dognovel Chapter 10 Watching the Rehearsal at the Opera House
Chapter 10 Watching the Rehearsal at the Opera House
Xu Yang followed Liu Xiaoli into the gate of Jiangcheng Song and Dance Theater.
Upon entering, you are greeted by the unique atmosphere of an old building.
The terrazzo floor was polished to a shine, and several red banners and performance photos hung on the walls, including those from "The White-Haired Girl," "The Red Detachment of Women," and others whose names he couldn't recall.
Faint piano music drifted from the end of the corridor, and someone was practicing their singing. The soft, melodious sounds echoed in the empty corridor, mingling with footsteps, creating a unique kind of vitality.
Liu Xiaoli led Xu Yang through the corridor and pushed open a heavy wooden door.
The rehearsal hall was very large, about two hundred square meters, with mirrors on all four walls. Some of the mirrors had fine cracks, but they were very clean.
A banner with the words "Master the basics and serve the people" hangs on the front wall, its red background and yellow lettering making it particularly eye-catching.
Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows, casting bright, square patches of light on the floor. Tiny dust particles floated slowly in the beams of light, like countless tiny sprites dancing.
There were already more than a dozen people in the rehearsal hall, all of them girls, all wearing practice clothes. Some were stretching their legs, some were loosening their waists, and a few were huddled together talking and laughing, their clear laughter like birds chirping on branches in spring.
As soon as Liu Xiaoli entered, a girl with a high ponytail immediately came up to her and cheerfully took her arm.
"Xiaoli, you've finally arrived! This must be the little hero who rescued you from the river, right? We're so glad to see him alive!"
As soon as the girl with the ponytail finished speaking, more than a dozen people in the rehearsal hall turned around in unison, their eyes shining on Xu Yang like spotlights.
Standing at the doorway, his height of over 1.8 meters was bathed in sunlight streaming in from the corridor behind him, casting a golden silhouette around him.
Add to that his face, which had been "beautified" through time travel, and his skin was even more delicate than the girls present. His features were so handsome that he looked like he had stepped out of a movie poster. Just standing there, he was a living painting.
The rehearsal room was quiet for two seconds, then erupted into a cacophony of noise.
The people who were stretching their legs stopped, the people who were doing waist exercises stopped, and even the person playing the piano in the corner lifted their fingers off the keys and craned their necks to look towards the door.
"Oh my goodness, Xiaoli, your benefactor looks so energetic! He could definitely play the male lead in a movie!"
"This little brother is so handsome! I've never seen such a good-looking little brother before. He's even more handsome than that movie star who came to perform for us last time!"
"Little brother, my name is Zhu Hongyu. It's nice to meet you. How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend?"
Xu Yang felt a little overwhelmed by the intense gazes of these girls, and his ears began to burn.
It wasn't that he was unsophisticated, but being surrounded and interrogated by a dozen young and beautiful girls was a first for him.
Fortunately, the girl with the ponytail came to his rescue. She clapped her hands and raised her voice, "Alright, alright, stop crowding around! Let Comrade Xu catch his breath! The rehearsal is about to start, go do what you're supposed to do! You're all acting like you've never seen a man before!"
The crowd dispersed, laughing and joking, but their eyes still kept drifting towards Xu Yang, and whispers rose and fell.
Liu Xiaoli quietly breathed a sigh of relief, a blush still lingering on her ears.
She turned to Xu Yang and said, "You can sit over there and watch; there are chairs over there."
She pointed to a row of wooden chairs against the wall in the rehearsal room, and then added somewhat shyly, "I'll tell you after the rehearsal is over."
Xu Yang nodded and obediently walked to the wooden chair by the wall and sat down.
From this angle, the entire rehearsal hall can be seen.
The mirror against the wall reflected the girls' figures, layer upon layer, as if they had stepped into a kaleidoscope.
The piano was placed in the corner. It was an upright piano that was quite old, with a mottled finish, but the lid was polished so bright that you could see your reflection in it.
A middle-aged woman with short, ear-length hair walked in from the other end of the rehearsal hall. She was wearing a dark blue Lenin suit with a belt around her waist. She walked briskly and exuded a sense of competence.
As soon as she entered, she clapped her hands and said in a loud voice, "Come on, let's go through it from beginning to end! 'Grassland Militia Women,' everyone on your marks!"
This is the dance team's instructor, surnamed Fang, and everyone calls her Teacher Fang.
Xu Yang later learned that this Teacher Fang had come from the General Political Department's Cultural Troupe. If he hadn't been transferred to Wuhan for family reasons, he would at least be a big star now.
The girls quickly dispersed and took their places in the center of the rehearsal hall.
Xu Yang noticed that Liu Xiaoli was standing slightly in front of the center, which was the lead dancer's position.
She had taken off her floral shirt and was only wearing her practice clothes underneath. The close-fitting cut accentuated her slender waistline, and the lines of her shoulders and back were so smooth that they looked as if they had been drawn with a single stroke of a paintbrush.
Her hair was put back up in a bun and secured with a few black hair clips, revealing her long, fair neck, like an elegant swan.
Teacher Fang walked to the piano and nodded to the teacher who was playing.
The piano music began, and the rehearsal started.
"Grassland Women Militia" is a classic dance work from that era, depicting scenes of grassland women militia patrolling, training, and living on the frontier.
The dance blends elements of Mongolian dance with the strength of military movements, combining both grace and power in a unique way.
As soon as the music started, the girls' demeanor instantly changed.
Just a moment ago, she was a carefree and giggling young girl, but in the blink of an eye, she has transformed into a heroic and spirited female militia member.
Their steps were neat and powerful, their arms swung with a gust of wind, and every turn and jump was clean and crisp.
Xu Yang watched intently.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen dance before; the dance programs at large-scale galas in later generations were far superior in terms of stage design, lighting, and costumes to those of today.
But those dances always felt like something was missing. Now he finally realized that what was missing was that "energy."
The girls on stage weren't "performing"; they genuinely believed they were on the grasslands, on the frontier, protecting their motherland's land.
Their eyes were bright, their expressions were sincere, and every movement carried the spirit unique to that era.
Among these girls, Liu Xiaoli shines like the brightest star.
Every movement she makes is perfectly timed, neither overbearing nor pretentious, yet you simply can't take your eyes off her.
When she jumps up, she seems to glow.
There is a solo dance that depicts female militia members galloping on horseback across the grassland. Liu Xiaoli's hands are loosely clenched as if she is holding the reins, her steps are light and rhythmic, and her body sways naturally with the rise and fall of the "horse". Her posture is smooth and natural.
Xu Yang was quite engrossed in watching it.
He recalled the online posts about Liu Xiaoli from later generations, saying that she was a dancer with exceptional temperament and had raised a fairy-like daughter.
In retrospect, those posts were not exaggerated at all.
It's fair to say that the photos and videos online don't capture even a tenth of her beauty.
This kind of beauty is not simply about good looks, but something that radiates from within. It is the posture and temperament formed by years of dance practice, and the elegance and strength that are ingrained in one's very being.
How many men could resist the charm of a woman like that?