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 Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 6:54 pm
Practice on the main stage was always exciting, especially when it was a dress rehearsal and the ballerina's wore those glorious tutus. The orchestra playing with all the skill and heart, helping to provide a framework for the dancers on the stage to weave story on. Normally, Colin was on stage, dressed and participating, feeling the music in his bones and the springy, polished wood of the stage under his feet...but he was still recovering from the ill-advised invasion of Metallia's castle in Negaspace and was unable to dance the way he had before. Actually, he wasn't supposed to do much more than gentle stretching, since it put strain on his healing liver and kidney, but he couldn't keep from wanting to do more, couldn't help the longing in his heart and soul to be on the stage, spinning and leaping to the music. Coming to watch performance was kind of like torture, but he had friends in the ballet... and he had come in earlier to talk to Christopher, Gail, and September about his recovery schedule. Staying to watch was just something he felt he needed to do...and after he came forward to say hi to some of the musicians and dancers alike. kuropeco oh s**t, is this a start? O_O
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 9:26 am
"Violas, you're too quick in the second movement. Don't come in until you hear the cellos, and only then come in, otherwise you'll play over the introduction. Vulchanov, follow Moran's lead and come in after you hear her, and kindly watch for my signal, you came in late last time. Lynch, if you, Levski, and Connolly could remain for a few moments longer, I'd like to go over the dynamic shift in the third act. Laurence, your solo was excellently done, good job. The rest of you, have a nice evening and be back here tomorrow at four sharp, thank you."
The conductor's baton tapped the stand they stood behind and there was a general murmur of assent, the scrape of chairs as they were moved back, the shuffle of papers as sheet music was gathered up. Julian, not among those listed to remain present, but the last to be commended - as well he should be - took his time in readying himself to leave. The violin was still tucked under his chin, his eyes on the sheet music, and he seemed not to notice that most everyone around him was getting up.
A soft, clear note ebbed from the strings as he pulled the bow across, testing - and it was several moments before Julian became aware that he was one of the last to remain. His conductor, Adrien, was speaking with the stage director, but one of the performers was lingering as well, golden hair curled to perfection.
Julian gave him a critical, narrow eyed look, flicking from head to toe.
"You're a principal, aren't you?" he asked, without much preamble as he reached for his violin case, tucked neatly beneath his chair.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:12 pm
Being able to observe the orchestra more closely than he'd had chance to do so while on stage was very interesting to Colin; the conductor gave instruction much the way the choreographers and ballet master did...only with a bit less swearing, it seemed. Or perhaps today was just a good day? Colin didn't know, but was curious to find out. There was a violinist that didn't seem inclined to move, which piqued his curiousity further, so he remained, watching the other blond and colouring a bit when the fellow gave him a narrow-eyed once-over. Not because of how the man looked at him, but because he'd been caught being silly. And rude. Oh, he knows? So he's been playing for the theater for some time then... "Yes. Usually. I'm on leave right now." Maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but Colin turned his back so he could lift himself backwards over the lip of the orchestra pit, swing his legs over, and drop in gingerly. "Colin Hargrove. Nice to meet you." Then, thinking back to that lovely solo in the later act, he opened his mouth again. "Your solo really was beautiful. I normally don't get to watch the orchestra, it's been really cool." Even if I'd rather be on the stage dancing...
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:16 am
The flush to the dancer's cheeks was noted and discarded in the same breath; Julian glanced away, kneeling down beside his violin case and unlatching the front of it to push the lid back. He carefully and reverently laid his instrument inside, making sure it was placed exactly in the right spot, long fingers running along the smooth wood.
"I didn't realize principals took leave," said Julian, without looking up. "But I suppose all have to have time off at some moment or another."
He heard a thump, then footsteps, and became aware that the dancer had come closer, down in the orchestra pit with him now. Julian still held his bow, but now he looked up again, flicking pale blue eyes over the man again, less critically this time but no less straightforward.
"Julian," he said, "And thank you. Are you injured? Is that why you're taking leave?"
