Chapter 95 - DANCING CHALLENGE
There are many different dancing styles: African, West Indian, African-American, ceremonial dance, disco / electronic dance, Hanpurian, free and improvised dance, historical dance, Latin / rhythm novelty and fad dances, social dance, street dance, swing dance and others. Within each category, there are also multiple dancing styles.
The guy who was in charge of music describe the rules. "One category will be chosen. You have to dance any style of dance that includes the chosen dancing category. Is that clear?"
"Yes," Han Luo said while Jared ardently nodded. He was very confident.
The first category that was chosen was free and improvised dance.
When the music started, Jared moved first. It was a free dance move. Free dance is modern dance which rebels against the rigid constraints of classical ballet. Jared chose it first so that he could win against Han Luo in one go. Han Luo was a ballet dancer; as a ballet dancer, the last thing she would know is free dance.
Jared's dance moves revolved around swift body movements combined with passionate facial expressions. His moves were professional, and his expressions were right on the mark. Even the teachers who were present praised him in their minds.
After the music stopped, Jared looked at Han Luo with a dirty smile. He asked, "Can you do it? You still got time to go back to your cave and eat snakes. You can't say I didn't give you the chance to forfeit!"
Not only did he not go easy on her, he also made a dirty move by choosing free dance. He was a hundred percent sure that she didn't know this style of dance. Everyone started to clap because of his flawless, effortless moves. Some cheered him on, while some looked at Han Luo with great interest.
Han Luo nodded quietly. She was never insulted like this before. The more he badmouthed her, the more it made her hate him. She signaled the music to start. Matching Jared's song, Tang Yujin chose the next song.
Han Luo moved with the music. She was going to do an ecstatic dance. Ecstatic dance is a form of dance in which the dancers, sometimes without the need to follow specific steps, abandon themselves to the
rhythm and move freely as the music takes them, leading them to a trance and a feeling of ecstasy. The dance serves as a form of meditation, helping people to cope with stress and to attain serenity.
When Han Luo danced, the audiences felt that her moves were describing the inner thoughts of the onlookers. They felt some kind of connection with her dance moves. They were drawn to her.
When the music ended, Han Luo went back to her usual expression. No one could tell that she was dancing in ecstasy just a few seconds ago.
The next category that was chosen was African, West Indian, and African-American Dance.
Jared frowned. He realized that she wasn't easy to bully. His next dance was stepping dance. Stepping, or step-dancing, is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken words, and hand claps.
Han Luo, on the other hand, chose jazz dance. Jazz dance is a performance dance technique and style which has little or nothing to do with jazz music.
Seeing how competitive both dancers had become, the audience grew, and they cheered on both of them.
The next category was disco / electronic dance.
Jared chose Waacking dance. Waacking is a form of street dance created in the LGBT clubs of Los Angeles during the 1970s disco era. The style is typically done to 70s disco music and is mainly distinguishable by its rotational arm movements, posing and emphasis on expressiveness.
The audiences clapped in rhythm – who doesn't love disco dance?
Han Luo chose jumpstyle dance. Jumpstyle is an electronic dance style and music genre popular in Western Europe, with existent scenes in Eastern Europe, Australia, and the Americas. When she danced, she spent a lot of stamina because it was all about jumping.
The next category was street dance.
Jared danced vogue dance. It is a highly stylized, modern house dance. His incredible flexibility made the students enjoy his performance.
Han Luo chose the robot dance. The robot, also called mannequin, is an illusionary street dance style—often confused with popping—that attempts to imitate a dancing robot or mannequin. Roboting gained fame after Michael Jackson used the dance when he performed "Dancing Machine" with his brothers, and later performed the dance during his solo career in songs such as "Smooth Criminal". When she moved like a robot, the students whistled.
Both of them were getting tired for dancing for more than thirty minutes. They would have danced more but the teachers finally stopped them. Miss Rihanna Evans, the Latin Dance teacher, declared, "All right, enough of this. Let's check the votes."
Ten minutes later, the result was published, and it was tied.
Jared clenched his fists. "I will not accept this! How could I not have been as good as her?! She… she…" He couldn't believe that the results were tied, despite the competitor being a transfer student from an Eastern country.
Han Luo frowned. 'I should have tried harder. How did I not beat that damn racist?!'
Miss Rihanna Evans saw the gathered students. They also didn't like the result. Half of them wanted Han Luo to win, while another half wanted Jared. She coughed and took the microphone. "I have something to announce. There is an international dancing competition going to be held in November at Paris. Those who wish to be the best dancer in school must apply for the competition. The result of the dancing competition will decide who truly is the best."
She looked at Jared and Han Luo and told them, "Since you two are both good, I already applied for you. Take the form from me today and take your guardian's permission and signature. Submit the form by the end of this week."
"Yes, Miss Evans," both replied at the same time.