Chapter 54 2012 First Free Dance
◎Shout out your own voice◎
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi, like two nimble snow leopards, leaped and danced on the ice. The ice teeth turned into ice skates, and they glided smoothly on the ice, switching the blades back and forth under their feet.
Amid the lively music, several foreign audience members chatted quietly.
"I almost forgot. The Chinese team showed very good toe footwork in the free dance in 2011. They used the blade teeth like a veteran. Now there is finally a social dance that can show their strengths!"
"Is this related to Ji's previous experience of studying ballet... Is she better at controlling her toes?"
"Maybe? Swing dance is really a very suitable social dance for them!"
"I originally thought they were not good at social dancing, but now it seems... I can't say for sure. I wonder who will win the gold medal this season."
The audience was talking about it, which made Ni Chuan and many Chinese audiences nervous.
However, the foreign audiences who felt that Ji Tang had no hope of winning the gold medal have stopped talking.
"I feel that this season...Tiantang can break the impression that others have that they are not good at social dancing." A Chinese ice fan whispered softly, "Come on Tiantang..."
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi on the ice began to skate in a circular step sequence facing each other.
The circular step sequence (abbreviated as CIST on the sub-score table) refers to a male and female skater skating in an arc trajectory with the short axis of the ice surface as the diameter. When skating in an arc, a variety of difficult steps and grips are required at the same time. The grade is determined by the number of changes in difficult steps and grips and the length of the arc trajectory, that is, the ice surface coverage.
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi glided side by side along the arc to the cheerful music.
Choctaw changes footwork, followed by a Mohawk, a hop on toes, and a double twist.
The two performed a joyful sequence of non-touching steps. From beginning to end, they did not hold hands, but their steps were surprisingly synchronized.
At the moment of sliding out the connecting step, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi held each other's hands face to face, forming a waltz handshake, and continued the next dance steps.
"Very beautiful. I don't know if it's because Ji and Tang have grown up a little bit, but their postures look like they already have the shadow of first-class players..." A foreign audience exclaimed, "Although some of their footwork and connections seem to need to be polished, but... they look very comfortable."
"With ease" means being able to dance on the ice as if it were flat ground. Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi seemed to be not worried about anything and showed off their footwork to their heart's content.
After a set of synchronized twisting steps, Ji Tang completed the last move in the short dance, a turning and lifting movement.
Tang Yi held Ji Tiantian's waist, and Ji Tiantian stretched her upper body and legs backwards, holding the knife in her hand. In the swirling wind, she raised her chin, closed her eyes, and smiled in enjoyment.
With the cheerful music, time seemed to go back to the grand ballroom of the last century with its charming sounds and colors, where everyone was dancing to their heart's content.
Amidst applause, Ji Tang finished the short dance and soon received their results.
The technical score was 29.56, the program content score was 26.21, and the short dance score was 55.77.
There is still some gap in scores compared to the last game of last season.
"You performed very well. It's the beginning of the season and the referees will always be stricter, otherwise it will be difficult to score later." Xu Chi said to Ji Tiantian.
Ji Tiantian nodded and went to the information desk to get the score sheet.
This time she missed a key point in the pattern dance, which meant that one of the pattern dances was downgraded to level 3. The short dance transition steps were level 2 as in the past. For her, getting a level 3 transition step in the short dance was much more difficult than the free dance. This may be because her social dance foundation was not solid.
There were no mistakes in the other difficult movements, all of which were rated the highest level 4.
Such results can indeed rank among the top in the race, but as for winning the gold medal... there may still be a long way to go.
Ji Tiantian could fully imagine that the Goose Katerin group and the Canadian giants group would not have so many points lost in the short dance. Either all the key points of the pattern dance were correct, or the connecting steps were at level 3. Of course, it was more likely that both were true.
When she set her goal there, Ji Tiantian realized that there was still some gap between her and it. This season, it might be hard to be as lucky as in the Winter Youth Olympics.
Ji Tiantian gently folded her hands on her chest and felt her heart pounding.
"In fact, our pressure is not as great as smiling all the time." Tang Yi stood at the side, paying attention to Ji Tiantian's expression, and then continued, "Chang Yu has become so worried about his qualification for the Winter Olympics that his hair has turned white. He suffers from insomnia every day." Tang Yi has a good relationship with the adult group, and they have always kept in touch even when they were training away.
Ji Tiantian couldn't help laughing. She already had a picture of her adult male partner Chang Yu scratching his head frantically in her mind.
