11 May 2020, 17:30
Dancing to the sound of silence
It was a beautiful sunny day and for once, Carolyn didn’t feel like studying. She visited the library in the morning of course but now, she just wanted to enjoy the lovely day. It would have been even better if she had someone to share it with but she hasn’t been here long enough to make friends just yet. “Not to worry, it will happen eventually,” she reassured herself quietly.
Originally, Carolyn thought of going out for a walk but then decided against the idea. She would rather go with somebody instead of venturing out on her own. Usually, she wouldn’t mind waking alone but she didn’t know the castle grounds that well and didn’t want to risk getting lost. Instead, she decided to indulge in one of her favourite activities. Ballet. Curiously, it was her father, who convinced her to smuggle her ballet clothes and pointe shoes into Hogwarts. Her mother made her take the lessons but she probably wanted her daughter to concentrate on studies during the school year. “There is no harm in doing what you like once in a while. Your brain needs to get rest if you are going to be the best you can be,” Carolyn recalled her father’s words. “Also, I shouldn’t give up on things easily?” She confirmed shortly afterwards and he nodded. "Also that." That was what his parents taught him and he tried to pass it on his daughter as well.
The ballroom was empty when she entered the door. She was half-relieved and half-disappointed. It would be nice to meet other creative souls here but she was also terrible at meeting new people. The room was enormous and it had almost everything any dancer or artist could need. Carolyn’s eyes lingered on the piano. It would be nice to have some music but she didn’t really need it. Without any more stalling, the young witch put on her long skirt and her ballet shoes. Everything else was already on, hidden underneath the black robe. It was time to stretch before she went on with her dancing. If she didn’t she could easily hurt herself.
To be completely honest, dancing in the empty ballroom was a bit odd yet strangely magical with the sun pouring through the windows and no music to accompany her steps. No praise or criticism from her teacher either. Not that she needed them…this way; it was actually much more peaceful, the only sound present was the thudding of her pointe shoes moving across the floor. There would be a slight pain later caused by wearing those but the joy she was feeling every time she danced was well worth it. She didn’t have to think about it just yet anyway. She would dance her troubles away. Perhaps one day, she would not dance alone. That would be nice indeed…
Originally, Carolyn thought of going out for a walk but then decided against the idea. She would rather go with somebody instead of venturing out on her own. Usually, she wouldn’t mind waking alone but she didn’t know the castle grounds that well and didn’t want to risk getting lost. Instead, she decided to indulge in one of her favourite activities. Ballet. Curiously, it was her father, who convinced her to smuggle her ballet clothes and pointe shoes into Hogwarts. Her mother made her take the lessons but she probably wanted her daughter to concentrate on studies during the school year. “There is no harm in doing what you like once in a while. Your brain needs to get rest if you are going to be the best you can be,” Carolyn recalled her father’s words. “Also, I shouldn’t give up on things easily?” She confirmed shortly afterwards and he nodded. "Also that." That was what his parents taught him and he tried to pass it on his daughter as well.
The ballroom was empty when she entered the door. She was half-relieved and half-disappointed. It would be nice to meet other creative souls here but she was also terrible at meeting new people. The room was enormous and it had almost everything any dancer or artist could need. Carolyn’s eyes lingered on the piano. It would be nice to have some music but she didn’t really need it. Without any more stalling, the young witch put on her long skirt and her ballet shoes. Everything else was already on, hidden underneath the black robe. It was time to stretch before she went on with her dancing. If she didn’t she could easily hurt herself.
To be completely honest, dancing in the empty ballroom was a bit odd yet strangely magical with the sun pouring through the windows and no music to accompany her steps. No praise or criticism from her teacher either. Not that she needed them…this way; it was actually much more peaceful, the only sound present was the thudding of her pointe shoes moving across the floor. There would be a slight pain later caused by wearing those but the joy she was feeling every time she danced was well worth it. She didn’t have to think about it just yet anyway. She would dance her troubles away. Perhaps one day, she would not dance alone. That would be nice indeed…
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
12 May 2020, 07:12
Dancing to the sound of silence
It was another day at Hogwarts, and Birdie had nothing to do as usual. When Birdie had nothing to do, she would stumble around until she found something exciting.
