Chapter 386: Follow My Lead

The two students woke as if from a dream and quickly struck their poses.

After glancing a few times, Lin Sicheng frowned: "Student Zhao, do you know how large a twenty-five-degree angle is, and where the L3 Vertebra is? Student Su, do you know what flexion is, what a jade ring is, and where the radius is?"

The two students were stunned, and in a "swish," their fair faces turned completely red.

For those studying dance, whether it be modern, classical, ethnic, or ballet, "Dance Anatomy" is a required course. They certainly knew the names and positions of specific joints. But the problem was, no one had ever said that when doing dance pose storyboards, the precision of limbs and joint angles had to be strict to the degree?

Isn't this nitpicking, looking for bones in an egg?

Unable to hold back, one of them raised a hand: "Student Lin, dance pose storyboards can have angular redundancy!"

Lin Sicheng sighed: Do you really think I don't know anything?

This isn't an ordinary storyboard; this is translating a score...

"It's not that there can't be redundancy, but if there are too many repetitive and superfluous angles, the workload will multiply when compiling and finalizing the draft..." Lin Sicheng picked up a pen and "swished" a few times on the paper:

"Like this, I'll loosen the data a bit: Hip Abduction ±3°, L3 Vertebra deviation ±2°, Elbow Flexion ±5°... but for the pelvic right shift of fifteen centimeters, the 20° Wrist Dorsiflexion + 10° Radial Deviation, not a single decimal point can be changed for these three points."

We are living people, not building blocks.

Of course, it is not impossible. Even if the eyes aren't enough, aren't there rulers?

It can be measured.

They just felt that Lin Sicheng was making things difficult for them.

The two complained silently, looking at Li Jingting for help.

Li Jingting was also somewhat confused: when choreographing, there are indeed occasional requirements for angle standards, but at most, they are framework requirements; the values are not absolute.

The so-called "varies from person to person" exists because differences in an actor's height, physique, flexibility, muscle strength, and even movement habits inevitably lead to various discrepancies. Therefore, during choreography and practice, adjustments are usually made on the fly through breaking down movements and mirror feedback.

And that is secondary; the key is that he didn't understand what the purpose and basis were for Lin Sicheng's near-harsh requirements.

The director did say to cooperate well, and Li Jingting did want to cooperate well, but there must be limits. One cannot simply flatter and blindly appease just because the other party has connections.

He wouldn't dare claim how professional or authoritative he was, but Li Jingting at least had basic professional ethics and moral integrity.

Although he thought this way, Li Jingting still softened his tone as much as possible and added a smile: "Xiao Lin, ancient scores are not that easy to translate; even for speculative composition, there must be a certain theoretical basis!"

How could there not be?

Lin Sicheng turned around and began rummaging through the long desk.

"Professor Li, look: this is the color painting of a lady from the tomb of Wei Xu in Xijing..."

"This is the Tang lady dance figurine unearthed from the Famen Temple Underground Palace..."

"And this, this is the Contemplation Bodhisattva in the 'Western Pure Land Transformation' mural from Cave 71 of the Mogao Caves..."

"And here, this is the description of dance poses in the Japanese Yue 'Manchuraku'... and this, this is the 'Dynamic Analysis of Gold-gilded Figures from Famen Temple' published by Shaanxi History Museum in 2002."

Lin Sicheng flipped through as he spoke, and in the blink of an eye, he found five or six relevant photos of Cultural Relics, along with historical records and Artifact Research on several dance movements.

At first glance, they were blurry and ambiguous. But Li Jingting could see at a glance that these photos and materials were all records and documents related to the Tang Dynasty Soft Waist Dance.

Especially the last photo: the "Folded Waist Contemplation Style" in the classical dance lesson plan was named after these two murals.

After looking at it carefully, he subconsciously raised his head and stared at Lin Sicheng, as if asking: Didn't you just say it was only speculation? Lin Sicheng didn't know what to say: with the time spent explaining that, several sets of storyboards could have been finished.

He had also thought: after all, the other party is a true Expert, and a highly authoritative one at that. And in the other party's eyes, he is purely a layman. Letting a layman lead an expert will surely lead to various conflicts.

But he didn't expect the disagreement between the two sides to come so quickly: it had only just begun, and before the first decomposition composition could even be drawn, they were already arguing? By the time the entire dance score is translated, it will probably take until the end of time...

"Professor Li, you are definitely top-tier professional, but conversely, I am half-ignorant? So, for a moment, neither can convince the other..." After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng sighed, "Professor Li, you just said it yourself: every minute is money..."

With one sentence, half of Li Jingting's breath was choked in his throat.

He understood Lin Sicheng's meaning: although he is not an insider, he has his own understanding; at the very least, he understands Cultural Relics.

