a deep breath, raised her arms forcefully, and showed an unusually bright smile to the ice fans and relatives and friends in the audience.
She is the daughter of a dancer and a dancer herself.
She has never been afraid of public appearances. When all eyes are on her, she becomes even more dazzling.
There seemed to be stars twinkling in her eyes.
"Hey, this girl has great spirit, her smile is very contagious and her courage is commendable." Ice fans applauded and encouraged Ji Tiantian who was competing for the first time.
Zhang Lilian squeezed Ji Ze's hand tightly, and was so nervous that she couldn't speak. Not to mention the competition, she went to watch Ji Tiantian's ice training and was also very nervous.
"Ji Tiantian! Come on!" Chen Yusheng shouted.
"Ji Tiantian! Come on!" Wang Hao, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but yell out under the influence of the atmosphere on the scene.
Then cheers came one after another, and the atmosphere on the scene was slowly ignited.
Tang Yi skated to Ji Tiantian's side, looked at her with a slightly frown, his eyes seemed to be saying - you have a good relationship with the boys in your class, right?
"Tang Yi, come on! Don't lose!"
"Tang Yi! Come on!"
Soon, louder and louder shouts rang out, almost blowing the roof off. From the sound, it was clear that they came from Tang Yi's die-hard fans.
“Come on Ji Tiantian!” Chen Yusheng and Wang Hao were unwilling to have their voices drowned out, so they shouted back at Tang Yi’s fans in the audience.
Ji Tiantian tried her best to hold back her laughter.
When Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi took a face-to-face starting position on the ice, the audience was almost quiet.
Everyone was quietly and anxiously waiting for the music to start.
Ji Tiantian looked into Tang Yi's deep eyes, and at the same time, he also looked at her intently.
They could read each other's firm belief in each other's eyes.
Wei Xiao and Chang Yu were the well-deserved champions of the 2010 National Championships in their previous life. Xia Qiu and Lin Aili performed well in the 2010 National Championships in their previous life, beating many adult players and winning the runner-up.
In her previous life, Ji Tiantian had no contact with ice dance competitions and did not participate in the 2010 National Championships.
Now she stands here, reversing her fate, and everything will be different.
We can’t let Xia Qiu be so proud.
I want to win a medal, and go further. She speaks with her eyes.
And she believed that Tang Yi understood what she meant. He held her hand tightly.
Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" sounded, and the soft piano sound built a palace of music on the cold ice surface.
"I'm so nervous." Jiang Lin, standing on the edge of the ice, couldn't help but cross her hands in front of her chest.
"You weren't nervous when you watched Tang Yi compete before." Xu Chi smiled.
"It's different when I coach them myself." Jiang Lin said with a sad face, "Although I understand the other players' efforts, I also hope that Tiantian and Tang Yi can skate to a wider range of competitions... They are both such good kids."
"They will." Xu Chi said softly, clenching his fists. "They will."
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi held hands face to face, dancing on the crystal ice, using the front inside edge of the right foot, then the back outside edge of the left foot, and then the choctaw. The two looked at each other with gentle expressions.
In the 3-minute short dance, they have to complete the prescribed pattern dance, a set of steps consisting of various steps, a short lift and a set of synchronized twists. The pattern dance is divided into two parts and counted as two technical moves.
Three minutes, five technical moves, don't relax for a moment.
But in the tense atmosphere, they must show extreme elegance.
Ice dancing is dancing on ice.
Ji Tiantian slightly bent her slender legs and gently tucked her floating feet at the ankles of her sliding feet. The black skirt decorated with rhinestones fluttered gently behind her like the starry sky at midnight, and the blade left a slender arc on the ice.
They swung gently to the left and right like a pendulum, like a boat floating in the universe, like a fish swimming in the deep sea, following the music.
This is their Viennese waltz.
-over-
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