Dancing to the sound of silence OPEN Locked

“No, I haven’t tried any of those. I mean sometimes I like to fool around at home but it is really not my thing. I’m used to being all strung up and those require much more looseness. I do admit that I could benefit from those though. Especially when it comes to arms,” she agreed with Lyra when they started talking about other dances. “I have also seen Horton and it looks interesting so I definitely won’t refuse your offer.” Carolyn enjoyed dancing in general but it felt like her body was made for ballet at this point so she kind of gave up on the other styles. Still, since the opportunity presented itself to her, she would gladly take it. I’m sure it will be fun even if I’m not the best at it, she decided happily.

Finally, Lyra was done stretching and decided to demonstrate her pirouettes. Carolyn watched her closely to spot any mistakes. It was obvious that she was struggling while doing them but she was on a good way to succeed. “I don’t think it’s the beginning,” she said thoughtfully. “You are generally okay with the first one which means you have a good preparation and well-placed plié. Definitely don’t try to snap your head TOO fast and keep your chin leveled up otherwise you destroy your alignment. It seems strange but sometimes less force is really better than too much. I’m not an expert or a teacher but I think your issue is precisely the alignment and strength. The fact that you fall at the very end usually means you can’t hold your position perfectly flat for the whole duration of the movement.” She could have been wrong of course but according to what she’d seen in the classroom, this seemed like a most plausible issue. A strong core was essential for pirouettes. “I mean, the second time you really focused more on keeping your arms in first position and you did much better. You should probably really concentrate on your balance and if you struggle, try balancing in releve in a pirouette position without turning and trying to hold it as long as you can. This is what I used to do. I would start in a preparatory position and lift into that balance, hold it as long as I could, step back to a finish and then repeat it a number of times. My goal was to increase my ability to move into the balance quickly and hold it. I think it resulted in strengthing my supporting muscles and that in turn gave me more balance and control to stay up when doing a second turn.” Oh god, I hope I’m making sense. “I don’t know if that helped you in any way. If it didn’t then just practice over and over again. I think that’s the most common way to figure it out. It just takes longer if you don’t know what you are doing wrong.”

Lyra listened closely as Carolyn gave her advice for her pirouettes and quickly nodded. “Okay wow you’re really good at teaching. I never thought of my chin being a part of the issue before. And you’re probably right, I do snap my head around pretty fast, maybe too fast”. Lyra was really impressed at the detail her roommate explained it with. She had been wanting to ask for help with her pirouettes for quite a while, but was often too shy to outwardly ask. As Carolyn was talking, Lyra took her advice and got on a passé in relevé and held it there for quite a while, since when she stayed still she actually had pretty good balance, contrarily to what most people thought. After doing it 4 times, Carolyn had finished her steady stream of tips, and Lyra nodded, getting into predatory position. She spotted a double turn, this time moving a little slower and keeping her chin balanced. To her surprise, it was almost perfect, albeit the fact that she had turned a little too slowly, but she just had to find the correct rhythm.

“Thanks Carolyn. That was a huge help. By the way I came here to practice a few steps but also to work on a Horton piece I made, so I’m glad that you don’t dislike Horton. In my opinion it is extremely underrated, but I’ve seen in a lot in Alvin Ailey works, which is why I love Alvin Ailey dance company. The pieces he created are really awesome.” Lyra sat on the ground and took of her pointe shoes, and putting them away, rolling up her tights as well. “Would you mind if I did some of it right now?”

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt
I took a screenshot of your tips for pirouettes, and they seem really helpful.

„See? That might be it. If you whip your head too fast you can yank your shoulders in the process and the whole posture is suddenly changed. Even if it’s the slightest distortion, it can still make a huge difference.“ Carolyn nodded thoughtfully, happy that they were slowly figuring it out together. Lyra then proceeded to try her suggested exercise and it really seemed to help. Now she had time to figure out her posture and see how to best balance herself. Once she was confident enough, she tried her pirouettes again, this time finishing nearly perfectly. Carolyn clapped excitedly, feeling almost proud of the girl. “I knew you could do it! No need to thank me, you did all the hard work. Now all that’s left is to remember the posture and slowly figure out the speed but that’s simply a matter of practice,” she ended her lecture with a smile.

“I must admit I have never heard the name nor do I know the Academy but I have seen some videos that showed Horton style and it looked pretty interesting to me...And there is a lot of similar movement in ballet so it feels familiar.” Carolyn was definitely intrigued. “Feel free to practice. I’ll be happy to watch if you let me…and maybe learn a thing or two?” She asked hopefully.

Interacting with @Lyra Lake

OOC: I’m glad to hear it helped though I have to admit it has been many years since I did ballet so I had to try hard to remember and complete the information with some research as well. It would be cool if it helped you in a real life too though. Good Luck!

Carolyn was really nice, giving credit to Lyra for her successful double turn although it really was thanks to her roommate. "Yeah, I'll practice some more and hopefully get a turn series done by the end of the year." As Carolyn talked about what she knew concerning Horton, Lyra noticed that she seemed hopeful to learn more, and this made her smile. "It's really cool that you want to try different styles. And yeah, Horton has elements very close to ballet, it's like a modern, African, ballet mix."

