Topic: Diamonds in the Rough

Anthony De Luca

Date: 2014-09-15 20:33 EST
"Anton," Irina, the ballet troupe's irrepressible dance mistress sighed extravagantly. "I need dancers and you give me children," she complained in her thick Russian accent. "Diamonds in the rough, Irina," Tony replied with a warm smile for the woman he'd known almost since he himself had been a child. She huffed irritably, as if she did not need to be reminded of this fact. Her gaze flickered over the list of dancers for the new season, frowning dubiously as she slapped a wrinkled, but still formidable hand against the page in her hand. "Diamonds in the rough, indeed. Where is Xenia" Where is Darcy' With your Anya on maternity leave, we are short three ballerinas. You are asking for a miracle, Anton." Tony shrugged his slim, but well-muscled shoulders, indicating that he was as clueless as she was. "They didn't audition. Maybe they got a better offer somewhere else." Irina arched a perfectly-shaped, but graying eyebrow at her former prot"g". "Doubtful," she replied. "Nonetheless, that still leaves us short three ballerinas." She looked him over with a critical, but slightly mischievous gaze, tipping her head to the side. "How do you feel about wearing a skirt?" she teased. "I don't have the legs for it," he replied with a chuckle. Though he was arguably in the best shape of his life, there was nothing feminine about his legs or any other part of his anatomy. He was quite sure he'd make a perfectly hideous ballerina. "I could put you into rotation," he countered with an equally mischievous grin. "You are the most experienced ballerina in the troupe." That made her laugh. "And what do you propose I do with my cane, Antoshka"" she asked, tapping it against the floor, as if to prove her point. "We'll work around it," he replied, though they both knew she was far too old to be pirouetting around the stage in toe shoes anymore. "Have you seen Merethyl yet?" he asked of one of the newcomers to the ballet. The elf had impressed him so much he thought she could very well be the Shanachie's next rising star. If he was right, they were only short two ballerinas. "You will have to do something about her ears," Irina pointed out, critically. She had never seen an elf with pointed ears dance the ballet before, though she could not argue that the girl possessed an impressive amount of talent and grace, almost enough to rival Anya. "Nonsense. This is Rhy"Din," Tony reminded her, offhandedly. They weren't in New York anymore, and there were more dancers to choose from than just humans. He had yet to have a dwarf or a vampire audition for a spot, but it was not outside the realm of possibility. As far as Tony was concerned, all that mattered was the desire to learn and the willingness to work hard. Talent didn't hurt either, but talent wasn't something that could be taught. You either had it or you didn't. "And what of this one?" the ballet mistress asked, pulling another application from the pile on which was a photo of a man with tangled, blond hair and a long list of what she considered to be questionable credentials. "A gypsy, Anton' The burlesque is not the ballet." Tony didn't need to look at the photo to know which applicant she was talking about. The man's name was Lorent Munchhausen, of all things. Tony didn't know him from Adam, but they were as short on male dancers as they were on females, and Tony had scooped the man up before his sister could claim him for the theater. "Beggars can't be choosers, Irina. At least, he has experience." "Bah, there were plenty of applicants with experience. Why do they all wish to join the theater" Are they here to have fun or to earn a living?" Irina queried, not really expecting an answer. Tony winced. He knew Irina's feelings about the theater. She had never considered it serious work, but he knew otherwise. He knew how much time and effort went into every production. He knew how difficult it was making sure each and every member of the company could play their part flawlessly.

There had been several applicants he would have liked to have stolen from Mataya's clutches, but they either hadn't expressed an interest in the ballet or didn't have the proper credentials. Irina was right. What they needed was a miracle.

At least, Jamie had seen fit to audition again. The young man had made great strides in his two years with the ballet. So much so that Tony had cast him as the male lead in Carmen. Tony shrugged his shoulders again, as if he wasn't worried. He was confident that one way or another, things would work out. If they didn't, there was always magic, though he considered that cheating. He'd come to Rhy"Din to build a ballet company, but as the old saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. "Our next production isn't until November. Work with him, Irina. Find the diamond in the rough and polish it until it shines." "I am a teacher, Anton, not a fairy godmother." She sighed again, and he knew she was on the cusp of giving in to his request. "What he needs is a bath," she remarked with a contemplative scowl. She would have to see what the man was capable of before she promised Tony anything. "And yet, I've seen you work miracles," Tony told her with a smile, remembering the miracle she'd worked on him when he'd been just a boy. "If there's anyone who can do it, it's you, Irina. I'm counting on you." The woman muttered something vulgar under her breath in Russian before tossing up her hands. "What am I to do with you, Antoshka" You know I cannot tell you no." "Spasibo, Irina," he told her, brushing an affectionate kiss against her cheek. He had known her most of his life and could not be more fond of her if she was his own flesh and blood. "You will not regret it!" "Let us hope you do not regret it," she replied, but she was smiling again. There was much work to be done if she was going to whip her charges into shape before November. "I want to personally meet with all the new dancers. The sooner the better. And then, we will see." "You have my permission to do whatever you must to get them ready," Tony agreed. With any luck, by the time November rolled around, they'd have a troupe of dancers capable of making even Petipa proud.

