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 Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 6:15 pm
Canter? That had always been hard for Ayden he could never seem to find just the right speed. That's why he had learned to gallop instead. It was harder and probably not as nice to watch but he could do it though it didn't seem that Sibalto wanted to see his speed. "Canter? Ummm...canter...canter...canter..." He slowly began to pick up speed but the right one was eluding him.
Round and round he went flopping from trot to gallop never quite managing to keep at his medium for more then a minute. After a bit over a quarter of an hour he slowed entirely and stopped with his head low. "I can't do it." He said disappointment in himself evident in his wavering voice. He had always been able to avoid this until now but this was just tearing at an old wound. That was what he had been told to do and he was unable to do it, once again he felt like a failure.
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:57 am
Sibalto smiled and shook his head. "Can't canter? Nonsense... Come on then... We'll both have a go at it, and I'll teach you.. Here and now."
He stretched his legs, staring to walk a bit... Feeling loosened up, he began a short, collected trot, strides quick. He made a circle or two of the clearing, then called to his student.
"Come on then... We'll start at a trot." He said softly, smiling encouragingly. "And then all you have to do is match me... We'll trot.. And then Canter... Its three beats instead of two for a trot, three instead of all four for a gallop... Come on... I'll teach you."
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:41 pm
"Okay..."He said still feeling a bit unsure. Sibalto's confidence in him wasn't really making things any better. Now if he screwed up he was letting someone down. He tossed his head about clearing his mind of self doubt and worry reminding himself that this wasn't a test of his ability. All this was was a bit of a teaching process with himself playing the student. If he failed then he would just have to try again.
With his thoughts in tact he stepped in to circle in a trot behind his teacher. 'Just follow him...mimic what he does and you'll be okay.' He took a deep breath then locked his eyes on the dappled gray. He could do this and once he did he just knew he'd be able to dance in a way that would make his mom's heart stop.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:43 am
Sibalto made sure Ayden's strides were in perfect cadence with his, then sped to a gentle canter. It was a smoothe, quick gait. An easy stride to cover flat, soft ground... One wouldn't tire out too fast, but a trot was much wiser if covering a long distance.
Not that that mattered... Right now, this was all about the strides before the dance. All horses knew these strides instinctively, if was often just a simple fact that their heads got in the way.
"Just try to keep up with me." Sibalto offered. "Don't think about strides, just try to pull even with me, and stay there...."
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:17 pm
Ayden wasn't sure that this was the best ideas. Sure he could dance alright but otherwise he was a bit of a klutz. This screamed disaster to him but still he made his move and came side to side with Sibalto. Fearing that he might pull ahead of the silvery grey stallion he slowed his pace and fell back. With a bit of a frustrated sigh he pushed himself forward again keeping his eyes on his "teacher's" legs. He tried stepping the exact same way but it didn't seem to be working quite right.
"It's not working..."He said with a sigh looking sadly up at the sky. He let his mind wander off to a world where he could canter among other things. As his mind drifted away from Earth his steps fell into a steady beat matching almost perfectly with Sibalto's.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:46 am
Sibalto wisely said nothing as the younger male expressed his doubts.. Knowing... Yes, at that moment it wasn't working.. Because he was trying to hard.. Dancing wasn't about the movements.. It was about letting whatever was inside you come out... Come out in leaps and dancing strides...
"You're doing it." He said softly, trying to hide his smile. "Well done."
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:36 pm
Sibalto's words brought the young stallion back down to Earth and as he looked down he tripped up. He slowed for a moment to gather his thoughts. What had Sibalto said? He was doing it, right? That meant he could and with a deep breath he looked straight a head and let his feet think instead of his head.
In a brief moment Ayden had caught up and came into line with the dappled grey his legs acting as a mirror to his teachers own. "Okay..."He said keeping his head pointed straight ahead fearing he'd trip if he looked elsewhere. "Now what do I do?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:00 am
Sibalto smiled. "Just get comfortable... Dancing covers all normal strides, all natural movements... You can't learn how to do something your body doesn't naturally know how to do... On an instinctive level, you know how to swim should you need to save your life... You know what strides to use at what speed to outwit a predator, how to jump should you become boxed in.... Dancing takes your normal activities and combinds them in a pattern that is pleasing to behold... It is something you enjoy doing... You rear in high spirits, bow when you have finished your performance, you prance in high spirits and leap toward the sky for the joy of it.... Dancing is about expressing what you feel through movement... But the movement is already a part of you... You just need to unleash it."