Closing her eyes and taking two deep breaths, Lyra walked to the middle of the room, feeling completely comfortable since she was about to do her favorite style of dance. Although, she rarely danced in front of people, and no one in her family had seen her dance. But perhaps she could trust Carolyn. The fellow Ravenclaw had been really kind to her and seemed genuinely interested, so Lyra wouldn't mind dancing in front of her. She opened her eyes and started the first eight-count in her head, having memorized the music. After the first eight, she suddenly started dancing, first breaking into a side hip-pull and then going to laterals and continuing. After about 2 minutes, she rolled to the floor and struck a pose there standing up and bowing comically before turning to her roommate. "It's not very good, but it's what I've choreographed so far for a muggle song that I learned at home." Blushing, she sat down and took a drink of water from a bottle she had brought along. This was her first time showing that dance to a human, since Bowtruckles didn't really count. "I could teach you a quick combination with the basis of Horton if you'd like."

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt

„Modern, African, ballet mix? Yes, that actually describes it quite well… at least from the little I’ve seen so far,“ Carolyn nodded in agreement. “Please, go ahead. I won’t disturb you,” she encouraged her roommate with a smile when she asked if she could practice her dance. After all, she would be happy to see the it in person.

Lyra seemed a bit nervous at first but once she immersed herself in the magical movement of dance, that nervousness obviously started to slip away. Carolyn watched the other girl with great interest. It was not something she would want to do every day but she would be definitely open to trying. The dance was a combination of elegance and power and it was definitely very unique. “That was amazing,” she clapped after Lyra finished her piece. “I’m a bit envious. All I do are the usual famous variations. I wish I had my own choreography but I’m not confident I could actually do that.” It was true. She was always so preoccupied with practice and perfecting every single move that she didn’t even think of trying something she could call her own. Maybe she could try it here? But she had no music…music was an inspiration and a canvas. She didn’t think it would be possible without it.

“I would love to,” Carolyn was brought back to reality by Lyra’s voice, happily accepting her offer. She reached down and started undoing her pointe shoes. At least her legs could catch a break. “Although, I probably won’t be any good,” she apologized in advance. After all, she has never tried it before and it would be bold to assume she could do well. “So…what should I do?”

Interacting with @Lyra Lake

Lyra reddened even more after Carolyn praised her. Like anyone, she appreciated and enjoyed being praised, but sometimes she didn't know how to react. "Thanks." “That was amazing. I’m a bit envious. All I do are the usual famous variations. I wish I had my own choreography but I’m not confident I could actually do that." Carolyn said. "I'm sure you could definitely o that in ballet, and probably better. From what I've seen your technique is excellent, and sometimes you just have to move. If music is an issue I could play some later on or something." She looked at her roommate and Carolyn seemed to be having a sort of internal debate with herself, before bending down to take off her pointe shoes.

"Don't worry, Horton is pretty similar to ballet, you just sometimes have to do sharper movements." "Let's start with a few basics. First, a side hip pull. It's when your hip reaches to one side of the room while the rest of your body reaches to the other like you're tugging on something." She demonstrated, starting with her arms by her side and reaching to the left while dragging her hip to the right. "The leg opposite the pulling hip is in a tendu. Just like pirouettes, don't be too dramatic with your arms." Lyra did one to the opposite side and stood straight again. The second thing doesn't really have a name, it's more of a way to walk. You start with your arms across your chest, in sixth position for your legs and in a plie, then change the directions of your arms while you take big steps in a semicircle, adding a small bounce and straightening after each semicircle. After each one, you do another by switching your directions." She demonstrates, letting her ribcage lead the rest of her body while keeping an alignment. "So try a side hip pull for 4 counts, then the walk, only one semicircle, for 4 counts. Don't worry if it sounds confusing, it's easier when you try it." The Ravenclaw did the combo twice, then waited for Carolyn to follow.

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt

Sorry I couldn't find any pictures or gifs at all for any of this, so I tried my best to explain, but it's pretty hard to convey it simply with words, sorry about that!

„If you could, that would be brilliant. I mean…maybe I’ll eventually find a way to do it so nobody has to accompany me all the time but it’s nice to have someone willing to play for me from time to time.” Carolyn was actually hoping to meet someone here that would practice piano and join them. Lyra might have been more of a dancer than musician but it was still a very nice turn of events.

“Okay, that sounds simultaneously easy and very confusing,” She admitted after Lyra’s initial explanation of the first steps. Not that her roommate was bad at explaining but it was very new to her and therefore hard to imagine in her head. Thankfully, her friend showed her an example of how to do it as well and after seeing it twice, she was able to understand what was expected of her. “Well, I’ll give it a try,” she took a deep breath before diving right in. As usual, she had no issues with remembering the steps and she generally understood the movement so she didn’t make any mistakes in that regard but even she could tell her energy was a bit different. She just couldn’t seem to let go of the gentle ballet flow and it was quite clear she would need to work on her energy. “It is kind of fun but my body is SO not used to it. I would even say the similarity to ballet might be a bit of a disadvantage for me. I just naturally try to move as I would in the similar ballet movements,” Carolyn admitted sheepishly. “You are very good. To be able to switch between several styles like this is not easy.” She might have been great at what she was doing but due to that, she was also lacking diversity. Although she would probably get there eventually if she practised some more.