She had walked around the castle aimlessly countless times before, and there would always be new surprises. This time, the young girl headed for the fourth floor. A place, she hadn't spend a lot of time in previously.
The corridors of the fourth floor, was similar, but still not quite the same as the rest, that all slightly differed from each other with little details. As she made her way, her eye spotted a door not fully closed, and a weird slight sound from the room. Perfect. Birdie made her way to the door and peeked through it. Inside was a girl in a pink dress and weird shoes dancing around. Or at least Birdie thought it was dancing. It looked weird, but it was like Birdie couldn't stop watching her. The movement of her limbs, and how smooth it was? This had to be some kind of magical dance, Birdie was yet to discover. Birdie had been so distracted by watching the girl, she hadn't even noticed what the rest of the room was filled with. There was a plethora of instruments, and it even featured a grand piano, like the one they had at home. Birdie contemplated going over and playing it, but maybe this dance was meant to be danced in silence. So she just kept watching.
We are the reckless, we are the wild youth.
12 May 2020, 14:22
Dancing to the sound of silence
Carolyn has been dancing for a couple of minutes now, completely oblivious to the outside world. Leaping high in the air and stretching each and every muscle. Some of which she didn’t even realize she had before she started learning ballet. How could dance that required so much strength look so light and effortless? She knew all the techniques and yet it still never ceased to amaze her. So lost in thoughts, it wasn’t until she was finishing her second pirouette that she noticed a young girl standing by the door. It seemed like she watching her dance. Carolyn quickly got over her initial surprise and slowly lowered her heels back to the ground. Is she though? The young witch questioned herself as she often did. She didn’t like to assume things, no matter how small.
“Umm….hello?” She finally addressed the new visitor, sounding a bit self-conscious. “Would you like to use the room? There is plenty of space if you do.” She wouldn’t mind if the girl just wanted to watch either but she still wasn’t sure whether that was the case. It would be a little bit awkward, especially without music but ballet was meant to be shared. One could enjoy it just for their own pleasure of course but it was art and art should be put on a display for those who would enjoy it. “I’m Carolyn Hunt by the way,” she remembered her manners immediately. “First year…Ravenclaw,” she added with a small smile on her face.
@Birdie Spindlewheel
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
12 May 2020, 17:01
Dancing to the sound of silence
Well, this was embarrassing. Birdie had been watching the girl quite intensely for a few minutes, and now she had noticed her. Apparently she had a problem with staring at random people, and going unnoticed.
The girl, Carolyn, was a Ravenclaw and had seemed to be taken by surprise by Birdies intrusion.
In the few minutes, she had been watching, she had come to think of the "weird" dance as quite beautiful. She wondered if it truly was a muggle dance, or if Birdie was just ignorant to its existence. She didn't know much about muggles, but surely they couldn't create something like this. It looked to magical. The dance kind of reminded her of how she imagined a fairy would dance.
"Um... No thanks... Oh, wait. Are you meant to dance in silence?" Birdie asked curiously. She was considering offering her piano skills, for the girl to dance to, but she wasn't sure if that's how the dance was meant to be danced. Maybe, the whole point of it was to not have music.
"And, I'm Birdie. Slytherin." She spoke with a serious look on her face. She reached out her hand with determination, and waited expectantly for Carolyn to grab it.
We are the reckless, we are the wild youth.
