Chapter 38 (1/2)

Published

at 17th of September 2019 12:16:42 AM

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

There actually wasn’t that much time till the compet.i.tion . But within this narrowing band of time to practice, I never felt more blissful . Because of my feelings toward Yin Li and my newfound understanding of life, I danced with no regard for the first time ever . My body was weary but my heart was increasingly excited .

However, an unexpected turn of events ruined all plans .

“The compet.i.tion’s committee has rejected your application to compete . ” Wu Ke’s expression was heavy, and she was hesitant to continue speaking . But in the end, she still blurted everything out . “The number of people registering has tripled this time . The committee put out an urgent notice saying they will evaluate dance studios and issues invitations to those eligible . The studios with invitations are eligible to send their students to compet.i.tion . All compet.i.tion partic.i.p.ants must be backed by an eligible dance studio .

“The compet.i.tion winner will have the opportunity to attend the famous ballet schools in Boston, Paris, or Italy . Also, many of the judges have connections with world-cla.s.s ballet troupes . If a judge looks well upon you, you could receive pointers or even directly enter a world-cla.s.s troupe in one leap . Every dancer dreams of such an opportunity, and it’s no surprise that everyone eagerly rushed at this chance . The online registration system even went down . Because of this emergency, the committee could only choose to go this route . They would strictly vet the compet.i.tors, and even request a dancer’s bone growth diagrams, dietary programs, and health status . ”

I had no strength to face these incredibly shocking new rules . I felt a little dazed . Ballet was indeed an art strict in requirements . Because of its deep history and old-fas.h.i.+oned tendencies, the ballet world found it hard to accept dancers who didn’t fit the mold . They valued whom a dancer mentored under, what school the dancer learned ballet at, and what background the dancer came from . Many dancers did indeed walk this predefined road . In international compet.i.tions, practically all winners had this sort of background . Because of this, the committee’s new rules weren’t out of line .

But with these circ.u.mstances, I could no longer attend the compet.i.tion . I looked helplessly at Yin Li .

“Give me a moment . ” Like always, he smiled at me tenderly . He turned and walked out, only to return a moment later . But this time his expression was a bit heavy .

“I called the heads of all the good-reputation ballet schools in China . ” He muttered and pinched the bridge of his nose . “But I couldn’t stick you in . These schools haven’t even received invitations . ”

Yin Li looked at me in concern .

“I want you to know that your dancing is wonderful, but it’s only one part of you . You still have many other wonderful things . ”

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Wu Ke also comforted me . “There are many other compet.i.tions you can compete in . ”

I tried my best to calm myself and nodded . But when I was alone, I bawled my eyes out .

In these months, I had poured my whole soul into practicing . Because my goal post suddenly disappeared, I didn’t know what to do . I was unresigned to this fate .

Even if it was hopeless, I still wanted to write Madame Taylor an email . At that time, my emotions were roiling . My words were incoherent as I wrote of my life and my feelings at this time: I want to return to the stage . I don’t want to dance just for Yin Li, but for the world .

I didn’t expect that Madame Taylor would reply so promptly . But her tone couldn’t exactly be called warm . She wrote: I’m very sorry for all that you have suffered, but you have not moved me enough .

I wasn’t convincing enough .

I stared at the email on the screen . I really didn’t know how to move her .

“Let’s go to Paris as soon as possible . ” Yin Li saw her email and said resolutely, “Let’s go there and host a dance exhibition for you . Madame Taylor can be cold to your words but she won’t be unmoved by your dance . You can move her . With your dance, you can convince her . ”

He was swift and decisive as he brought me and Wu Ke to Paris . He rented a site, and ordered a tutu and ballet shoes from a famous designer . He even brought a whole crew of health professionals just in case .

“Is one month enough for you to prepare for the performance? Is it enough time for you to recuperate?” In the windy Paris night, Yin Li helped me tuck my scarf a little tighter . “If possible, let’s book a time so that I can contact the press and print advertis.e.m.e.nts . ” He looked afar . “A few days later Li Jing will come too .

“I selfishly don’t want to see him even exchange words with you, but it can’t be helped that he has more connections in Paris than me . Since we’re putting on an exhibition, let’s truly make it special . Li Jing will be able to invite well-known people from the arts . ”

Things progressed like this . Li Jing appeared the very next day . I don’t know if it was just me but he seemed to be avoiding me . Every time we wrapped up our business, he said he had matters to attend to and left . But I didn’t have the time to bother about it . I was also vexed by this exhibition . I didn’t even know what to dance .