This is Our Design

Stray From Main(Stream)

This is a short dedicated to novelsandcoffee who I promised a dance fic, but never got around to (sorry). She is currently writing a story called "Someone Else", which also features a female dancer, and the plot is absolutely amazing! So go read it now before you miss out.

Another note, I have absolutely no idea how to input accents, so most of the vocabulary will look plain. Keep in mind that this is 100% choreography and experience taken from my dance world, and that nothing has been copied from some cheesy dance magazine website looking for subscribers. I respect ballet and many other styles, so I hope you will appreciate the time I have put into this.

That's all I have to say.

Enjoy!

***

Hannibal cringes, narrowing his eyes at the poorly trained dancers gliding freely over sprung floors. He watches as they struggle to keep up with the music, a person or two forgetting the choreography every few counts.

He takes them all in, critiques them, judges their every movement; from pas de chats to sissonnes and pique tourne. Not only are they lacking grace, it is like all spirit and devotion to this particular sport has been sucked dry from their souls.The pressure is starting to take effect, he concludes. As the last eight-count comes to a finish, Hannibal prepares himself among his group of male dancers.

(Clink! The staccato of a piano signals their beginning.)

He gathers his confidence and passion into the depths of his heart-

and lets it explode into glorious stars among the judges.

He dances, just as he was always meant to, just as he always wanted. Hannibal transitions effortlessly into petite allegro, gathering surplus energy stored only for the this moment and jumps his way through every combination taught. Pas de bourees are no feat for him, neither are assembles or changement; years of training and patience and honing his powerful mind have prepared him for the difficulties that may come. Nobody holds any importance to him, he can't afford to be worried about hurt feelings when the rookies don't get the job. Hannibal wants this. He wants to be here.

Hannibal catches a few director's gazes upon him, knowing full well why he has captured their attention. When push comes to shove, he must admit:

This audition feels far too easy.

So he exposes a little arrogance, but just barely. Behind him, he notices some of the other dancers start to keel over, trying to catch their breath and staunch burning muscles. He on the other hand, stands tall and unfazed. This audition is vigorous, it's fast and a challenge; the combinations are set in a strange order as well. Not to mention that having petite allegro right before adagio is something unheard of and very risky to the body. Hannibal wonders if the judges are trying to choose the better suit. Or suits, in this case, as two scholarship students will be selected.

***

As his group finishes up, Hannibal thanks the judges for their time (as a gentleman should) and exits left stage. Some beautiful ballerinas carry their grace to the opposite side; their pointes clumping like an overhead of thunder. For such beautiful shoes crafted of ribbon and sole, they make a lot of noise. Hannibal settles on resting his black shorts and tee clad body in the wings just to make a few potential notes. It is useful to observe other dancers to pick up additional clues as to how the judges react to certain movement; like the way ballerinas hold their core. Are they tilting their pelvis? Can they rise fully onto the pointe shoe box? As for the ballerinos, such as Hannibal, he wants to keep up with technique. Are they rolling through their feet? Are they giving enough plié in order to jump? This may sound boring, but when it comes to scholarships, paying attention is not a sin.