A Little Extra Practice

[electra11]

Courtney's Warm-up Outfit

Courtney had changed into her warm-up stuff and wandered around trying to find a good place to practice. She eventually found a good place, the hallway between a row of dressing rooms. Courtie pulled out her iPod and turned it on. She scrolled through the menu to find what she wanted. Artists>Royksopp>What I Want She used the wall as a sort of barre, bracing her hand against it. With the music that usually cheered her up and kept her from getting nervous, Court began with a series of plies, working through tendus, jettes, and grande jettes. She did quick combinations with frappes, one with rond de jambes par terre, and finished with developes and rond de jombe en laire. She did a few stretches to loosen her hips up a bit before moving onto her splits. This was her favorite part of her warm-up routine.

For this part of her mini class, she changed the music. She didn't want to hear Royksopp anymore. It was a Les Mis day. Albums>Les Miserables TAC>On My Own Courtney smiled as she remembered singing this herself. She missed that show so much. Eponine was such a great character to play! So many sides to that girl! And Lea Salonga was the best person to sing her. Right splits first. These were so easy. The left ones had always been difficult for her, the first ones to go if she took a break from practicing, but she had to do them in the show so had done her best to completely master them. Make them effortless. She stretched over her leg and then back. Combres. Now for the fun part. The straddle splits. They'd always been her favorite. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was the only one who could do them back in ballet class.

"And I know it's only in my mind! That I'm talking to myself, and not to him!" Courtney couldn't resist singing along with Lea. She never could.

[glassglobeflower]

Andrew was feeling restless. He had two hours before he had to be at practice, but here he was, sitting alone in his dressing room after running through all the dance routines he knew - with nothing to do. He ran a hand through ginger-blond hair and stood up. "Enough is enough," he said aloud to himself. "Just suck it up and get it over with."

Although his torso was shiny with sweat, he pulled a white tank over his head and scrubbed his hair into a tufted mess to air his scalp. Yanking the drawstrings on his black sweatpants tight, he picked up his black freeform dance shoes and left the room in search of a place to practice.

Trotting down the hall, Andrew turned a corner and had to back up quick to avoid tripping over a petite, jazz shoe-clad foot. "And I know it's only in my ind! that I'm talking to myself, and not to him!" belted the owner of the foot. It didn't take Andrew long to recognize the soulful strain. He had played Enjolras too long not to. But why was she randomly singing that line, and why hadn't she seen him?

Oh. She has her earphones in, Andrew though ruefully even as he admired his castmember's extraordinary split. "Heya Courtney," he greeted her, pitching his voice louder so she would hear him over her music. "What's up?"

[electra11]

Courtney stretched forward, trying to keep her back flat. Buggar! She always had a bit of trouble with that one. She wanted to round over to get farther down. Patience. Determination. Endless stretching. That was the trick, she was always told by her teachers. She had stopped singing, her mouth was a thin line of determination as she held the stretch for thirty seconds.

Lea and Courtney weren't the only ones making noise anymore. A male voice had joined the mix of music and singing. Wait a sec. Marius didn't have a part in this song. She lifted her head and saw...Andrew. (Andrew? Uh...Pouncival.) Oops. She slid her legs together (toes pointed, of course) and pulled the headphones from her ears, pausing the music. "Hi Andrew. Sorry 'bout that." She grinned. He must think her a huge showoff. Singing and laughing while gloating about her straddle split. C'est la vie. "I'm just warming up (and waiting), while listening to music, of course. On My Own. Lea Salonga. You know either one?" If he didn't, he was sure missing out on life. His bad. She laughed and shook her head.

"Anyway. Am I blocking the hallway?" Court studied the path. Uh, yes. She was. "Ah." She pushed herself to her feet. "What're you up to, here so early?"

[glassglobeflower]

"No problem," Andrew grinned, waving a hand. "I probably could have jumped it. Lea Salonga? Of course! Almost had a chance to play Enjolras in the same cast with her, but I was a little late. I understand you were Eponine yourself."