Lin Sicheng invited him over not to teach him how to translate scores or choreograph, but to provide guiding suggestions at critical points, such as when he gets stuck.

But to be honest, it's not that Li Jingting is stubborn, nor is it that he looks down on Lin Sicheng. It's that he is very certain: following Lin Sicheng's method, this score will only be translated into a bizarre, unrecognizable mess.

Let alone adapting it or putting it on stage, even if a professional took one look at it, they would laugh their heads off.

So what to do now: go back to our own homes? Or just let it be, and do whatever Lin Sicheng says?

But to put it bluntly: having taken the money, it is equivalent to hanging the name of a consultant; if a piece of dog-shit work is produced in the end, Li Jingting cannot afford to lose that face.

For a time, neither would give way, and the group of choreographers and actors looked at each other: is this going to fall apart?

Exchanging a look, Liu Hao and Cheng Nianjia stood up.

"Professor Li, how about this: let's treat today as a visit, and let the two students rest for a bit. Let's have Xiao Yu and Xiao Yang assist Xiao Lin first to see the effect. If it's good, then we continue; if it's not good, we'll discuss it again..."

"Xiao Lin, don't mind me saying a few words: for the same work, everyone's understanding is bound to be different, and their viewpoints will naturally be different... Of course, Professor Li's professionalism is beyond doubt; provided it doesn't affect the structure of the work, we should still listen more to the old Expert's opinions..." This was, of course, smoothing things over, but it was done with reason and evidence.

Li Jingting immediately agreed: "Fine, then let's learn a bit!"

"Professor Li is too kind!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "If there is anything wrong, please correct me!"

Li Jingting let out a "Heh": I would like to correct you, but will you listen?

Although there were differences, the atmosphere was still okay. Arranging for the two students to change clothes, Li Jingting flipped through the materials on the long desk again.

Honestly, it was quite comprehensive; he had basically all the materials he could think of, and quite a few he hadn't.

For example, three of them: "Ren Zhi Yao Lu", "San Wu Yao Lu", and "Long Shou Chao".

These three books are all secret transmissions of Yue from the Japanese Heian Period (12th century). In China, and even in Japan, many historians believe that some, or even the majority, of the music and dance in these three classics originated from Tang Dynasty Yan Music.

Especially "Long Shou Chao", which contains the classic Tang Dynasty Yan Music grand suites that were nearly lost in ancient China, such as "Bodhisattva Barbarian", "Lan Ling King Enters the Battle", and the famous "Qin King Breaking the Formation Music".

But that's not the point; the problem is: they are all in Japanese?

Li Jingting naturally couldn't read them, and looking to the side, there were no translations.

Flipping through them, he looked at Lin Sicheng suspiciously: "Xiao Lin knows Japanese?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "I know a little!"

Stunned for a moment, Li Jingting didn't know how to ask: what he actually wanted to ask was, can you understand these three books?

This is not ordinary Chinese-Japanese translation; these three are ancient Japanese scores, roughly translated into Japanese from Tang scores during ancient times. Knowing Japanese is useless; you must understand ancient Japanese, you must understand ancient Tang scores, and you must understand classical music theory and dance history, otherwise, it's no different from reading a heavenly book. If Lin Sicheng could really understand them, then at the very least, he is not the layman he imagined who knows nothing?

While he was suspicious, the two students changed into casual clothes, and Yu Jingsi and Yang Lin had also finished changing into their dance costumes.

The same water sleeves, the same Hanging Cloud Bun, only the colors were slightly different, but this did not affect anything.

Lin Sicheng glanced over, then looked at Liu Hao and Cheng Nianjia: "You two, could you make a request?"

There was no need to guess; the moment they heard it, both knew what Lin Sicheng wanted to say: could they do exactly as he said, exactly how he said to do it?

Exchanging a look with Cheng Nianjia, Liu Hao smiled: "You call the shots!"

That's good.

Lin Sicheng nodded and looked at the two actors: "You two, get ready!"

The two actors pulled up their water sleeves and waited quietly.

They assumed Lin Sicheng would repeat the previous segment: just those few lines about the Side Hip Top Angle and the waist-leaning Cheek Support.

They had also prepared themselves mentally: no actor could hold a Wrist Dorsiflexion and radial deviation to a specific degree at once, let alone hold a Hip Abduction to a specific degree.

But it didn't matter; it wasn't as if they couldn't ask, right?

But strangely, Lin Sicheng did not issue any instructions; instead, he walked over.

He walked straight forward, passed between the two, stopped about five or six steps away from the wall, and pointed forward: "I don't really understand the technical terminology, and if I just talk about data, it's not easy for you to understand. Let's do this, let's look at the mirror..."

The two actors were taken aback: looking at the mirror was fine; they could adjust in time through the reflection.

The problem was, shouldn't you tell us first: how we should do it?