"If we get promoted this season, will they be under less pressure?" Ji Tiantian asked.
"If I can't play, the pressure will only be greater," said Tang Yi.
Ji Tiantian thought so too. There was only one spot available for the adult group in the World Championships. If she and Tang Yisheng went to compete for the qualification for the Winter Olympics, it would mean that Xiaokou Changkai would not be able to participate.
And not being able to appear in international competitions means that the future is becoming increasingly bleak.
It is impossible for athletes to be without pressure, and sometimes this pressure also means luck. Compared with athletes who cannot come to the international arena for various reasons, they are already much luckier.
"Thank you, I feel much better." Ji Tiantian smiled at Tang Yi.
Then it was the turn of the Spanish childhood sweethearts group to compete in the short dance.
The female companion Anna wore a white shirt, tie and a uniform skirt. The male companion Lei Luo was dressed similarly, with a white shirt, tie and black pants. The two looked like waiters in a midnight bar.
As the guests left at midnight, the lovely waiters danced to retro music in the empty bar.
Lei Luo and Anna danced hand in hand on the ice. Although the whole dance did not have many personal style footwork like Ji Tang, it had a retro ballroom feel, with the beat just right and a tacit understanding. The two stretched out their hands and kicked their legs together, which instantly infected the audience with a happy atmosphere.
Soon the results of Lei Luo and Anna came out, with a technical score of 28.87, a program content score of 26.33, and a short dance score of 55.20.
In terms of technical movements, the Spanish group and Ji Tang were almost the same, with only one key point in the pattern dance being wrong, and the connecting step being level two.
The short dance of the youth ice dance group ended quickly. Ji Tang won the first place with 55.77, and the Spanish group took the second place with 55.20.
Ji Tang and the Spanish team hugged each other. Ji Tiantian and Anna looked at each other with emotional smiles.
Ji Tiantian knew that Anna was the same as her, thinking that if the Goose Group or the Canadian Group were present, they would not be able to get this ranking in the short dance. In order to achieve their goals this season, they all had to work harder.
"Let's do our best together."
"Let's work hard together." The two groups spoke to each other, with a burning desire to fight in their eyes.
The next day, the ice dance free dance competition in Courchevel began.
This time, the Spanish group started performing before Ji Tang. The male partner Lei Luo wore a high-necked black shirt, with his hair all tied back and glued into bunches with hairspray. On the arms of the shirt, diamonds were used to outline the shape of blades. Anna wore a snow-white flowing long dress.
"Next group, Spain, Ana, Leilo." With the cold broadcast, the two came onto the ice one after another. The audience burst into warm applause expressing their expectation.
Unlike the short dance with a set rhythm, the free dance has no restrictions on music and dance styles. The first stop of the new season is like a blind box for the audience. Before opening it, no one knows what music the free dance will use or what performance techniques the contestants will use.
As in the past, the ice dance free dance audience was much fuller than the short dance competition. Many audiences came to experience the joy of opening blind boxes.
Soon, the Spanish group's background music began, and then some well-informed audience members exclaimed, "It's Edward Scissorhands!"
The contestants' costumes and music are enough to hint at the roles they are going to play. Of course, if you don't know the background, it doesn't matter. Just watching the contestants' performances is also pleasing to the eye.
On the ice, Lei Luo and Anna skated hand in hand to the soundtrack "STORYTIME", which is the dreamy soundtrack of the classic movie "Edward Scissorhands".
Laidlaw plays the male protagonist in the movie, a robot with scissor-shaped hands, while Anna plays a girl who falls in love with the robot. They skate happily on the ice, adding elements of mechanical dance.
The ending of the movie "Edward Scissorhands" is that the girl and the robot have to separate due to public pressure, and the robot lives in seclusion in the castle. But the robot always remembers that the girl likes snow, so every year, he trims ice sculptures in the castle, and the ice chips become snow, which is blown into the town where the girl lives. Every time it snows, the girl knows that the robot is thinking about her.
"Are you inspired by the puppet dance in last season's 'Coppelia'? So we started doing robot dance this season." An audience member who is familiar with the Spanish group said this in the audience.
“It feels so proficient. Whether it’s the sense of loss of control shown in the puppet dance or the sense of delay required in the robot dance, they all performed very well.”
"That's amazing muscle control... I... can hardly even jump like this on land."
"The theme chosen by Lei Luo and Anna is very suitable for them and also for ice dance performances! What a great idea! The choreography is also great!"
