Dancing In One Direction

Chapter 6

Dance terms I used and what they are:

 Grand Battement (bat-MAHN)- Literally means beating. A grand battement is a powerful battement action where the dancer kicks the leg as high as possible, while the supporting leg remains the same. Basically it's a kick.

Chasse (sha-SAY)- A slide forwards, backwards, or sideways with both legs bent, then springing into the air with the legs meeting and straightening.

Attitude- A position in which the dancer stands on one leg (the supporting leg) while the other leg (working leg) is lifted and well turned out with the knee bent at about a 90 degree angle. Kora did this while turning.

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xx Shel

Chapter 6

Kora’s P.O.V.

“He apologized,” I told Dani for about the fiftieth time as we walked to the studio where the boys were going to meet us to begin learning the choreography.

She rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean you should stay with him.”

“Danielle, Riley’s a good guy, okay? He just has a couple of bad moments.”

“That’s backwards. He’s a jerk with a couple of good moments.”

I shot her a look that immediately made her give up the argument. It probably helped that we reached our dance studio at that moment, too. We walked inside without saying another word to each other.

You see, Danielle was ticked off because I forgave Riley and gave him yet another chance to prove he was the good guy I knew he could be. Dani didn’t think Riley was capable of being anything other than a jerk, so she thought I was making a huge mistake. I didn’t want to break up with Ri, though. He really was amazing, he just tended not to act like it. He typically only acted sweet when we were alone, but that was enough to give me hope.

We found the boys and the rest of our dance crew already in one of the larger studio rooms, the boys lounging around while the girls stretched.

“Alright, listen up girls!” Danielle clapped, gaining their attention. “Kora’s going to lead our warm up, while the boys just do whatever. They won’t be doing any legitimate dancing like us.”

I ran over to the stereo, kicking my shoes off and plugging my iTouch in. I scrolled through a playlist, picking a good jam out song. Of course that song ended up being my favorite song of the moment, Payphone by Maroon 5.

As I walked back to the center of the room, my eyes locked with Niall’s. He looked away a second before I did. A blush colored my cheeks when the thought of me waking up to those blue eyes last night creeped into my brain. I don’t know how I ended up in his lap, but it was actually kind of… nice. I don’t know why, but when I woke up and saw his adorable blue eyes looking down at me, it automatically made me want to smile.

I shook my head to dispel those thoughts. I shouldn’t be saying another guy is adorable when I have a boyfriend; that’s just wrong.

I took a deep breath and turned to the mirror, looking at the girls behind me through the glass. “Ready? Shoulder rolls in 5, 6, 7, 8.”

*****

I slid into my right split, completely touching the floor and not really feeling a stretch at all. I leaned over beside my leg, lying my stomach on the floor. That made the pull in my muscles more noticeable.

“Ouch!” One of the boys, I think Harry but I couldn’t see to be sure, yelled.

“That looks hideously painful,” another, I’m pretty sure it was Zayn, commented.

Danielle scoffed. “She doesn’t feel a thing.”

“Seriously?” Niall-I would know his voice anywhere-seemed dumbfounded.

I sat up, still sitting in my split. “Seriously. And this is nothing compared to some of the other stuff I can do.”

The boys all gaped at me while the girls giggled.

“Okay, everyone feel good and stretched?” Dan questioned.

We nodded in return.

“Good, let’s begin.”

She lined up everyone with their partners, the boys facing the mirror while the girls faced the back wall.

“Okay, Raleigh when Harry sings ‘Give you this’, you’re going to turn to the front and throw your right arm out like you’re presenting something to the audience. Harry, you’ll have your microphone in your left hand and your right hand will be on the small of Raleigh’s back so you can give her a little push when you start to sing.”

They both nodded.

Danielle moved on to the next pair. “Rayna, when Harry says ‘Give you that’, you’re going to do the exact same thing as Raleigh but with your left arm. Louis, you’ll do the same thing as Harry, but you’ll have your left hand on her back.”

She had those two groups practice real quick before getting in position with Liam. “Okay, love. You’ll have your right hand on my stomach and you’re going to kind of push me so I turn around when Harry sings ‘Blow a kiss’ and-obviously-I’m going to blow a kiss to the audience. Harry, at this point you can do your normal walking around or whatever. You don’t have to be glued to Leigh’s side.”

The two boys nodded to her before she moved onto Bailey and Zayn.

Dani thought for a second, probably deciding if her idea was going to work. “Bailey, I want you to turn to the front and use both hands to grab the air and then pull your arms in by your sides. That’ll be when Harry says, ‘Take it back’. Zayn, you’ll have your left hand on her back until she turns around, that’s when you’ll just let your hand drop.”

“Got it,” Bailey said.

Danielle came over to Niall and I, giving us a sly smile. “You two will start the first partner work after Kora does her little bit like the other girls. So, when Harry sings ‘If I looked inside your brain’, Kora, you’ll do a body roll to the right to face the front with your left hand coming up to kind of push your hair back. You’ll actually hold still for the ‘if I looked inside’ and turn on the ‘your brain’ bit. Niall, you’re going to have your hand on her back and when she turns you’re going to slide your arm around her waist. Oh, don’t give me that look. She might act mean, but she doesn’t bite.”

I looked up at Niall, seeing a light pink color tent his cheeks as Danielle grabbed his arm and made him put it around me. Everyone practiced what Danielle had taught them a couple of times before she continued to teach Niall and I.

“Now, after that, Kora, you’re going to step away from Niall so his hand slides off your waist and then you’re going to grab his hand and roll to the ground. Niall, your job is to not let go of her hand and help her get to her feet as soon as possible.” Danielle instructed.

We tried it and, surprisingly, it worked perfectly the first time we did it. I was a little amazed by how easily Niall was able to learn and apply the choreography. Granted, it wasn’t like he was doing anything too tricky yet, but still. I was impressed.

Danielle grinned at our success. “Great! Now, Kor, you’re going to put your hands on Niall’s shoulder and grand battement to the back and then go into a chassé and attitude turn…”