Moon Child

Chapter 4 Still I Cry

"Push it! Make sure you push it!" Hyun Bin clapped his hands together to emphasise his point.

They have been learning the new contemporary group item for the upcoming competition the whole morning. All the apprentices have been dancing non-stop for the past three hours as Hyun Bin taught them the first pas de deux part of the group dance.

After much deliberation, he decided that everyone would learn the pas de deux part and audition for the leads. That was only fair. So far, the apprentices have been progressing well although capturing the emotions of the piece seem to be where most of them tripped.

Instinctively, Hyun Bin looked over at the swan girl, only to see her struggling with yet another part of his choreography. The true challenge for him was teaching the bright-eyed beauty the choreography piece. He was trying his best to make his instructions explicit but a pas de deux was a tough nut to crack.

With the little time for Ye Jin to build trust with her partner, the poor girl was evidently struggling to keep up. Movements that she could usually do with full ease became difficult when another person was added to the equation.

But she was trying...she really was. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, Ye Jin stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all the other pairings in the room. She must have apologised to her partner over a million times now for either stepping on his foot or slamming into him for the lifts.

Amazingly, her partner, Lee Shin Young was an extremely patient man. Throughout the three hours, the man neither complained nor grew frustrated with his partner, simply keeping to his usual cool, calm and collected demeanour.

While some of the apprentices snickered at the pair, Shin Young simply shrugged it off and tried his best to catch his partner. The responsibility lies in him to ensure Ye Jin doesn't accidentally injure herself.

"Ms Son." Hyun Bin approached the swan girl for the umpteenth time. Shin Young respectfully took a step back to give the ballet legend some space to work with his partner.

"When you're flat on the ground and you lift yourself up for the floor work. No, stop." Hyun Bin watched as Ye Jin attempted the movement before he stopped her.

Ye Jin sat up straighter as she listened to Hyun Bin's instructions, trying her best to apply the corrections he was giving her. But, with contemporary, it was proving to be difficult for the ballet legend to describe the picture in his head to her and he ended up taking ahold of her feet to show her what he meant.

"So you have to – even as you come around, think about how you are shaping the legs and feet...Shape your legs, don't let them just be floppy." His hands were wrapped gently around her pointe shoes now as he guided them to where he wanted them to be.

"That's right the whole way around, even this part so that we are seeing the shape on the floor as well. Think of yourself as an artist drawing on the floor. Yes, beautiful." Hyun Bin nodded in approval when Ye Jin finally grasped the fundamentals behind the movement.

Turning to Shin Young, Hyun Bin frowned slightly as he thought hard about the problem. "You've got to help her, Mr Lee. Don't just drag her. I know this is sort of a violent pas de deux, but it doesn't just look violent now, it looks almost out of control."

Shin Young nodded his head in understanding before he took his position again. The pair tried the choreography once again and Hyun Bin puffed out his cheeks in slight frustration.

"Long neck, ah so there we go. Do it again." He spoke firmly.

"That's right, one more time."

"That's the one. Remember that feeling, Ms Son. Use your muscle memory to your advantage." Hyun Bin finally gave them the green pass.