He leaned against the wall, glad for the chance to talk to someone. He really hadn't been looking forward to what he had been about to do. "I was just going to run through a few excersises onstage, since it's not being used." He sighed and looked ruefully at the dance shoes in his hand. "A few ballet excersises. Not my favorite thing to do, but I have time to kill, and I haven't danced classical yet this week."

[electra11]

Courtney grinned with surprise and excitement. "Really? You were almost in a show with her? Wow..." She wanted to say, "You must be so good! Why are you only playing Pouncival in this show?", but thought that a touch rude. "Yeah, I played Ponine in high school. Definitely a favorite role." Once again, she had almost said something without thinking first. Court pulled "I know a lot of people write stories about an Eponine/Enjolras pairing online. I don't really see them together though." from her tongue for sounding too much like flirting. She liked Andrew as a possible friend, nothing more.

Mina observed that he seemed a bit relieved to be talking to her. What was that about? "You don't like ballet?" she frowned. How could he not like ballet? "It's my favorite." Courtney grinned and giggled at his expression. (God, she acted 17 sometimes.) "I think I understand though. It's a lot of work, not a style you can half do and make it look good." That was one of the things Courtie liked about it. When you performed well, someone who knew ballet knew that you had worked to get there.

[glassglobeflower]

"Yeah," Andrew grinned. "I was really disappointed. It was still an incredible experience. The only real bugger was that it's not a dance show! That's why I prefer this. There's more room for originality." He nodded. "The girl who played Eponine with me seemed to think that too, but she was taller than me, and I can't stand dating girls I have to stand on tip-toe to look in the face," he laughed. Is she flirting with me? Andrew thought she was pretty, and very graceful (of course), but he wasn't certain he could see them together. Mentally he shrugged. Time will tell.

"Ballet has never been a favorite. I know it's foundational, which is why I try and do it a couple times a week, but it's always felt restrictive for me. The guys basically stand there and hold the girls most of the time. Though maybe that's just from my prejudiced view," he allowed with a chuckle. "I prefer the more expressive forms of dance. Jazz, lyrical. A little modern here and there. It's more lively to me, less stately. I like a little craziness in my dance."

[electra11]

"Yeah, I love that you have a lot of room to create your character in this show. There's lots of different ways that the story can be viewed." Courtney blushed and covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh God, I did not mean to say that." She laughed an embarrassed laugh. "Dammit. That sounded really stupid, didn't it?" Whoopsies... "But I agree. To date someone shorter then I am doesn't sound appealing." And now what? He'll think I'm trying to shove myself onto him...

Mina mightily threw herself into the dance topic. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'd prefer to be in your place sometimes though. You may just stand there and hold the girls, but the girls have to perform. On their toes. That's the big part of ballet that I didn't...don't like." That was true, but she didn't really like to go into much detail about quitting pointe. She didn't want to be called a coward for not handeling the pain. "And Jazz and lyrical are a lot of fun...unlike ballet sometimes. You don't have to spend an hour before you can start fun combinations." Court smiled. "Crazy fun."

[glassglobeflower]

Andrew had to stifle a laugh with a cough. Was she trying to flirt, or were her words just coming out wrong? He was willing to bet the latter the way she plunged into the next topic with a will. "I always wanted to dance pointe, but the guys never get a chance to," he observed, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Of course, pale pink shoes might not look good on a guy. But all these pas de deux things are spin, stand, hold. Spin stand hold." He nodded eagerly. "Exactly. That's what I love."

Andy gave his head a brief rub to ruffle his ginger-blond hair. "And about what you said before... no, it's not stupid. That's exactly what makes the show exciting, why it never really dies. People keep coming back again and again because they know they'll never see the same story twice. I mean, Les Mis is fantastic, and A Chorus Line is all very well, but you see it once, twice, three times. And that's it. Because you know, no matter how different the cast, it's the same story."

He realized he was rambling and shrugged, giving an embarrassed laugh. "So that's my take on CATS. Sorry for talking your ear off."

