With Qin Wei’s psychological counseling yesterday, everyone was obviously less repelled by this song when taking dance class today, and their attitude to learning dance became more positive. It just felt not so difficult anymore.
“Everyone take a five-minute break.”
Matsumoto said after practicing it again.
After saying that, she went to drink water at the side, but she was preoccupied, frowning.
Everyone saw it in their eyes. They were originally very passionate and felt they did quite well, but looking at Teacher Matsumoto's expression, they were unsure again for a moment.
Li Ruyi walked over and asked:
“Teacher Matsumoto, did we dance badly?”
Matsumoto shook her head, struggled for a moment, and nodded again, but afraid to dampen their enthusiasm, she explained:
“I can see everyone has worked hard to remember the moves, and has learned faster than I imagined, but some problems have also emerged, and I haven't figured out how to solve them yet...”
Matsumoto spoke neither too loudly nor too softly, and the people resting nearby could hear it too. So they looked at each other, then walked over together:
“Teacher, just speak straight if there are any problems. We accept any criticism.”
“It's not criticism, not to that extent.”
Matsumoto pondered for a moment,
“I believe if you practice a few more times, your moves will become fluent. Proficiency is just a matter of time. But...
The main element of this song's dance is jazz dance. To dance it well actually requires quite solid fundamentals.”
When she said this, Li Ruyi understood what she meant. After all, she had also learned dance herself. With the teacher pointing it out, she knew where the problem might be.
“Explosive power, coordination.”
Li Ruyi said,
“In short, physical strength and basics.”
Matsumoto clapped her hands and nodded:
“You hit my sore spot. I was worrying about how to describe it accurately!
The girls in our group are smart and I don't worry too much about learning the moves anymore.
But your physical fitness is indeed something to consider...”
Standing behind them, Qin Wei spoke up too. After speaking, she used her sleeve to wipe away the fine sweat beading on the tip of her nose, then squatted down and took off the ankle weights on her legs.
Matsumoto and the others looked at Qin Wei’s ankle weights in shock.
So this was draining her strength the most!
Qin Wei could feel the inexplicable pressure with everyone looking at her. She raised her eyes to see them all staring at her.
“Are you all...wanting the shopping links?”
...
The physical training problem was temporarily solved. They decided to go jogging with Qin Wei every morning, and also bought the same ankle weights as her on Pinduoduo, intending to wear them all the time to build up stamina.
In addition, Teacher Matsumoto also formulated an aerobic exercise plan for them to gradually improve their physical fitness.
“We’ll be in charge of the basics.”
After discussing with Li Ruyi, Yao Ying told everyone,
“Of course, everyone still has to work hard in Teacher Matsumoto’s class. I think there’s no problem.”
“But...”
A faint voice appeared in the group. Everyone looked towards the voice, and Zhao Jun raised her hand.
There were three artists from Yinghuang Entertainment in Qin Wei’s group, living in a three-person dorm on the same floor as her. Because the three of them were more familiar with each other, they often stayed together. Their relationship with Qin Wei’s roommates was more distant.
It was rare to hear them take the initiative to speak now.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Zhao Jun said anxiously:
“This song is fully in English... Can everyone learn it...”
The problems had just been resolved and everyone's mood had improved considerably. But this small dark cloud appeared over their heads again, dampening the atmosphere.
Zhao Jun also knew she shouldn't have brought it up, but the problem was there, and they had to face it sooner or later.
Everyone was afraid the audience would pick on imperfect pronunciation and mock them to death.
Seeing everyone silent and gloomy, Qin Wei thought that the morale that had finally been boosted up must not be allowed to fall again. So she volunteered:
“I’ll teach everyone.”
Zhao Jun unconsciously frowned.
Regardless of whether Qin Wei could sing or not, could Qin Wei's English be trusted...?
Although some of them had seen “Stars”, speaking fluently didn’t mean having standard pronunciation. And that’s how it was - once doubted, they felt anything Qin Wei said was a little suspicious.
One might be lacking oneself, but still feel the other wasn't really good either.
Everyone was afraid the audience would seize on the imperfect pronunciation and mock them mercilessly.
At lunch, Qin Wei sat alone in the cafeteria. Preoccupied, even the braised noodles in front of her didn’t smell appetizing.
Every mouthful was eaten very sadly.
Passing by, Gu Minghua saw her absent-minded appearance and still went over to ask:
“Not tasty?”
“Well, not really...”
Qin Wei replied. Only then did she return to her senses and see it was Gu Minghua talking to her. She quickly beckoned him to come over and sit down.
Gu Minghua hesitated for a moment but still walked over.
“That smile of yours... doesn't really reassure people...”
Qin Wei was still smiling:
“We haven't seen each other for quite a while! I’ve been too busy the last few days and didn’t get a chance to say hi. Come, let’s chat.”
“Miss Qin, if you have anything, just say it...”
After lunch break, everyone entered free practice time. Li Ruyi and Yao Ying were leading everyone to practice basics. Qin Wei brought Gu Minghua in.
Why did Teacher Gu come? Wasn’t he Class AB’s mentor?
In good spirits, Qin Wei pulled Gu Minghua to stand in front of everyone:
“Teacher Gu took time out of his schedule to help correct our pronunciation. Everyone, come over.”
Sun Tiantian looked at Gu Minghua, then asked Qin Wei:
“Weiwei, is it appropriate to do this...?”
“It’s fine.”
Gu Minghua told her,
“For this competition, mentors were assigned to each class, but there is no strict restriction that each mentor can only teach certain classes. It’s not a problem for me to come over, don’t worry.”
After saying this, he gestured for Qin Wei to continue.
Qin Wei nodded, then said,
“Teacher Gu has lived in the UK for many years. English is also his mother tongue. You should be able to trust his standard British accent, right?”
The six people present all nodded. Looking at Teacher Gu, their eyes were full of stars.
Qin Wei also returned to her seat. Gu Minghua picked up the score, first read it at normal speed, then read it again slowly. Next, he had Qin Wei read it.
Qin Wei also stood up and read the lyrics once. With something to compare to, the others were able to ascertain that the differences in their pronunciation were not too great.
After listening, Gu Minghua even praised her:
“I feel you’ve improved even more compared to last time.”
Of course.
Anyway, she also had nothing much to do every day. When free, Qin Wei would work out at home, practice musical instruments, practice spoken English - keeping busy and fulfilled the whole day, without slacking on fundamentals at all.
It’s just that others didn’t know about it.
