Happy Wednesday! My latest novel is now out, and the link is in the sidebar. Nightsong has been well-received so far, with lots of positive reviews. Not sure what the magic formula was this time, but having people like it so much is motivation to keep plugging away at Jamie’s story.
Speaking of, that’s what I’m posting from again this week. Last time, we saw Jamie, in all his multi-pierced adorableness, from Cian’s perspective. This time, I’m giving you a bit of what Cian looks like. (Note: At this point, Jamie and Cian don’t much like each other, but they have professional respect.)
The dance in this scene is based on similar concepts from my son’s studio. There are a number of elements I’ve drawn on from his experiences. The world of Irish dance is typically very competitive, even more than ballet. My son is at a recreational (non-competitive) studio. There is a somewhat contentious and distrustful attitude throughout the Irish dance community regarding recreational studios which I won’t get into here. That was part of the inspiration for Cian’s character. He teaches non-competitive classes, and one reason for doing so is to bring dance to a wider range of students—including those with disabilities (Cian himself is Deaf). As a former competitive dancer, he is now also a performer.
WIPmath: 3 paragraphs for the 3rd. Sorry it’s long.
Even Jamie could acknowledge Cian was mesmerizing on stage. He was powerful, but at the same time he possessed grace and poise. Jamie didn’t know much about dance, but he understood how difficult it was for Cian and the other dancers to remain so well in sync, every step perfectly timed. Their backup band was incredible. Jamie had asked Mack about imitating some of their sound, but Mack wasn’t interested in Irish folk-rock and had grumbled when Jamie made him listen to the CD Brandon had given him.
The emcee announced Cian and his band, and next thing Jamie knew, the place was alive with the sounds of the drums, the flutes, and the electric strings. Without meaning to, Jamie let go of his dislike long enough to enjoy watching Cian move.
The dance and the costumes had an ethereal quality which evoked images of woods and the fair folk. The dancers all had on some kind of green makeup which caught the light and shimmered. Cian’s midnight-black hair was slicked back, and he had a green mask covering the top half of his face. That was just about all he had covered, aside from a small, tight pair of green shorts. He wasn’t tall and reedy like some dancers. He was shorter, muscular and broad rather than slim—almost stocky. He made faeries seem powerful and majestic rather than prim and delicate. In spite of himself, Jamie became absorbed in the rhythm, the music, and the storytelling. Whatever else he could say about Cian, he had charisma on stage.
Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
I am completely in love with Cian. You captured his charisma perfectly. I sooo wanna go to that club and sit at their table.
Heh, me too! Cian is fun to write. His hard-line stance on some things does get him in a bit of trouble, in a “your activism might be a bit overbearing” kind of way. I didn’t want him to end up as a stereotype (or a “look at me, I’m NOT writing a stereotype!”). I like to hope I’ve struck a balance, but we’ll see.
I love Cian and I definitely want to see the dance!
It’s a more, um, adult version of one my kids did a couple years ago. They did a dance drama about humans discovering a faerie mound. I loved the way they staged it, so I borrowed some of the elements.
This makes me really want to see this performance. I’ve tried to describe onstage scenes before and never quite captured it, but I really feel like you’ve pulled me in there.
That’s interesting to read what you say about the non-competitive studios. My niece did Irish dancing for a while about ten years ago, and she was competing, so we went to a couple of Feis to cheer her on, but I guess there was enough distance that I never heard about any of those controversies.
Onstage scenes are so hard!
I had no idea Irish dance was like that, but my kids’ teacher has gotten actual hate mail. Not all studios are like that, of course. One common rule is that if you leave a studio, you’re barred from dancing again at another one for 6 months to a year, unless it was for a move out of town or the studio closed. Some of the highly competitive ones are outright cruel to the students, in part because the dance itself can be so rigidly structured. Also, unlike with many other forms of dance, training in a competitive studio is required in order to go professional. It’s all very complicated.
Love the description of Cian. And absolutely love this snippet. 🙂
Yay! I’m glad. 🙂
Great snippet! I feel like you really captured Cian’s personality (as well as his appearance, obviously). 🙂
I’m glad that came through! 🙂
That sounds like a show that I would like to check out!
Me too! LOL