"Come on, Annarelo!"
"It can be seen that the Spanish group is also very ambitious this season. They prepared very carefully for the free dance... I wonder what their final ranking will be." An audience member said this, and a tense atmosphere spread in the audience again.
On the ice, Anna and Lei Luo entered into a synchronized twist after a small jump.
The two put their fingers together, put their arms up beside them, and twisted their legs, full of mechanical style, yet interesting. Lei Luo had a blank expression on his face, while Anna had a happy smile all the time. Both of them remembered their roles from beginning to end. Their steps were unusually synchronized, which attracted rounds of applause.
They completed all the technical movements required for the free dance one after another, very skillfully and in a very lively atmosphere. Finally, they calmly bowed out to the applause.
When Lai Luo took his bow, he deliberately cut the ice with the blade, then grabbed a piece of ice and threw it in the direction of the audience. There was a burst of happy laughter and whistles from the audience, and even the referees couldn't help but smile.
Lei Luo's impromptu reaction not only expressed his joy at their successful completion of the free dance, but also was consistent with the theme they wanted to express.
Amid the rising cheers, the Spanish team came to the equalizing area to wait for their results. Soon, their free dance results came out.
The technical score was 37.21, the program content score was 43.36, and the free dance score was 80.57. Together with the short dance score of 55.20, the total score was 135.77.
"What a high score!" a Chinese audience member exclaimed in the audience.
“Is this a high score?”
"A pair of players' scores in the current season should be getting higher and higher as the season progresses. They're already so high in the first leg, so they'll probably be even higher in the future!"
"Ah... I don't know how Sweetie will perform! I'm so nervous!"
"Wow, I think their Little Prince last season was already at his peak. Will he really exceed his peak this season?"
The Chinese audience in the auditorium huddled together nervously, making uneasy noises.
Even Ni Chuan, who had rich experience in watching games, couldn't help scratching his ears and cheeks, he was extremely nervous.
At the edge of the ice, Ji Tiantian silently looked at the score display screen.
The Spanish team should have only level 2 in the step sequence, and all other technical movements are level 4. The overall technical score is not bad, which is the level they have always been at. The program content is very good, combined with personal characteristics and novelty, and it really should not be low.
"The next pair of contestants are from China, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi." A cold notification came from the radio.
The order of free dance was in reverse order of the short dance, after the Spanish group, it was Ji Tang's turn. Ji Tiantian stood at the entrance and looked at Tang Yi.
Tang Yi gave her a firm look, and then the two of them slid onto the ice one after another.
"Ji Tiantian! Tang Yi!"
Ni Chuan and many people in the audience became excited, clapped loudly, and called out Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi's names.
"There is not much difference between the short dance of Tiantang and the Spanish group. In the end, who will take first place in the station will still depend on the free dance." A Chinese audience member said nervously.
"The Spanish team performed very well this time, and their program content scores were also very high. They probably don't want to give up the gold medal. Tiantang probably won't have such a high program content score, it all depends on how well she performs technically!"
"Ahhhh, don't make any mistakes!!"
"Sweet sugar! Sweet sugar!"
Amid the tense atmosphere, cheers continued to rise.
This time, Ji Tiantian had her hair in a Chinese-style bun. She was wearing a light green modified skirt, a team-leading front-opening style, with semi-transparent gauze sleeves and a skirt that fell lightly above the knees. Sparkling rhinestones were pasted on the skirt and the ribbon on the chest. Tang Yi wore a dark orange round-neck Tang-style men's suit on the upper body and matching pants on the lower body.
This time, the music for their free dance came from the Chinese TV series, The Palace of Eternal Life. Ji Tiantian played the role of Wu Zetian's daughter, Princess Taiping, while Tang Yi played the princess's husband, Xue Shao.
On the ice, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi stood back to back. Ji Tiantian lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and got into character.
Soon, their background music - the beautiful "Stay Together Forever" sounded.
"Ahhhhh!" When the melody of the motherland's music resounded across the ice, Chinese ice fans cheered uncontrollably.
This was something they had never experienced in an ice dance competition before.
Ji Tiantian turned around lightly and smiled happily at Tang Yi. In this free dance, they performed the story of Princess Taiping and Xue Shao in the TV series, which was slightly different from the historical facts.
In "The Palace of the Great Ming", the young Taiping and her companion Wei Shi disguised themselves as eunuchs to celebrate the Lantern Festival. On the busy streets, Taiping and Wei Shi, who was wearing a mask, got separated. She looked for people wearing the same mask, and kept taking off other people's masks to see if it was Wei Shi. Then, she met Xue Shao, who was wearing the same mask. The disguised princess took off Xue Shao's mask and fell in love with the young man at first sight.