Some of the words swam to him from the past... The notes from his elders, his mentors and teachers... Some where words he heard in his own heart... Things he had always thought dancing should be about... Things he could look back on and see it would have been easier, if he had someone explaining dance like this...
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 11:27 am
Ayden listened to Sibalto's speech closely for a while but as it dragged on he started to lose focus letting his mind wander. He could see himself dancing on the clouds in ways he'd only dreamt of. As his imagination began to fly out of control he started swaying and prancing about nearly knocking into the other stallion a few times. His eyes flashed open after on near collision and he smiled. "So I know how to dance already?" He asked just trying to clarify what he knew already.
That was great news. Dancing was putting patterns into moves he knew then he'd like to learn those patterns. He wanted to dance for his mother and his sister when she returned. He'd be something special.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:29 pm
Sibalto grinned, side-stepping away so Ayden could dance about without harming either of them. Truthfully, the young stallion had plenty of promise... Sometimes he just, over-thought things... Dancing was about what you felt, not what you thought.
"Yes... Everyone knows how to dance... You feel an emotion, and you respond... Usually verbally... Dancing is expressing an emotion through movement, not words..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:58 pm
"Through emotion. Right...so it's like jumping around when something good happens right?" He let out an almost girlish giggle before breaking his even stride to bound ahead enjoying the free feeling. It was wonderful so much that he almost forgot that he was lost or that he was supposed to be learning the patterns to use. Slowly reality washed over him once again and he turned to face Sibalto. With a bit of nervous laughter he bowed his head apologetically. "Uh...so...about these patterns...can you show me one?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:40 am
Sibalto smiled. "That is a good example, yes... "
At the question, he tilted his head, and nodded faintly... Pausing for a moment, he began a slow, collected trot, weaving a large figure eight around the clearing... As the eight crossed back on itself, he moved to a collected canter and wound a big circle around the outer limits of the eight, then returned to retracing the figure eight before stopping in the middle.
"Simple enough..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 12:19 pm
He watched Sibalto carefully trying to memorize the steps. Figure eights were easy enough something he'd known for a long while then a perfect circle around the eight. He would have to go a bit slower on the circle then the grey stallion had done to make sure he got it the right size. A least for the first couple times. Committing the steps to his memory he got a decent distance away from the other to avoid crashing before starting into his eight.
He created the number with ease but as he came into the outer circle he didn't pick up speed as he had been shown. Instead he set his eyes ahead to where he would need to briefly touch the eight again. With his mark clear in his mind he allowed himself a bit more speed and a slight lean before making a clean circle around and back to Sibalto. "How was that?" He asked preparing himself to go for another shot in a bit figuring it wasn't good enough.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:16 am
Sibalto had watched the young stallion with the critical eye of a teacher, and found himself pleased. Though he was rather new to dancing, Ayden picked up things well.
"Excellant." He said with a smile. "The Speed is not so important as the movement, the smoothness of a circle or eight.. If you sacrifice speed to get the beauty of the movement perfect, it is still pleasing to behold... Another go around?"
He prodded the last with a questioning lift of his brow, prancing another go around of the shapes. Switching leads at the heart of the eight, then back again has he crossed his own path, he flung his legs out in showy strides.
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 9:26 am
The young stallion's heart soared. Sibalto had said that the young stallion had done well so that meant that Ayden could do just about anything or so he felt. Without knowing it the saddled horse had given Ayden an unneeded confidence boost.
He made his way into the eight easily but as he made his way into a fancier step to impress the other he tripped himself up and stumbled. He laughed and looked over his shoulder to the dappled grey a silly smile gracing his face. "Wait gimme one more shot." He said laughter still in his voice. He set himself right again then started anew from where he was. His spotted legs flew as he made his way through the eight this time gaining speed as he overlapped the number and made his way into the circle. He did not fling his legs out purposefully but somehow the managed to fly out before him with each step.
With a look of pure bliss he made his way back to Sibalto. "I think I got it!" he said sounding almost breathless not from overexertion but from utter joy and excitement.
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