RP: Just Dance

[rar_dancer]

Date 17 September 1999
Character(s): Danny Wall, Lola Hodson, anyone else who wants to
Location: Terpsichore Studios
Status: Pretty much public
Summary: Lesson 2 is the rumba
Completion: InComplete

Comments

[rar_daphne]

Daphne wasn't sure why she'd come back, but after dinner she'd just simply wandered this way. She was already wearing proper attire, after all, so why not give it another go? Last week hadn't been so bad. In fact, she was feeling positively social, as much as she'd been out of the flat lately. Maybe things were finally starting to settle down.

Of course, she was still here without a partner, she though bleakly as they did their stretches and started into the lesson. Asking Pansy for recommendations on who to invite was not an option, so she'd simply have to bear the annoyance of getting the leftovers.

[rar_reed]

Work had been grueling today and while Reed didn't mind that in the least, there was no way he was going to subject a dance partner to the sweat and grime he'd accumulated. Popping home, he'd had a shower and decided since he was already cleaned up, he'd to go with trousers and a button shirt instead of the denims and t-shirt he'd worn the week before.

He made it before the end of the stretches and when they went to partner up, Reed noticed Ginny wasn't there yet this week and the other girls he recognized had partners. No time like the present to meet new people, he reckoned. There was a dark haired girl -- woman, he supposed he should get used to thinking of them as women now -- with an air about her that reminded him of many of the girls he'd danced with at this parent's parties. Oh, well. No time like the present to brush up on his small talk and party manners either, he told himself as he approached. "Good evening. I'm Reed Bradley. May I have this dance?" If she had a partner all ready, he was sure she'd say something.

[rar_daphne]

"Oh," Daphne said as she turned toward the voice, a little startled that someone was addressing her. The bloke looked familiar; she thought he'd been there the previous week. "Hello. Daphne Greengrass." She gave a little half-curtsy. "And you may," she added smiling pleasantly.

She held out her hand and allowed him to pull her into the proper stance, interested to see how he rated as a dance partner. "These lessons have been nice so far, don' you think? The instructors are quite knowledgeable."

[rar_reed]

"Hello, Daphne." He smiled when she curtsied.

He took the right dance hold. "So far, so good. I've never had professional lessons before. It's much different from learning by dancing with my mum, not that she taught me much Latin dance." Following the instructor's directions, he started off. Reed felt a little stiff but he reckoned it would sort itself out once he had the steps down.

[rar_ginny]

Ginny couldn't quite get her feet to cooperate. Finally Danny came over and walked her slowly through the steps, and she beamed up at him. "Oh, I think I got it," she said.

Danny moved on to help others, and Ginny kept practicing. She smiled and waved at Reed, who had beat her to the lesson. He was dancing quite well with Daphne Greengrass, and Ginny smiled. Surely Mandy would be impressed with her bloke's skills.

Ginny tried not to focus on Neville and Pansy. It wasn't that difficult though; she only had to turn her back to them. But then she was looking at Harry and Hermione. Ginny nearly groaned. She turned again and focused her eyes on the far wall. Dancing was meant to relax her, and that's what she intended to do.

[rar_dean]

Seamus had beat him out of the house and into Diagon Alley, but Dean had several layers of paint to get off his right arm--the result of a particularly annoying incident while getting in some extra practice at the studio that afternoon. Still, he didn't arrive too terribly late, and he was glad to see a familiar face was free for a dance partner.

"Hey, Gin," he said, walking up beside her. "I know that this bloke--" He waved at her invisible dance partner. "--is probably terribly charming, but how 'bout you ditch him? I'm much better on my feet. What do you say?"

[rar_ginny]

Ginny was concentrating so hard, she blinked a few times at Dean before she realised why he was standing there. She laughed at his assessment of her partner. "Oh, he is charming," she said. "I hope you can impress me with your skills because he and I...well, let's just say were getting on quite well."

She opened her arms and gave Dean a moment to step in. "Glad to see you here tonight."

[rar_dean]

"Well, if you'd prefer to be alone...." Dean turned as if to go, then came back after a couple of steps, laughing.

Pulling Ginny into the position the instructors had demonstrated--which they'd thankfully repeated a few times for the latecomers like him--and attempted to remember the steps. This wasn't one he'd learned with his sisters, and he felt a bit in over his head. It was still fun, though, and he faked his way through a couple of the moves, knowing Ginny would notice but not caring. Wasn't fun the whole point?