Chang'an Moonlight
A pot of sake?? A bunch of peach blossoms
Heart like candlelight
Desire lights up in fantasy
A long and charming female voice echoed on the ice.
On the ice, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi acted out the first encounter between Tai Ping and Xue Shao. Ji Tiantian chased Tang Yi to the beat, with a happy smile on her delicate face.
They performed a swallow-style balancing step together, followed by a series of varied steps. The footwork was changed with blades, and the hand gestures and upper body movements were all taken from Chinese dance. They looked at each other with smiles on their faces, as if they were wandering in the thousands of lights of the Chang'an Lantern Festival.
After returning to the palace, Taiping told her mother Wu Zetian about her encounter with Xue Shao. Wu Zetian immediately decided to make Xue Shao her husband. After Wu Zetian sent someone to investigate, she found that Xue Shao already had a wife. In order to give her daughter a perfect love, she ordered the death of Xue Shao's wife. Taiping was unaware of this. Taiping married Xue Shao, only to find out that Xue Shao did not love her, so the two began a long and intense struggle.
The free dance music changed to "Bian Gu" from "Da Ming Palace Ci". This music mainly consists of drum beats, without any vocals or melody.
In the dense drum beats, Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi began to chase each other fiercely, showing the tug-of-war in marriage. Their intertwined dance steps, rotations and push-pull, did not seem like the interaction between husband and wife, but more like the fight between martial artists in Peking Opera. In such a tug-of-war, they completed the synchronized twisting steps.
It was still a five-, four-, four-week combination. Accompanied by the fine drum beats, the twists were completed as fast as thunder.
Intense applause broke out, but soon died down. The audience held their breath and watched the performance of Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi on the ice.
They soon discovered that Ji Tang's performance this time was different from the past, more detailed, more profound, and more intense. They didn't want to miss any details.
Ji Tiantian frowned and looked at Tang Yi, her expression showing reluctance and sadness, while Tang Yi also looked at her with a hint of anger in his eyes. The two people's eyes intertwined fiercely as if in sync. Under the drumbeats, undercurrents surged.
Xu Chi and Jiang Lin stood at the edge of the ice, watching Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi skating silently.
Xu Chi once again thought of the previous argument with choreographer Clara.
Just like last season, and the season before that, they always argue about the subject of the free dance.
Clara hopes that Ji Tang can use Chinese-style music to perform the free dance, and if possible, she hopes that the theme will be more suitable for Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi's performance.
"Then Turandot?" Xu Chi suggested.
"To put it bluntly, Turandot is the Eastern world imagined by Westerners. I hope they can perform more Eastern themes," said Clara.
"This won't work. I'm afraid it won't be accepted internationally." Xu Chi instinctively objected based on his experience.
"Xu, why do you insist on letting Tang Yi and Tiantian stay in the youth group for a year?" Clara's question left Xu Chi speechless for a moment.
So Clara continued, "Don't you want Tang Yi and Tian Tian to gain a firm foothold in the international arena? Do you think this Asian duo can gain a firm foothold by performing Western works?"
After a long silence, Clara continued, "Ice dancing is an artistic sport. Any art is inseparable from the theme of self-expression and self-discovery. Other figure skating events focus more on technology rather than expression, so the related problems they face are not so severe. But ice dancing must solve the problem of expression. Even if you don't face it now, you will encounter it in the future. To put it more directly, the gold medal represents a kind of recognition. Only when the judges recognize Asia and China's expression will the gold medal be worn around your neck. Otherwise, I think the silver medal at the World Youth Championships may be the pinnacle of Tiantian and Tang Yi's career."
After hearing Clara's words, Xu Chi took a deep breath. This pure Chinese style free dance was unprecedented, a risky move and a gamble.
If I am not recognized, I may not even get a medal, let alone a gold medal. But if I don't take this risky move, as Clara said, maybe the silver medal in the World Youth Championship will be the peak.
If you want to make more breakthroughs in program content points, it is crucial to learn to speak out your own voice.
"Don't worry, Xu, Tiantian and Tang have the technical foundation, so they can't be that bad. And their performances are getting more and more sophisticated. All you have to do is trust them." Clara looked at Xu Chi, who was struggling, and smiled. "This step will definitely make their future path smoother."