13 May 2020, 00:55
Dancing to the sound of silence
So she was just watching me then. Carolyn thought to herself when the other girl refused her offer. For a moment she assumed that would be the end of it but this time, she was wrong. “Oh no, Ballet should be always accompanied by beautiful music. The whole orchestra in fact…but for practice dancers typically enjoy lovely piano melodies. I’m simply missing a pianist.” She explained looking at the musical instrument wistfully. She was a tad surprised by the question to be honest. How did she not know that? Ballet was famous all over the whole world. Even if you never seen it with your own eyes, it was generally known fact that the music was integral part of the whole performance. Unless…
Carolyn came a bit closer to accept the offered hand. “Nice to meet you Birdie. My mother was in Slytherin too,” she commented happily. Her mother was precisely who she was thinking about at the moment. She remembered how she would sometimes find simple things fascinating when her father showed her. Carolyn asked her about it once and she explained that was because she merely never experienced them before. Pure-blood wizards scarcely enjoyed hanging out with muggles and she was no exception. Only after she ran away from home and met the love of her life did she get to see all of those peculiar things. “Some of them I could do without but for most part, I’m happy with my decision.” And frankly speaking, Carolyn wholeheartedly agreed with her. She probably missed many things from the wizarding world but at least her mother told her about them and the rest, she could learn now, whereas some children from pure-blood families would never get to learn about muggle traditions at all.
“Say…is it your first time seeing ballet?” She finally picked up the courage to ask, making sure she sounded somewhat neutral. This may have been surprising to her but to Birdie, it was probably perfectly natural state of things. Perhaps she wasn’t even interested. Carolyn felt privileged that she got to experience both of the worlds growing up but not all wizards and witches shared her point of view. Maybe Birdie was one of them, which would be fine with her as long as she did not despise her father’s world for no reason. All people were entitled to their opinions but some had a habit of judging stuff without really knowing it in the first place and THAT was not okay in her book.
Carolyn came a bit closer to accept the offered hand. “Nice to meet you Birdie. My mother was in Slytherin too,” she commented happily. Her mother was precisely who she was thinking about at the moment. She remembered how she would sometimes find simple things fascinating when her father showed her. Carolyn asked her about it once and she explained that was because she merely never experienced them before. Pure-blood wizards scarcely enjoyed hanging out with muggles and she was no exception. Only after she ran away from home and met the love of her life did she get to see all of those peculiar things. “Some of them I could do without but for most part, I’m happy with my decision.” And frankly speaking, Carolyn wholeheartedly agreed with her. She probably missed many things from the wizarding world but at least her mother told her about them and the rest, she could learn now, whereas some children from pure-blood families would never get to learn about muggle traditions at all.
“Say…is it your first time seeing ballet?” She finally picked up the courage to ask, making sure she sounded somewhat neutral. This may have been surprising to her but to Birdie, it was probably perfectly natural state of things. Perhaps she wasn’t even interested. Carolyn felt privileged that she got to experience both of the worlds growing up but not all wizards and witches shared her point of view. Maybe Birdie was one of them, which would be fine with her as long as she did not despise her father’s world for no reason. All people were entitled to their opinions but some had a habit of judging stuff without really knowing it in the first place and THAT was not okay in her book.
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
29 May 2020, 12:46
Dancing to the sound of silence
Lyra had dragged her dance duffel here, since she had absolutely no idea where the Rehearsal Room was.
Her sneakers made as little noise and possible as she walked to the Ballroom, coming in and putting her duffel down and sitting down as well. She opened it and took out her pointe and tap shoes, as she had wanted to work on her pirouettes and grapevines for a while, but had never mustered the courage to come here herself. She pulled on her pointe shoes, and quickly got down in a split to start stretching, as she had warmed up a little in her dorm.
It was only then that she realized the presence of two other students in the Ballroom and she whipped her head towards them. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized Carolyn, her fellow dorm mate. “Sorry.. I didn’t see you there.” She awkwardly told both students. Carolyn was in points shoes, and Lyra was wearing a pair of those as well. “Carolyn, I didn’t know you danced! Do you do only ballet or other styles as well?” Not wanting to be rude, she turned to the other student and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Lyra. Pleasure to meet you.”
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt and @Birdie Spindlewheel
Her sneakers made as little noise and possible as she walked to the Ballroom, coming in and putting her duffel down and sitting down as well. She opened it and took out her pointe and tap shoes, as she had wanted to work on her pirouettes and grapevines for a while, but had never mustered the courage to come here herself. She pulled on her pointe shoes, and quickly got down in a split to start stretching, as she had warmed up a little in her dorm.