There was no segue, nor hesitation, Julian's eyes level, his voice quite calm.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 3:52 am
While another may have found the violinist to be kind of stand-offish or brusque, Colin simply found the other blond to be focused, dedicated. He knew how intent one could be about one's craft, so didn't see anything untoward with the way Julian behaved towards him; if anything he seemed to feel he was engaging with the other man on a personal level, if the bright smile gracing the danseur's face was any indication. "Usually, we don't." Julian touched his instrument like a lover, like it were the most precious thing in his world. And well he should, that violin is beautiful and he can do such exquisite things with it! I can only imagine how difficult it must be, to become so skilled with an instrument. Seeing all this only made Colin more determined to get to know this orchestra member - after all, he had a lot of extra time on his hands, since he only worked part time for Quenton's Catfé and couldn't do more than light exercises yet - why shouldn't he devote some of it to making new friends with people that he worked with? "Good to meet you, Julian." Coln's smile kicked up around a hundred watts or so in brilliance, "Oh, well...I was in a bad car accident, so I'm under strict orders to take it easy while my insides heal up." All things spoken matter-of-factly, with no additional flare or intonation that suggested Colin wished for pity, or that he felt anything but slightly annoyed about the whole thing. "If I tried coming back too soon, I could permanently hurt myself. So the owners and Christopher have me out until the start of the Winter season, as long as I've healed enough." Would the musician know just how dangerous such a lengthy leave could be to a ballet dancer? Not only in physical conditioning, but there was the mental side to consider as well...and then also the human element: the longer Colin was out, the more likely it was that people would forget about him. Granted, he was trying to stem that a bit by keeping active on social media - especially DCBC related social media - but that was like putting a bandaid over a bullet hole. "So, have you worked here long? I mean, you could've been here for a year and I probably wouldn't have realized it, with how busy I was. And I know we rotate our orchestras, so maybe you were playing for the Second stage..." The green-eyed danseur trailed off a moment, then lit up again before continuing. "I feel bad about that now, 'cause you play like I...like it's your everything. And that's incredibly beautiful and I hope I'll get to dance to your music sometime." Colin had almost said that Julian played like he danced, but had stopped himself from making the comparison as he wanted to make the compliment wholly about his new friend and not insert himself more than he already had. Could I just touch the violin, it was like a work of art...probably a bad idea, I can tell it's really personal to him. I wouldn't grope his partner, I'm not going to grope his instrument. Bouncing very lightly from ball of foot to toes and back, Colin gave his friend a considering look: very neat, buttoned-down type. Nice enough, but maybe a little resting b***h-face to make things hard for him - the violin, it was like a work of art...probably a bad idea, I can tell it's really personal to him. I wouldn't grope his partner, I'm not going to grope his instrument.[i]definitely[i/] not as bad as Quenton's though. No one came close to Quenton Marinus' resting murder face. No one.
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:38 pm
He had not been raised to be polite; he had been raised to present himself, to show off his assets and his talents to the best of his abilities. That was what all of the lessons were, all of the time and effort spent learning the violin, pressing fingers to the strings until his fingers had burned with the effort.
To put on a good show, to show a good face. And it had been ingrained in him ever since, even if, in spite of everything, Julian had taken a strong and unexpected liking to the violin itself. There was something particularly warming about playing; he did not have to think quite so hard about everything else when he was concentrating on the feel of the bow in his hands, the wood under his chin.
"A car accident?"
Julian's eyes strayed from the task at hand to Colin's lithe, muscular frame, searching unintentionally for outward signs of injury. The danseur did seem tired, though he did not know him well enough to judge whether or not that was a common state of mind.
"It's important to not rush these things, I suppose," said Julian, turning back to his case as he tucked the resin into its proper space beside the bow, under a little flap. "Too soon, you could prolong your injuries further. Too long, and you begin to grow lethargic."
He closed the lid on the case and snapped the latches shut with practiced ease before he straightened again. Julian slid back into his chair and began gathering up his sheet music, reorganizing them so that they were in the proper order once more.
"A little over a year, in fact," he said, without glancing up. "I started out playing for second stage, and then was redirected here, once the conductor was reaffirmed of my abilities."
The compliments were things he had heard before, baseless, meaningless frivolities. Julian's pale blue eyes moved towards Colin once more, idly shuffling papers into a file folder with a sort of neat precision that clearly stemmed from years of habit.
"I'm sure once you'll recover, you'll dance to my music, I don't see myself going anywhere else for the time being."