[electra11]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Andrew for just letting that slip of the tongue pass...Mostly. I'll forgive the laugh, Courtney thought with relief. "You know, I had a male teacher who was told that if he was going to teach girls pointe he had to take some first, to know what he was putting us through, I guess." She gave a little half smile and shrugged. It was an interesting image, Mr. Terrence en pointe...It made her giggle. Lord girl. You aren't even seventeen. Eleven at most, maybe.

"Exactly!" Court nodded emphatically. "In uh," she broke of for a moment. Let's not mention Les Mis again. What else have you been in? "In Chicago, Velma has a very specific character. She wants attention, she wants a show, she wants fans, et cetera. But Victoria...There's so little dialogue it's hard to know much about her or her story. Is she simply a queen who likes showing off her dancing skills? Is her dance with Plato really supposed to signify their mating or are they declaring love? Or is it simply a dance?" Courtney shrugged. She was caught up in this topic now. "I'm inclined to believe that they're proclaiming themselves as a couple, but, if that's the case, how does Mistoffelees fit in?"

Mina grinned. "You didn't talk mine off, but I bet your ear is about to fall off. Just be glad you aren't talking with Amber Starr. She'd have crammed twice as much in in that amount of time!" Courtney liked the girl who played Etcetera, but she talked so quickly!

[glassglobeflower]

Andrew shook his head in agreement. "The Courtship Dance has always fascinated me. It can be taken so many ways." He laughed. "I guess Vickie/Misto is a commonly-thought pairing - they even look ready for a wedding, she in white and him in a "tux" - but I actually never thought of them as a couple. Not even Plato and Vickie. The white queen's usually portrayed as younger, maybe a teenager, whose just starting out adulthood. I almost feel like it's her coming-of-age dance, getting to know the opposite gender and exploring how she fits into this grown-up feline world." He stuck out his tongue impishly. "Listen to me! You've put me on a theoretical track," he teased. "I don't know how you view your role, but personally, I think Victoria is a young queen just testing the waters. She tries a little Bomba-esque moves in Macavity, she dances intimately with a tom, she actually begins the dancing on her own, in a very innocent, kittenish kind of way." He shrugged, a little embarrassed but mostly content to share of the musical.

"I'm a swing," he said, laughing again. "Swings don't get to ramble much on their thoughts." He nodded in rueful agreement. "I know just what you mean. I got stuck in a lorry with her, and I thought my face would freeze in a false smile. That's my answer to people who can't stop talking - smile and nod, smile and nod." He laughed to show her he wasn't trying to be rude. "And what do you think about Vickie? Who's her soulmate of the tribe?"

[electra11]

(Sorry!!! It's been, what, a month? Eep! Apologies!)

Courtney laughed. "Ready for a wedding...I'd never actually thought of that! But you're right!" Court laughed. She'd been playing the role for months, so many times a week. And yet...she'd never noticed the similarity of her appearance and a bride's. It was so interesting how you discovered new things when someone new started talking about something you thought you'd figured out. "Yes, I think she's trying to be as famous - or infamous - as Bomba at times throughout the show. Yet, she's still figuring out how to use her dance skills and her body to attract others the way she wants to. She's making her debut, she's working out just what to do. Maybe she's a little confused, but enjoying herself and the attention she gets." Courtney laughed. "I love analyzing characters, if I'm truthful." Did Andrew like it too, is that he was so caught up in the subject?

Mina giggled again at his description of getting stuck with Amber. Smile and nod, smile and nod. "I just kinda zone out and stare out of a window. I usually get caught when I get asked a question though." She grinned. It had happened recently when she'd gone to ask Amber if she could borrow a bandaid. She had been bulldozed by a plow of chatter as the enthusiastic swing had dug through her things for the bandaid..."Vicky...I don't think she's serious about Plato or Mistoffelees. She's, as you said, testing the waters. If she ends up with anyone, I would guess...Tumblebrutus maybe. Carbuckety, I guess he is." Hmm. An interesting thought. Courtney had never actually considered Brutus as a love interest for Victoria. Jemima or Electra yes, Vicky no.