"Well, it took a bit of convincing, but ultimately I decided I couldn't let Shay have all the fun." He grinned. "Lucked out on the partner for the moment, too, though I suppose I can't monopolise you the whole time." Dean gave her a sad face.

[rar_alicia]

Alicia noted that at least she'd dressed better this time, wearing a skirt and heels instead of sneakers. She'd had to dash home after her dinner with Hannah but it'd been worth it, she felt more feminine and loved the way the skirt swirled around her legs. The heels were a bit painful but she'd known they would be; she hadn't been joking when she'd told Seamus the prettier the shoe the more uncomfortable it was

[rar_katie]

Katie quickly spotted Alicia when she entered the studio and grinned, sneaking up behind her.

"Hello gorgeous," she said in a rough approximation of a man's American accent. "Can I have this dance?"

[rar_alicia]

Alicia spun around and laughed, bowing her head slightly in a parody of the old Muggle films she'd seen as a child; her mum loved them all--My Fair Lady was her favourite.

"Of course you may," Al said, holding out her hand.

"'Lo, Katie."

[rar_katie]

"Spiffing!" Katie said and she took Al's hand.

"Hey you. I'm glad I caught you this time. You always make me look good when we dance together," she said, beginning to move them through the steps. She was wearing a very swishy skirt and kept moving her hips so it swished about her legs.

[rar_lisa]

Lisa thought she might feel a little bit ridiculous taking dance lessons, but Cho and Angelina had both enjoyed it, and Terry was interested. He was a much better dancer anyway, so maybe this would help her catch up a bit. There were a lot of people in the class, and a lot of familiar faces, so she didn't feel uncomfortable. The warm-up wasn't a problem, as she was used to being physical, and the dance itself looked like a lot of fun. This had been a good idea.

"Did you catch all that?" she said, turning to Terry after the instructors had finished explaining the steps. "I'm not sure I did, but that's why I've got you, right?" Lisa flashed him a grin.

[rar_terry]

Terry and Lisa had missed the first dance lessons last week. This week, though, he'd really wanted to go, and Lisa was willing to go along, though he could tell she wasn't quite as eager as he was. He loved dancing, though, and the chance to learn a new dance style was too hard to resist, so he was glad he had a willing and able partner.

They'd arrived at the dance studio in Diagon Alley a bit on the late end, but it was okay. "Yeah, I think I caught it all," he said, returning her grin. "Lucky for you I'm a quick study." The diagonal step pattern seemed to be the core of the style, as well as the hardest element, but Terry was determined to learn it. Holding Lisa lightly, he led her in a quick sequence of steps until he thought he'd got the pattern down.

"I'm glad we're not on call tonight," he said as he guided her back to where they'd started. Glancing around the room, he spotted Finnigan, who was on call, and hoped his mate had a quiet evening.

[rar_lisa]

Lisa relaxed in Terry's hold and tried her best to follow his movements. The steps were more complicated than dances she'd learned before, but they weren't too bad. Easier since she was both relatively coordinated and comfortable dancing with Terry. She smiled as they went through the moves a couple of times, managing not to fumble them much. "I'd say so. Lucky thing I picked such a good partner, yeah?"

She nodded. "Me, too. I don't mind most of the time, but it does get tiresome just knowing you could get pulled out at any time." Following his gaze, she chuckled. "Poor Finnigan. Ang is a good dancer, too. Hope he doesn't have to skip out."

[rar_terry]

"Lucky for me you have good taste in men," he teased, giving her waist a tiny squeeze.

He nodded. Being on call was a tenuous situation; it wasn't forbidden to go out for part of an evening, as Seamus had done tonight, but you had to be mentally prepared for an owl accosting you, or an unexpected caller on the Floo wherever you happened to be. "She's a very good dancer," he agreed. "Finnigan knew he was on call when he came here tonight. I say good on him for not sitting round his house when he could be here having fun."

[rar_draco]

After his dance with Verity, Draco was feeling particularly cheerful; not nearly cheerful enough to go anywhere near Katie's side of the room, but certainly enough to stand slightly out of the way and keep his eyes open in case anyone seemed to need a dance partner. He was also catching his breath, if he was honest with himself. It had been good to get his heart pumping like that again...he hadn't danced well, since his birthday. He wondered what his father was planning for his mother this year...he just hoped there would be dancing.