It was only then that she realized the presence of two other students in the Ballroom and she whipped her head towards them. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized Carolyn, her fellow dorm mate. “Sorry.. I didn’t see you there.” She awkwardly told both students. Carolyn was in points shoes, and Lyra was wearing a pair of those as well. “Carolyn, I didn’t know you danced! Do you do only ballet or other styles as well?” Not wanting to be rude, she turned to the other student and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Lyra. Pleasure to meet you.”
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt and @Birdie Spindlewheel
Lyra
Is it bad to consider books as your best friends?
30 May 2020, 21:42
Dancing to the sound of silence
Carolyn was curiously awaiting Birdie’s answer but before it came, someone else had entered the room. It was no surprise really; she actually expected someone would already be here when she came in. It was a miracle to find the ballroom empty during the day. I suppose, I was just lucky, she thought to herself. At first, she didn’t want to seem rude so she didn’t check out the newcomer immediately but the rustling eventually got to her. “Lyra?” She perked up at the sight of familiar face. “It’s nice to see you; I didn’t know you danced either.” She was excited that there was another girl she knew, who did ballet. Maybe they could dance together from time to time. “I mostly do ballet or contemporary dance. Not great at the modern dances and definitely can’t do tap dancing,” she nodded towards Lyra’s tap shoes. “Although I would love to learn that one,” she admitted honestly. “What kind of dancing do you do?” She asked her roommate in return. Carolyn particularly enjoyed the Irish step dancing but she found the other styles amazing as well. “Do you want to practice with me? I mean, I don’t have music unfortunately but it might still be fun if we do it together.” Carolyn sincerely hoped that Birdie wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by all this. After all, she seemed to be confused by what little she saw until now and suddenly out of nowhere, there were two of them. But maybe she can play piano…that would be amazing!
Interacting with @Lyra Lake and @Birdie Spindlewheel
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
31 May 2020, 02:51
Dancing to the sound of silence
Lyra’s eyes shined at Carolyn’s enthusiasm, it was really great to see someone who saw dance as she did. “In fact I do. My father took it upon himself to educate me in the arts as much as he could, especially music and dance, and I fell in love with the latter. I really like Horton dance, it’s not very popular but it’s great, I enjoy lyrical, tap, contemporary, and jazz. Ballet is mandatory, but it’s not my favorite. It seems to be your thing though, so it would be awesome if we could dance together sometime!” Lyra’s father had been very strict about her education, and now the girl was grateful that her dad had introduced her to her favorite art/sport. It had been quite exhausting though, waking up at dawn, going jogging or doing some other exercise, and dedicating time after school and on weekends to dance and play various instruments.
“For the music, I used to record myself playing piano and then dance to it later. Although, to be fair, it doesn’t sound nearly as good as a live piano, but we could do without I suppose.” Few people saw dance as Lyra did. As an art, as a sport, and as a way to talk without sound. She sincerely hoped that Carolyn felt the same way, but she had a feeling she did. “I came here to work on my double pirouettes, and frankly I was hoping for some help.” As she was talking, she had switched her splits, reached on each side, and quickly stretched her joints to avoid injury and stiffness. She stood up and went to stand next to Carolyn, eyeing her perfect posture. ‘This is great! By the looks of her position, she could definitely teach me a thing or two.’ she thought. She then settled her gaze on Birdie before looking at the room itself. ‘Either Birdie was here to watch Carolyn, or she came here to practice too. What if she plays the guitar or something? If she did, she could be inclined to practice with them, which would be awesome!’ As she was thinking, Lyra had unconsciously put her feet in third position.
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt and @Birdie Spindlewheel
“For the music, I used to record myself playing piano and then dance to it later. Although, to be fair, it doesn’t sound nearly as good as a live piano, but we could do without I suppose.” Few people saw dance as Lyra did. As an art, as a sport, and as a way to talk without sound. She sincerely hoped that Carolyn felt the same way, but she had a feeling she did. “I came here to work on my double pirouettes, and frankly I was hoping for some help.” As she was talking, she had switched her splits, reached on each side, and quickly stretched her joints to avoid injury and stiffness. She stood up and went to stand next to Carolyn, eyeing her perfect posture. ‘This is great! By the looks of her position, she could definitely teach me a thing or two.’ she thought. She then settled her gaze on Birdie before looking at the room itself. ‘Either Birdie was here to watch Carolyn, or she came here to practice too. What if she plays the guitar or something? If she did, she could be inclined to practice with them, which would be awesome!’ As she was thinking, Lyra had unconsciously put her feet in third position.