((OOC Note: I apologize for Irina. She has high standards for the ballet troupe, but hopefully, the new dancers will prove their worth. I hope no one is offended by this post. If anyone would like to post a reply or play off this in any way, feel free. It can be assumed Irina will be meeting with the new dancers and doing her best to whip them into shape. Play off it however you wish. If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to PM me. :) ))

Anthony De Luca

Date: 2014-10-04 10:53 EST
Irina Sokolov was no stranger to the ballet. She had once been a prima ballerina in her own right, a member of the Bolshoi before making her way at long last to America. She had danced with the best of them - Gudunov, Nureyev - but her favorite partner had always been Baryshnikov. Ah, how Misha had danced both in and out of bed. Their dalliance had been short-lived, but how those days had burned brightly in Irina's youth.

Nowadays, she set her sights on older men. She had been seen most recently in the company of none other than Humphrey Granger, and though neither had the stamina of young lovers any longer, their hearts still longed for love and companionship. He was a widower, and though she'd had many lovers, she had never been married to anyone but the ballet. He made her laugh, and that was a gift very few had ever been able to give her. She found he had been the one thing missing in her life of late, and though they were both onward in their years, she saw no reason not to embrace the gift given them so late in life with a whole and open heart.

She had Anton to thank, even for this. If it hadn't been for him, she would never have ventured here. She would never have believed such a place existed, except, perhaps, in Russian folktales, many of which had been transformed into ballets, which was, in Irina's opinion, as it should be.

She had noticed that the vast majority of people in Rhy'Din seemed to be human, and yet, she knew it was not outside the realm of imagination that they might one day audition a troll or a dwarf or even a vampire. One of their ballerinas was an elf, of all things, but even Irina could not deny that the girl was talented. She would make a fine ballerina, but oh, how she missed Anya. Xenia and Darcy and Lauren and Elizabeth had all surpassed her expectations, but they were gone now, and she was left with one ballerina who was with child and one who was untried and untested.

And then, there were the men. How she wished for just one Baryshnikov. Just one diamond in the rough, as Anton had so succinctly put it. Just one De Luca. Oh, she knew Anton would continue dancing, but with a child on the way, she also knew there would be more important things to tend to than the ballet, at least, for a time.

She had met him many years ago in New York and had been struck not only by his beauty, but his grace. In Irina's opinion, her Anton epitomized everything a ballerino should be. It was only a shame he was not Russian.

They had become fast friends, once Anton had gotten past the rough exterior to find the soft core at the center of her heart. They had never been lovers. No, not that. Irina had fancied herself more of a matronly figure to the younger Anton. She had felt similarly toward Anya and might have had more influence than she'd dare admit on the two of them meeting. They were simply made for each other. Anyone with eyes in their head could see that. There were few such partnerships in the world of dance, few that could sustain themselves both on and off stage. De Luca and Komarova were such a rarity, but now that the two of them were starting a family together, Irina was at a loss as to who the next star of the ballet might be.

Certainly not any of the new dancers, at least, not in Irina's opinion. Oh, perhaps, the elf. She showed promise, and Irina had learned that she was far older and more experienced than she looked. They would see come November, if the audience agreed. She was certainly lovely to look at, but there would have to be more to her than merely looks. James showed promise, as well, but he was still too young to dance the more mature roles.

And then, there was Lorent. He was unquestionably strong enough to lift a ballerina, but whether he could show any talent on stage was yet to be determined. Anton had never dropped a ballerina, not even once. She was not so sure the same could be said for any of the others in her charge - at least, not yet.

There had been another, one she had spied dancing alone when he thought no one was watching. Like Lorent, he did not have the body of a dancer. He was too broad in the shoulders, and his movements were too lumbering to be called graceful, and yet, he showed some promise. She had learned his name was Kruger. It was not a very pretty name, but then neither was Munchhausen. It did not roll off the tongue like a proper name should, but then, it was no fault of theirs that they were not Russian. She would keep an eye on him and perhaps make a trade, if the gypsy didn't work out.

Irina sighed as she remembered Anton's words. Diamonds in the rough, indeed. One could not make caviar out of chopped liver, and yet, perhaps if they worked at it, if they gave it all they had, they might one day become dancers, in their own right. She would learn their secrets, find their strengths and their weaknesses. She would work them again and again, until they knew each step, until they were ready to collapse from exhaustion, and then they would start all over again. If they thought they had known pain or hardship before, they would learn that dancing was not only an art, it was a discipline.

She longed for home, where it was far more respectable to become a dancer than a hunter or a dueler. The ballet was not just a career; it was a way of life. You lived, breathed, ate, and slept the ballet, or you failed. There was no in between. She would demand nothing less than perfection from her dancers, and one way or another, they would give it to her.

—————————— "Dance as though no one is watching you, Love as though you have never been hurt before, Sing as though no one can hear you, Live as though heaven is on earth."