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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 15:41:35 GMT -5
*Mme. Giry had changed into her practice skirt and summoned the girls to a large, airy room, bare of furniture and with long windows stretching to the ceiling. The room was a trifle chill, perhaps, but that was preferable to a languid heat which would have lulled the corps de ballet into a performance which was less than attentive to perfection. A small cabinet piano stood in one corner, and the hired player sat with his stack of music, prepared to offer a tinkling accompanyment in lieu of the full orchestra.* "Ladies!" *she called in a stern tone, thudding her heavy stick against the worn, smooth floorboards.* "Battement glissé en arrière for the front row, and battement glissé en avant for the back, switch places on the third beat and be in place for the fourth to start the tours chaînés déboulés en pointes. On my count--five six seven eight BEGIN!"
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 16:01:00 GMT -5
((Yeah, I kind of forgot until now that Marianne is a dancer...))
Marianne immediately followed Madame's instructions, although her muscles protested against the extensions and wide range of motion. She had ignored her training for far too long now, and she avoided Madame's eye, hoping not to be called out for her obvious flaws.
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 16:14:25 GMT -5
((Oh now you're just asking for it.))
*Madame Giry pounded her stick on the floor and signalled the pianist to stop with a curt gesture.* "Madame le Vicomtess--step forward!" *As Marianne was singled out, Madame Giry continued in a colder tone.* "Perhaps you choose to believe that you are above practicing due to your station by your recent marriage; but I can assure you that there will be far more important people than your husband watching you dance in the gala performance, and I do not intend to suffer such contempt from them as your disgraceful dancing is bound to incur! Step back." *she finished on an icy note and turned back to the pianist and nodded shortly to him.* "From the beginning of the bar, please. Girls! FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT!" *she pounded out the rhythm.*
((Oh it's good to be back as ballet mistress. ^__^))
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 16:27:45 GMT -5
Marianne gritted her jaw against a sharp retort as she moved instinctively, the correct positions springing back to mind. Her movements were perhaps a bit slower in coming than they should have been but her posture was faultless, her arms gracefully arced and the line of her leg long. She changed fluidly from one position to the next, her shoes making hardly a sound on the floor in each grand jete.
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 16:31:35 GMT -5
*Madame watched the rehearsal with a grim face.* Perhaps I was too hard on her... *she thought, seeing a marked improvement in Marianne's dancing once she focused and her muscles warmed to the motions.* I will have a private word with her after rehearsal...
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 16:38:26 GMT -5
The pianist's playing came to a halt and Marianne pushed a tendril of hair from her face, pinning it back into her bun. She had almost forgotten how good it felt to dance, to feel nothing except the concentration on performing each step perfectly, focusing solely on the next position. She could forget the strange events at the Opéra, the mystery of Raoul's Rolo, and the neverending stream of unusual newcomers. She tilted her head back and stared at the high ceiling for a moment.
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Post by Irene on Oct 6, 2006 16:39:44 GMT -5
((Man, I'm glad Conan Doyle made me a singer!))
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 16:45:55 GMT -5
"Madame le Vicomtess, I will speak with you after class, if you please," *said Madame Giry crisply as she dismissed the rest of the girls. As the ballet rats filed out, casting back glances of pity at the redhaired girl who would be no doubt getting the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, Madame Giry turned and walked to the window and peered out, crossing her arms.*
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 16:55:27 GMT -5
Marianne cleared her throat and approached the daunting sight of Madame's turned back. Had her dancing really been so atrocious? "You wished to speak to me?"
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 17:01:09 GMT -5
"I did." *Madame Giry turned from the window and crossed to the piano, wondering how to begin for a moment before she looked up and met Marianne's eyes.* "I may have been unduly harsh on you, Madame. Your dancing is improving, and you simply need more practice." Enough dallying... "On a more personal note, I wish to discuss your recent entry into holy matrimony."
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 17:04:01 GMT -5
Marianne blinked, both curious and wary. "My marriage to Raoul de Chagny? What about it?" They had been married for some time now, and it was nothing new or different.
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Post by magenta on Oct 6, 2006 17:04:16 GMT -5
((Oh snap!))
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 17:06:47 GMT -5
*Mme. Giry gently cupped the girl's chin in her hand and peered intently into her innocent gaze.* "You lost your mother when you were very young, did you not?" *she said softly.*
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Post by Rose on Oct 6, 2006 17:10:12 GMT -5
"I don't quite recall, let me check my profile." Marianne nodded slowly, biting her lip. "Yes - yes, I did. The cholera."
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Post by Vianne Giry on Oct 6, 2006 17:12:27 GMT -5
*Madame Giry turned away with a sigh.* "I have done my best to be a mother to several of the girls who have no place other than the Opera to call home. Perhaps I have been neglectful of my duties of late." *She looked back at Marianne.* "Do you know what you have done? What man you have bound yourself to?"
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