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt and @Birdie Spindlewheel
Lyra
Is it bad to consider books as your best friends?
31 May 2020, 15:45
Dancing to the sound of silence
„Wow…seems like you can do a lot,“ Carolyn praised her roommate, sounding fairly impressed. “I mostly concentrate on classical ballet but it’s definitely a very specific kind of dance. I can see why it’s not your favorite. Personally, I think it’s good enough that you appreciate it.” She was quite passionate about ballet yet she understood when others preferred different styles. Ballet was beauty but it was also pain. Not everyone could come to love it fully but it was great to hear when somebody understood its importance. There were certain things it could give you and from which you could benefit no matter what dance you wanted to do the most.
“That would be nice but I’m not sure it would work here. I think most Muggle electronics don’t work in Hogwarts unless it has some magical properties.” She reacted to Lyra’s kind offer. It would be lovely if it did of course and they could always try but she had her doubts. Maybe one of the older students or even Professors could help them solve the problem eventually. There must be some kind of spell for it. We’ll see… “Pirouettes?” She perked up upon the mention of her favorite move. According to her teacher, she was a natural turner. A term used for ballerinas that could do pirouettes without much problems because they understood them right from the beginning. Many people struggled with them while she on the other hand really enjoyed those. “Oh I can definitely help you with double pirouettes …I mean at least I hope so. I can do them but I never tried to teach somebody,” she admitted after which she let Lyra do her stretching. “If you want to keep watching and Lyra doesn’t mind, feel free to do so. You can ask questions too,” she smiled at Birdie before turning back to her Ravenclaw friend. “Obviously, your first goal is to master the regular pirouette. If you did that, the rest shouldn’t be that impossible. You just have to make sure to stay aligned. The moment you lose it and distort your body’s position, you will likely lose your balance… just like a coin begins to wobble when it leans a little bit more in either direction.” Carolyn explained the most important part and turned on the spot perfectly straight, to support her argument with an example.
“It’s also good not to change your hands position once you start to turn. Only your head should move quickly. I do like to use my hands during Pirouettes but I only started to do that when I became completely confident in my body movement. Many people try to use their arms to propel the turning when actually, it should be the exact opposite. Your arms are there mostly as decoration. Also, try to already be on balance foot and maintain it as you plié for the preparation. The balance doesn’t only happen once you releve and begin turning it begins in your plié.” She did struggle with this at the beginning so she knew it could be an issue. “Maybe after you finish your stretching I can take a look at your technique and see what seems to be the problem?” She suggested eventually. “And you can also teach me something from your favorite dances later,” she offered excitedly.
“That would be nice but I’m not sure it would work here. I think most Muggle electronics don’t work in Hogwarts unless it has some magical properties.” She reacted to Lyra’s kind offer. It would be lovely if it did of course and they could always try but she had her doubts. Maybe one of the older students or even Professors could help them solve the problem eventually. There must be some kind of spell for it. We’ll see… “Pirouettes?” She perked up upon the mention of her favorite move. According to her teacher, she was a natural turner. A term used for ballerinas that could do pirouettes without much problems because they understood them right from the beginning. Many people struggled with them while she on the other hand really enjoyed those. “Oh I can definitely help you with double pirouettes …I mean at least I hope so. I can do them but I never tried to teach somebody,” she admitted after which she let Lyra do her stretching. “If you want to keep watching and Lyra doesn’t mind, feel free to do so. You can ask questions too,” she smiled at Birdie before turning back to her Ravenclaw friend. “Obviously, your first goal is to master the regular pirouette. If you did that, the rest shouldn’t be that impossible. You just have to make sure to stay aligned. The moment you lose it and distort your body’s position, you will likely lose your balance… just like a coin begins to wobble when it leans a little bit more in either direction.” Carolyn explained the most important part and turned on the spot perfectly straight, to support her argument with an example.
