Solo Dance Production

Of course, Lin Roufang wasn't as good as he seemed.

What? Did you think some random person in Tang Miaoyi's class just so happened to be a world-class dancer?

Is such a coincidence even possible?

...

..

.

...Yes, it was.

But, while Lin Roufang was a world-class dancer, even he couldn't come up with a routine like that on the spot.

But, luck was on his side that day. While the songs they were playing were random, he knew the song quite well. In fact, he had listened to it almost nonstop, while filling in for Miaoyi as class president.

That's right, the song they used was "Fox". It makes sense since TMY would be producing the theme song for the show, but it gave Lin Roufang a massive advantage in this competition.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Very well, contestant 015, Your name is... Lin Ruofang?" One of the judges immediately began to give their critique: "Urban Dance, in street dance, we consider it an artistic expression of Hip-Hop culture."

"The song today is 'Fox,' which is a completely new style of song, and since it's so new, no one has tried it before in this context. If not treated carefully, and with respect, it could easily lead to catastrophic failure... However, your performance today was unexpected. Although you stayed in place for most of the performance, your dancing and footwork were very solid, which demonstrates your full range of skill, and shows just how talented you are. Art should constantly break through oneself and try new things. Therefore, in terms of your skill, and willingness to take risks, shown at the end, I give you a pass."

"Thank you, teacher!" Lin Ruofang was touched and quickly bowed to show gratitude.

"For how long have you been learning dance?" The judge asked again. "Have you danced professionally before?"

"I have been dancing for nine years, but I have never been in a competition like this." Lin Ruofang replied.

The other judge then spoke: "Very good, I have always believed that Urban Dance is not just a dance style but rather a way of expressing oneself through dance. It includes the dancer's pursuit of art... Different from traditional street dance styles such as Popping, Breaking, Locking, etc., Urban Dance's distinctive feature is its newness. It is a fusion product that combines trendy new elements with various other dance elements. So, while your style was already a good fit for the song, your skills were indeed excellent. I give you a pass."

"Thank you, teacher!" Lin Ruofang bowed again to express gratitude.

"The two teachers have said everything I feel needs to be said, so I don't have much to add. You pass," the third judge shrugged nonchalantly and directly gave a pass to Lin Ruofang.

Zhang Yuan timely announced: "Contestant 015, Lin Ruofang from Shanghai, has entered the official contestant group."

- - - - - - - - - -

Just as the closed audition was being held inside the Tianyou Entertainment Building, it was already 1:30 pm in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Tang Miaoyi's home, a different scene was unfolding. The white fox Da Mian was lying quietly on the bed, staring at Tang Miaoyi and An Qiuying, who were busy working on the computer, occasionally making a soft "yip~" sound.

"Come on, Qiuying, take a good look. This is how electronic music is made," Tang Miaoyi said as she edited the audio tracks quickly and fiddled with the settings with her mouse.

An Qiuying looked puzzled as she watched, but she felt like she was doing something really cool, even though she didn't understand what Miaoyi was doing.

Miaoyi was working on the electronic side of the song. The densely packed audio tracks on the screen were the basic parts of "Solo Dance," and she had already completed one-third of them. This was the result of her morning's work.

Since she had most of Martin Jensen's "Instruments" already, she just had to put everything together. When writing a song, the most time-consuming part was getting the tone you wanted, and since she had the correct tone for the most part, it went smoothly.

She was completing the tracks one by one. She had started with a basic piano playing the part of "Vocals", while she configured everything else around it. Once she finished the backing track, the vocals should fit right into the song like a puzzle piece.

Since the announcement of the upcoming new song last night, Tang Miaoyi had informed the folks at Tianyou Entertainment that the new song would be "Solo Dance." Then, she had a conversation with Zhang Yuan, the director, who mentioned in passing that the preliminary audition for the Shanghai station had begun. The official date was the next day when the first batch of dance performers would be selected to enter the competition... which was today.

Therefore, since the announcement had been made, Tang Miaoyi had to get to work. Time waits for no one, and in half a month, everything would be revealed.

These two songs were not like the unfinished product of "Fox," but rather finely crafted electronic music with a clear beginning and end and meticulous attention to detail. It would definitely take time to complete them all, as a good piece of work can never be rushed.

"I've already done the basic melody, Qiuying, listen to it and see if you can sing it. We'll confirm it's okay on our end before we move on to the next step," Tang Miaoyi said with a smile as she polished up the bass track and carefully checked every detail.

"It should be okay, I've been practicing a lot recently," An Qiuying thought for a moment before giving a definite answer.

"OK," Miaoyi raised an eyebrow.

Tang Miaoyi decided to help her out a bit and took the rough melody she had made and polished it off. It had just been rough piano notes, that gave off the basic idea, but now it replicated every precise note and even added the portamentos...

(A/N, "Portamento" is when the singer slides from one note to the next without pausing)

She began to play the melody on its own for An Qiuying. There were no chords, no bass, no drums, just the melody.

To someone like Tang Miaoyi, who had been exposed to high-quality electronic music culture in her past life, the clip was extremely rough, lacked any spice, and sounded bland and dry. Exactly the things those few netizens said about "Fox".

But An Qiuying's mouth opened, and her sky-blue eyes shone, "What a beautiful melody!"

"This sounds good? It's far from complete," Tang Miaoyi's mouth twitched, her expression slightly dissatisfied. Her fingers moved like dancing butterflies, skillfully editing and perfecting the audio as the needle slowly slid and the music continued to play, immersing the room in beautiful notes.

The beauty of the melody was unquestionable. Besides the chords, the melody was the most prominent aspect of electronic music. A good melody could make a mediocre song into a hit, and vice versa, a bad melody could ruin a masterpiece.

And while the melody for "Solo Dance" for Earth standards was typical, it could be considered masterful here.

And Tang Miaoyi was going to exploit it to the fullest.