After a fierce struggle, Xu Chi decided to compromise, listen to Clara, and communicate with his leaders and relevant personnel.
Clara hoped that a Chinese dance teacher would join in the choreography of the free dance, so Xu Chi and Ji Tiantian also contacted the Affiliated High School of Capital Dance Academy.
After the principal of the dance school understood Ji Tang's current situation, he immediately contacted the Capital Ballet. The chief choreographer of the dance company did not hesitate to put aside the work at hand and flew to the Montreal Ice Dance School.
"We dancers have an unshirkable responsibility to let the voice of China be heard by the world." After getting off the plane, the chief choreographer shook hands with Clara vigorously with a firm smile on his face. "I hope to play a small role in Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi's journey to the gold medal."
Hearing that the ice dance project needed support from Chinese choreographers, the choreographers from the South City Dance Company and several other domestic dance companies also arrived in Montreal. In the country of ice and snow, everyone gathered together like a blazing fire.
Princess Taiping and Xue Shao's free dance was thus performed in the firelight.
Xu Chi slowly came back to his senses from his memories, looking at Ji Tang on the ice, his eyes a little moist.
The road to the gold medal is more rugged than imagined, but also more meaningful.
Their contestants are shouting out their voices with graceful dance moves.
The "Drum Change" on the ice has ended, and the music has switched again to the beautiful "Staying Together Forever".
Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi clasped their hands and began to spin together. As they spun, they looked at each other, and their eyes gradually softened.
During the long tug of war, Xue Shao fell uncontrollably in love with Princess Taiping.
They seemed to be recalling their encounter during the Lantern Festival. At that time, everything was still beautiful.
Tang Yi supported Ji Tiantian, who stepped on his leg with one foot, looked down at him with a happy smile, and the two completed the arc lift.
After that, Ji Tiantian jumped down, and Tang Yi squatted down holding her with both hands, slid his legs and rotated, stretched his floating leg forward, and the two began to rotate on the spot and lift her up on the spot.
After three weeks, Tang Yi stood up. Ji Tiantian changed the difficulty of the posture and held Tang Yi to do her best posture, with legs parallel to the ice. The six-week standing lift was completed. This was also a joint lift made up of two short lifts.
Finally it was the end. Tang Yi held Ji Tiantian in his arms and did a small lift, then fell onto the ice in Ji Tiantian's arms.
Ji Tiantian knelt on the ice and lifted Tang Yi up. Tang Yi looked at Ji Tiantian and finally smiled, which he rarely did before.
Xue Shao in the play found himself in love with Princess Taiping. However, his ex-wife's death filled him with guilt. In the end, he chose death, and at the end of his life, he was finally free.
Ji Tiantian looked at Tang Yi and raised her head with a sad expression. In the choreography, she should be crying here, sad for Xue Shao's death.
It was easy to cry, but she suddenly didn't want to cry anymore.
Suddenly, she thought of herself as a noble Tang princess. She shouldn't cry easily. After years of trials, she was no longer the little girl who gave her heart to her lover as soon as she saw him.
Tears filled her eyes, but she didn't cry. She lowered her head and looked at Tang Yi again, smiling through her tears. She smiled happily.
Great, you finally fell in love with me. You finally realized that you loved me. Now, my wish has come true.
The sad Chinese-style music on the ice stopped, and Ji Tiantian looked at Tang Yi with a sweet and bright smile.
In the audience, many foreign audiences shed tears silently when they saw Ji Tiantian's smile.
"I don't know why, but I just think their performance is so touching..."
"Yes, Ji's smile is so sad and beautiful..."
"Wow, wow, wow, cry so hard..."
"What drama are they performing? I really want to go and see it!"
Many Chinese audiences also shed tears. Ni Chuan sniffed and began to applaud vigorously.
After a brief silence, the applause from the audience gradually grew louder and louder.
Xu Chi listened to the thunderous applause, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Jiang Lin beside him. Jiang Lin silently took out a tissue and wiped away her tears.
Although Jiang Lin has watched Ji Tang's free dance many times, it is still hard not to be moved by their outstanding live performance.
Xu Chi suddenly remembered what Clara had said to him.
"I don't know what Tiantian and Tang Yi have experienced in the past, but I always feel that the bond between the two of them is not as simple as it seems on the surface." Clara once said to Xu Chi, "To use a metaphor, Tang Yi is like Tiantian's fuse, and Tiantian is the bomb. When she explodes, everyone will be infected by the huge emotions she releases."
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