Chapter 441: – Yufei’s First Performance
Lin Jin's singing was still quite good. Although she couldn't compare to those celebrities or the big shots from TV talent shows, it was at least comparable to the top ten singers at school. The skill levels of those top ten singers varied a lot, only the top few could be considered really good while the ones ranked lower were at most just karaoke level. If Lin Jin participated, with her ability, she could probably get around the top three.
However, because the equipment wasn't great, the speaker that Teacher Lin had brought was one of those convenient portable ones, only about calf high, and the sound quality wasn’t very good. So when Lin Jin’s voice was amplified through the speaker, it sounded a little bit distorted.
But luckily, Lin Jin’s singing skills were quite good. While it wasn’t as good as Teacher Lin, it was still better than most people. After a few songs, more and more people gathered in the audience, making it look like a carnival. Even though many students still had classes in the afternoon, there were several groups of students who skipped class to come watch after hearing about the “concert” under the big banyan tree.
The number of people was a lot higher than yesterday, but Lin Jin could clearly notice a few faces she had seen the day before. These students who came again to watch the "concert" wouldn't be counted again toward her task progress, so today, the task probably only progressed by about thirty to forty new people.
Including the previous ones, there was still a long way to go.
"Sister! I want to sing too!" Yufei's eyes sparkled, she was extremely interested in performing. Ever since Lin Jin's first performance, she had been eager to give it a try as well.
"What can you sing?" After singing several songs in a row, Lin Jin felt her throat was a bit sore. Fortunately, she had gained some vocal proficiency, making it easier on her voice when singing. Otherwise, after going all out for several songs in a row, her voice would have been hoarse long ago.
"I can sing... Only Mother Is Good in the World!" Yufei confidently said. "For this song at the welfare institute, I’m the one that sings it best!"
Ah? Was it really okay for Yufei to sing this song? After all, the lyrics had some lines that weren’t exactly good for her situation.
"Then what else can you sing?" Lin Jin lifted her head and drank some honey water. She slowly swallowed it, and tilted her head as she said, "Everyone here are big brothers and sisters, they don't like listening to children's songs."
"But you could even sing Little Sloppy."
"Technically speaking, that's an anime theme song, not a children's song." Lin Jin nodded, giving herself a thumbs up for her cleverness.
However, Yufei had never heard of any anime whose theme song was Little Sloppy.
"How about dancing?" Lin Jin raised an eyebrow, trying to persuade Yufei. "You've been practicing dance for so long, why not go and give it a try?"
"Dancing?" Yufei immediately became excited, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at Lin Jin. She couldn’t wait and impatiently jumped a couple of times. "Yeah! Then I'm really going!"
"Mhm mhm, just don't be nervous."
"How’s that possible! Do you think I’m like you, sister?" Yufei disdainfully huffed twice, putting her hands on her hips like an adult. "I'm going to be a big star in the future! I'll be a very amazing dance expert! The future Asian Queen of Dance will be me!"
"Then you have to work hard!"
Lin Jin chuckled and then went to Teacher Lin to explain the situation, asking her to announce it to the audience.
After finishing a song, Teacher Lin cheerfully pulled Yufei to the center and then used the microphone to speak to the audience: "Today, we also have a little girl who wants to perform a dance. Do you all welcome her?!"
"Yeah!"
Amidst the thunderous cheers, Yufei shyly lowered her head and bowed to the crowd.
Afterward, Teacher Lin walked over to the phone and played the song "The Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".
This ballet piece could be considered a basic beginner dance. Although there was a section with intermittent spinning lasting over ten seconds, Lin Jin had removed the more difficult parts when teaching it to Yufei. So for Yufei, this dance could be considered as somewhat doable.
This dance really tested the basics, or rather, basically all ballet pieces tested the basic skills. When dancing ballet, the dancers were basically always on the tips of their toes. This wasn’t simply standing on tiptoes, it also required the dancer to do it beautifully and gracefully. It demanded the posture to be perfectly upright without any wobbling.
Fortunately, Yufei's basics were quite good. Although she hadn't been practicing dance for long, she had been diligently practicing every day during times Lin Jin doesn’t see. It was said that when taking care of the younger children in the mornings, she would always be following the dance movements.
She practiced really hard. Today was the day for Yufei to show her results.
Today, she was wearing a combination of shorts and a loose T shirt. It was not a standard ballet attire, but Yufei clearly didn’t mind this point. She was still feeling a bit nervous.
Performing in the big square in public for the first time, Yufei's performance was much better than Lin Jin's. She politely bowed to the audience, then walked to the side, took a moment to suppress her nerves, and confidently nodded to Teacher Lin.
So the music that had already been playing a little was restarted to the beginning.
Yufei stood on tiptoe, placed one hand crossed in front of her chest and the other slightly arced in the air. A slightly stiff smile appeared on her face. To the beat of the music, she lightly tapped her toes. Completely like a beautiful butterfly, she gently floated from beside Lin Jin to the center of the open space.
"You're not going?" Teacher Lin raised an eyebrow at Lin Jin. "Your student is up there. As her teacher, aren't you going to back her up?"
"But I don't know how~" Lin Jin shrugged.
Even though she was the one teaching Yufei ballet, as a half baked teacher, she hadn’t learned much ballet at all. If she were to go up, she would probably have to leave midway due to the soreness from dancing on tiptoes for too long.
"You're not even as good as Yufei!" Teacher Lin rolled her eyes.
After Yufei moved to the center of the stage, following the upbeat rhythm, she jumped, spun, and lifted her legs. Her dance was graceful and swift. With the music accompaniment, she quickly got into it. Her stiff smile gradually relaxed and she began to enjoy her first performance.
Neither Lin Jin nor Teacher Lin had expected Yufei to dance this well for her first time performing. Aside from the initial nervousness, she seemed to enter her own world, as if she had truly become a part of "The Nutcracker".
"Very beautiful." Lin Jin nodded, enjoying Yufei's performance.
You must know that the reason Yufei could be this amazing was all thanks to her!
Seeing her own student dancing in the center of the open space, Lin Jin was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Ever since becoming Yufei’s dance teacher, this was the first time she had felt this sense of accomplishment.
Unlike the sense of accomplishment from getting lots of views and comments on her videos, or getting more viewers on her live stream, this sense of accomplishment filled Lin Jin's heart with happiness.
She had the feeling she was watching her own daughter go from crawling to walking, then slowly stepping down the wedding hall.
Translator’s Notes: 糖果仙子變奏-胡桃夾子 / The Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
世上只有妈妈好 / Only Mother Is Good in the World