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Posted: Mon May 16, 2016 4:50 pm
"Yeah, in January. It was pretty bad." He gestured to his right side, "Pierced through with metal. It's why I'm out for so long." Why was he sharing this much with his new friend? Was he oversharing? I'm oversharing, probably. He doesn't want to hear about that, no one does. "I should be good for the winter season, if I play my cards right." Outwardly, there wasn't much that could be seen of the fiasco that he'd told medics, family, and non-powered friends had been a really nasty car accident. His hair had grown back and was styled, his hands and forearms were fine (if his fingertips were still 'working on' having whorls and lines again, no one looked close enough to know), and he had a rather nasty scar that was hidden by his clothes where he'd been pierced through by the Greater Youma Dragon's crystal tail spikes. "Precisely." Julian got it! Colin's smile warmed up a few watts as his eyes followed the other man's hands putting away his instrument's accoutrements in their velvety nest. "We've a really good sports medicine therapist here, his name is Lazarus, and he's fantastic. I also do PT outpatient, but yeah. I don't want to push too hard." He shrugged a bit, knowing he was oversharing but not really able to keep himself from doing it. "Oh wow, that's pretty quick! I think. Honestly I'm not as informed on the orchestra side of things as I am the dance side....but I'm really glad that we got you. Everything about the ballet is beautiful, good music is so important to the whole experience." Again, that wistful little tone and almost dreamy expression came to play. Leaning against the half-wall of the pit, Colin cocked his head a little; he was standing in first position, kind of fidgeting his toes in small moves like he didn't realize he was doing it and couldn't help the doing. "What do you do when you're not playing here? I mean, I don't know if you'd want to, but we could grab a bagel or something sometime." Not a question - Julian reminded him of Quenton, so he framed things as he would have for the flame-eyed intellectual. A sure suggestion, rather than a question - but just enough play that Julian could bow out without feeling like he were being an a**.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 11:37 am
There was no wincing or sign of disgust at Colin's description of his injuries, just a mere flicker of Julian's eyes in the direction of the danseur's side, expression calmly neutral. He didn't exactly shrug, but every part of his body suggested a shrug in nature, and he said, "You seem well enough now, I'm sure you'll recover with ease."
One paper went in front of another, and then two more in front of those. Lazarus was an unfamiliar name, though it was not as if Julian made it a point to get to know everyone. And in fact, most of the time, did not really make it a priority at all, which was perhaps not the greatest of strategies.
Compliments were normal for him; he let them inside of his head and tucked them away without comment, simply nodding in agreement to what Colin was saying. "Without music, there would be no dance at all, at least not in this respect," said Julian, sliding half of the papers he now held into a pocket on one side of his folder. "They're two halves of the same coin; each balances the other out."
His gaze flickered to Colin's feet, though he kept moving papers. Julian watched the automatic shift into position, and it was the same thing that some of the others danseurs did as well; an unconscious way of standing, as though it were ingrained into their bodies as well as their minds.
"I read," he said, "And I fence, sometimes, or play cards."
Blond brows drew together as Julian finally looked at Colin's face, a slight bemusement on his face.
"A bagel," he repeated, as though he'd never heard the word before. "With you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 3:57 am
Talking with Julian was still a little bit difficult, kind of like talking to Quenton could be...but then, they were both geniuses at their chosen craft and look how well his relationship with the lanky Marinii was! Colin would prevail and just accept that he'd have to deal with feeling a bit like an idiot with Julian too...even when he was trying to approach him as a mini-Marinii. "That's a really beautiful sentiment." And it gave the danseur even more insight into the violinist and how he thought. Of course he would find the music to be integral - it IS. But he talks with such surety...like I do with ballet. He must really love it. Perfect. It would give them plenty to talk about, later. "Fencing, really? That's fantastic! I've never tried, it looked dangerous...and well, I was kind of already married to dance." He gave a little chuckle, but was really happy that Julian managed to tell him that much - reading, fencing, cards. Fascinating. "I like to play cards too, but I have a terrible poker face, so I lose a lot if I play that." There. With the invitation came eye contact and a really fun expression from Julian. It was almost like he couldn't believe he'd been invited to something...or like he had no clue what a damned bagel was. Which was false, because they'd had bagels on site fairly often for the cast and crew to nosh on during some of the earlier weekend practices. "Yep. You, me. Bagels. Maybe coffee, if you're feeling frisky." Wait, why did Julian sound so bemused at getting a snack with him. "Why not with me? Am I some magical unicorn that no one can touch off stage? I promise, I'm as real as you are and also twice as hungry. Always." kuropeco oh look what i fuggin dug up.. ha ha ha
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