Interacting with @Lyra Lake

No worries. You did good. The first step was actually pretty easy to understand from your explanation. The second one was a bit more difficult but I can kind of imagine it.

”Yeah, I could definitely play for you. My piano skills aren’t great, but I know a few different tunes for ballet.” Lyra replied. She had had piano lessons for a few years, so she could help Carolyn, but she still wasn’t as good as she would’ve liked, since she had focused more on the clarinet and dance.

As Lyra explained, Carolyn seemed to be willing to try and understand, which was basically all you needed when it came to dance, and her roommate already had a lot of experience with ballet anyway. Lyra performed the combo twice, then watched Carolyn as the latter did it. She got the steps, but she was missing the sort of slight bounce in the steps, since that was very rare for ballet. In ballet you usually stood firm in a pose and glided to the next. “You’re doing really good with the steps. You just need to pull more on your side-hip pull. It’s sort of similar to isolations, which ballet doesn’t really cover so it’s okay. Just kind of lean to one side, and drag towards the other.” The Ravenclaw demonstrated it once more, emphasizing the pull on each side. “Your arms kind of have to be strong though, like you’re tugging on a rope, which is kind of the opposite of ballet arms. Align them with your head and really stretch to one side, that’ll partially give you the energy you need.” Carolyn was doing really good. Very few people got moves that quick and were able to do them as precisely as she did.

”For the second step, you have to use your rib cage to lead your movements a little more. Imagine it as a sort of walking glissade. By the end of the semi-circle, add a slight bounce to the end, like you’re jumping a little bit. Once you do that we can move on to another step, which is another sort of travel method, even more like a glissade. Plus it’s fine if you can’t get the energy.” she added as Carolyn explained how she was feeling. “Horton dance is generally performed with drums, so it’s completely okay, since hearing the drums usually helps you get into it. That’s what helps me change styles anyway. For me it’s harder to switch to other styles but since Horton is my favorite it’s kinda effortless after some time. Try to imagine the sound of African drums if you can.” Lyra demonstrated the combo again and turned to Carolyn. “Now you try, and remember to take your time.”

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt

Lyra was a good teacher and a patient one too. Carolyn was quite happy to learn from her despite the mistakes she made. After all, she tried the dance for the very first time so she supposed it was understandable. “I see…that makes sense. Although I will probably still struggle…like you said, the movement is different from ballet so it might take a couple tries to get it right,” she admitted sheepishly. This however, didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.

Carolyn took a deep breath, trying to let go of her stiffness. “Alright, so African drums. I do have a pretty good imagination,” she mumbled under her breath. Mostly for her own benefit. It was true though. She did have pretty vivid imagination and she was quite proud of the fact. It also really helped her when she tried the moves again.

The ballerina did not give up easily and while her second attempt didn’t work out much better, there was a slight improvement…even she could tell. “Okay, still not quite there. Let me try again.” She gave herself a moment to relax and recall all of the instructions regarding her arms and use of her rib cage for the second step. The third attempt was much better. The first step was actually pretty acceptable at that point but she still struggled with the second. Technically, she probably did almost everything right but her rib cage wasn’t used to such movement and it showed. She was getting better but she would truly have to practice if she wanted to do it perfectly. By the fifth time she felt like she did fairly good job and looked at Lyra. “What do you think? Is it getting better?” She knew she didn’t even come close to her teacher’s abilities but the movement did feel a bit more natural to her.

Interacting with @Lyra Lake

As Carolyn didn't seem to get discouraged, Lyra flashed a quick smile, happy that her roommate was so kind and willing to learn, a trait found in few people. Mumbling to herself, Carolyn executed the movement several times over, improving a little at each attempt. The first step was near perfect, although of course, it's hard to master a Horton step on your first day of Horton dance.

After she was done, Lyra clapped happily and nodded. "Yes, it's really good! You basically mastered the side-hip-pull, and I didn't expect you to get the walk as fast as you did. Pretty awesome. All you basically need is to remember to have a flowy movement, but you will definitely get that through practice." At this point, Lyra was wishing for music to show Carolyn the magic of Horton dance. It just had such a feel to it. Glancing around the room, she spotted African drums, which was a nice surprise, and a gramophone player. Apparently Hogwarts still lived in the 20th century. (The phonograph was invented in the late 19th century). However, this gave her an idea. Walking to the drums, she sat on the oak stool provided and started playing a steady rhythm punctuated by high notes with her hands. Looking at Carolyn, she said: "Ideally this is the perfect beat to try Horton to. The steps are nearly perfect, but if you'd like to try it again with real drums, I think it would help."

Aware that she might be a little forceful, the Ravenclaw shook her head quickly. "Only if you want to of course! I don't mean to sound insistent or anything." 'Yes, I know you thought that's she might want to because she's experienced the pull of dance, but you still need to be careful.'

Interacting with @Carolyn Hunt

I'm so so sorry for the super-late reply, I was really busy with IRL school!