Just as they were feeling suspicious, Lin Sicheng raised his hand: "Teacher Yu, you perform the Side Hip Top Angle... Teacher Yang, you perform the Cheek Support..."

"I will focus on breaking down the posture: Lower limbs: hip-thrusting to store power, Left Front Empty Step. Torso, waist-folding to shape: Lumbar Spine Lateral Flexion, Thoracic Spine Rotation, Rib Retraction and Qi Sinking.

Upper limbs, Cheek Support to fix the emotion. The elbow joint forms the 'Jade Ring Embracing the Moon' curve, the middle finger touches the lower edge of the zygomatic arch, the sleeve cuff hangs down, one foot and three inches from the ground... Pay attention to the mood: eyes brimming with charm...

Head and neck, chin slightly tucked, looking back at the extension line of the left shoulder. Focus your gaze on a virtual point two meters beyond the shoulder to create a sense of 'longing'... Pay attention to the expression: shy yet timid, coyly resisting yet welcoming..."

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng suddenly raised a hand, one hand supporting his cheek, the other half-hanging. At the same time, he thrust his hips back, straightened his front leg, and lightly touched the ground with his back leg. Then, he tucked his chin slightly, lowered his eyes, and stared at his shoulder tip.

The two actors finally understood why Lin Sicheng asked them to look at the mirror: follow me...

The problem is... this movement, this posture?

Not to mention it was fast, it was also extremely natural. It was as if Lin Sicheng had practiced it thousands of times, natural and effortless, free and following his heart.

And, the angles.

Whether it was the two students or the two actors: although they couldn't do it, that didn't mean they didn't have a clue in their hearts.

What's more, there were directors, an Editor-in-Chief, and even professors on site who were many times more experienced than them, with eyes no different from rulers. Side Hip Top Angle: what did Lin Sicheng require? 25±3.

What is it now? A visual estimate: the Hip Abduction definitely does not exceed thirty degrees.

Lin Sicheng also required: Left Front Empty Step, feet thirty centimeters apart, pelvis pushed right by fifteen centimeters. A visual estimate again: the margin of error definitely does not exceed one centimeter. The key is the gaze, and the expression: shy yet timid, coyly resisting yet welcoming, eyes brimming with charm.

Everyone seemed stunned again, staring straight at Lin Sicheng in the mirror: in an instant, they actually automatically ignored Lin Sicheng's hairstyle, clothing, and gender.

It was as if, naturally, their minds automatically filled in the image of Lin Sicheng wearing water sleeves, wearing a Hanging Cloud Bun, and dancing gracefully.

Seeing the two actors motionless, Lin Sicheng smiled: "Can't do it?"

Lin Sicheng had already done it to this extent, how could they not be able to?

The two actors snapped back to reality and followed suit.

The speed was fast, and although the gaze and expression were not quite there, the movement and posture were basically identical.

After the two actors finished posing, Lin Sicheng stared at the mirror for a while, then helped the two actors make some adjustments.

Raise where it should be raised, extend where it should be extended, retract where it should be retracted.

Watching, as if by telepathy, Liu Hao and Cheng Nianjia looked at each other: this was not the Folded Waist Contemplation Style in the traditional sense.

What did the traditional one look like?

Just as recorded in the teaching materials: in a posture of composure, rationality, simplicity, and naturalness, it expressed a sense of affinity, kindness, and compassion. But the one before them was more graceful, more vivid, and highlighted the actor's physical beauty and line beauty more prominently.

Under Lin Sicheng's repeated emphasis, especially his repeated requirements for the gaze and expression, the two actors gave off a sense of charm and extreme sexiness.

But it was not vulgar; the arc of their hands was natural and beautiful, their expressions were vivid and soft, echoing the movements of the waist and hips, revealing dignity and elegance within the charm. The problem was, looking at the original score again, and the photos of those Cultural Relics, and even the data, to say how much connection it had with the dance of these two in front of them, it all felt a bit forced.

Then how did Lin Sicheng translate it into this?

The key is, the feeling this set of movements gave people: natural, perfect to the point of being flawless.

So the question arises: how could a pure layman translate a set of dance moves that seemed refined through a thousand trials and impossible to improve from an ancient score so brief that it made Experts want to scratch their heads at a single glance?

Subconsciously, Liu Hao looked at Li Jingting beside him again and was instantly stunned.

It is no exaggeration, the expression on Professor Li's face was exactly like he had seen a ghost...

Curious to death, yet no one dared to make a sound.

After finishing the hands-on adjustments, Lin Sicheng stepped back a few paces and nodded with satisfaction: "Thank you both, you can stop now!"

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng picked up his brush again, and with a few "swish-swish" strokes, a Painting of Lady with eyes fixed and cheek supported appeared on the paper:

A group of people looked at each other in dismay...