Ballet Shoes: Encore

Showing Off

I think the chapter title says enough about what this one entails

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Third Person's P.O.V.

Age: 23

It's that time of year again. It's the day of the charity dance show! There's only an hour before it's supposed to start. Luckily, all of the dancers had abided by the call time this year. As such, everyone was nearly ready. Some performers were doing their final stretches, others were running through their routines one last time and a select few were putting the final touches on their costumes. Ben was included in that last group.

This year, his contemporary piece was first. The costume for it was rather simple. A periwinkle crop top with matching shorts. A blindfold of the same colour was tied around his right hand and a white wristlet covered the omnitrix on his left wrist. Ben also had a bit of makeup on. Nothing fancy, just patches of brown eyeshadow and body paint powder along his exposed arms and legs to mimic dirt.

Ben gave himself a once over in the dressing room mirror. He hummed in delight and packed away the makeup products he used. A knock on the door made his head perk up.

"Is the newest master of ballet ready for the show tonight?" Caroline asked, smiling brightly.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Ben beamed.

"Awesome! It's time for my world famous pep talk."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Caroline nodded and scurried off. Ben slipped on his iconic hoodie and headed out. Almost all the dancers were gathered outside the backstage area when he joined the group. It only took a few moments for the stragglers to arrive. Once they did, Caroline went about making her usual pep talk. It hyped up and reassured everyone as it did each year.

With that, everyone filed back inside. Those who were in the first few dances, as well as a few stragglers, went to the wings while the rest retreated to their dressing rooms. Caroline headed out to centerstage, mic in hand, to greet the audience and give a brief run through of the programme. Typical show business.

The audience applauded as Caroline exited the stage. Once it died down, the curtains were pulled open. Lights soon illuminating the stage. Signifying the start of the first dance and the beginning of another great charity show.

Ben was stood in the left wing. His hoodie carefully draped on top of a nearby box. Excitement was clear as day on his face. This was Ben's first charity show since completing his ballet training after all. That definitely warrants his current enthusiasm.

Applause echoed throughout the theatre as the stage lights faded to black. The curtains were drawn closed shortly after. That meant the opening dance had ended. Which subsequently meant that Ben's contemporary piece was up next.

His excitement somehow doubled.

The group of dancers from the opening routine exited the stage as the audience's clapping died down. Ben then took his starting position. Once in it, the curtains were opened. The lights turning on in a flash as the music began.

From the first few moves alone, one could clearly see how Ben's skillset had improved from the previous year. His transition from one move to another was remarkably fluid. Especially considering all the more gymnastic-type elements. Those tricks weren't his strongest suit but he was in no way terrible at them.

As Ben danced on, he unraveled the blindfold tied on his right hand. The next sequence incorporating it beautifully. At the pause in the music following that portion of the contemporary piece, he put it on with practiced speed and accuracy. The audience even more captivated now.

The music grew more and more intense after the pause. Ben danced accordingly with practiced ease. Every jump, flip and more dramatized movements going off without a hitch. The music hit its peak as Ben slowly stalked forward and harshly pulled down his blindfold. The dance moves that followed dwindling off of that high. The piece came to its close by Ben performing an exaggerated neck snapping movement which led him into his final position. Laying on the stage floor, in a way slightly more comfortable than a heap, as if he just died.

As soon as Ben's contemporary piece was over, the audience broke out in applause. Quite a few members of the crowd cheered as well. The lights gradually faded as the curtains started to close. When they were fully closed, Ben stood up and exited the stage. Remnants of applause could still be heard from the audience as he made a beeline for his hoodie.

Once his hoodie was in hand, the brunette was met with several stares from the dancers who were waiting backstage for their turn to perform. The majority of them were ones of amazement while the minority were ones of shock. Caroline was also backstage and was practically vibrating with excitement as she gave Ben a vigorous thumbs up. 

The corners of Ben's lips twitched upwards in a smile as he made his way to his shared dressing room to get cleaned up and changed. That was one hell of a reaction. Not only from the audience, who had finally stopped clapping and allowed for the next dance to begin, but from the other dancers and Caroline as well.

And that was only from Ben performing his first piece! He still has three more to do.

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Well damn, That's such a Ben thing to do lol. Here's the playlist I made of all the dances Ben performs at this show: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFRXYbtF-yv8aZjnOQnH0ruOh8ajUUB6w

Also, (can't believe I forgot to mention this until now) I'm working with the floating timeline that's used in the original Ben 10 continuity. So if anyone was wondering about the timeline, this chapter takes place in 2019 (when Ben would canonically be 23), the previous chapter takes place in 2018 and so on and so forth. (I hope that's not confusing)

Have a good rest of your day/night!