“It’s also good not to change your hands position once you start to turn. Only your head should move quickly. I do like to use my hands during Pirouettes but I only started to do that when I became completely confident in my body movement. Many people try to use their arms to propel the turning when actually, it should be the exact opposite. Your arms are there mostly as decoration. Also, try to already be on balance foot and maintain it as you plié for the preparation. The balance doesn’t only happen once you releve and begin turning it begins in your plié.” She did struggle with this at the beginning so she knew it could be an issue. “Maybe after you finish your stretching I can take a look at your technique and see what seems to be the problem?” She suggested eventually. “And you can also teach me something from your favorite dances later,” she offered excitedly.
OOC: I didn’t mention Birdie too much since she hasn’t replied for a while. I’m not sure if she even follows the thread anymore.Interacting with @Lyra Lake and @Birdie Spindlewheel
“There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this” -Merlin
iNPC: Ye-jun Lee
31 May 2020, 19:59
Dancing to the sound of silence
”You’re right.” Lyra said, referring to the music issue. “I do remember reading that but I must’ve forgotten it.” The girl smiled when she said that her roommate focused mostly on ballet. “That’s great, since it is one of my weaker styles. Out of curiosity, have you tried hip hop or street dancing? I’ve tried it once and it actually really helped to loosen my muscles. It was a one-time thing though. It offered different conditioning that ballet does, strengthening your arms and aiding with your power.” Ballet was a basis for all of the other dances. Wherever you went, you had to take it. Very few dancers led dancing careers without ballet.
As Carolyn lit up when Lyra mentioned pirouettes, the latter smiled. And when her roommate demonstrated a very neat turn series, Lyra broke into applause, impressed. “Wow, that’s amazing! You must be a natural turner or something.” The fellow Ravenclaw went on to give Lyra tips to execute spotless turns and she nodded as she followed along, prepping her body in fourth position to start turning as well. “By the way, I could definitely show you some Horton, it’s my favorite style so far.”
Pulling her leg up into a passé, she whipped her head around twice, but falling out of her second pirouette, since she wobbled during her turn, not knowing how to correctly distribute her focus. Lyra turned to Carolyn, groaning in frustration. “Do you know what I’m doing wrong? Double pirouettes seem to be so much harder than single ones, I keep having either not enough momentum or too much.” She tried it again, this time keeping her arms in first position and snapping up to her passé immediately after propelling herself, and spotted a double turn, only she wobbled at the end again and the turn wasn’t very stable, but better than before. “I think I’m doing something wrong it the beginning. They’re really fun, but I just wish I was a little better at them, especially during performances, I tend to get nervous.” she told Carolyn.
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt
Irl I actually am struggling with my pirouettes, I can never seem to go fast or strong enough.
As Carolyn lit up when Lyra mentioned pirouettes, the latter smiled. And when her roommate demonstrated a very neat turn series, Lyra broke into applause, impressed. “Wow, that’s amazing! You must be a natural turner or something.” The fellow Ravenclaw went on to give Lyra tips to execute spotless turns and she nodded as she followed along, prepping her body in fourth position to start turning as well. “By the way, I could definitely show you some Horton, it’s my favorite style so far.”
Pulling her leg up into a passé, she whipped her head around twice, but falling out of her second pirouette, since she wobbled during her turn, not knowing how to correctly distribute her focus. Lyra turned to Carolyn, groaning in frustration. “Do you know what I’m doing wrong? Double pirouettes seem to be so much harder than single ones, I keep having either not enough momentum or too much.” She tried it again, this time keeping her arms in first position and snapping up to her passé immediately after propelling herself, and spotted a double turn, only she wobbled at the end again and the turn wasn’t very stable, but better than before. “I think I’m doing something wrong it the beginning. They’re really fun, but I just wish I was a little better at them, especially during performances, I tend to get nervous.” she told Carolyn.
Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt
Irl I actually am struggling with my pirouettes, I can never seem to go fast or strong enough.
Lyra
Is it bad to consider books as your best friends?