Vyria and Her Acrobatic Skating Team

Chapter 4 Vyria’s Acrobatic Skating Team “So we need to have something new, in order for our skating team to survive. We are all very busy now. If we lose interest in this group, our skating group will finish in less than a year. That’s why I called this meeting. Does anyone have any ideas?” Vyria asked in opening up the meeting. “How about another performance like the one we had last time?” asks Xiang Mei. “Well, the problem with a performance is that we need more practices. Time is exactly what we lack nowadays. The idea should be something that can arouse our interest without draining much of our time,” suggests Vyria. “That will be difficult. Where can we find such an idea?” asks Xiang Mei. “Well, I wonder whether Vyria has one in her mind,” Penelope guesses. Vyria confirms her guess. “I actually have one, but I don’t know whether all of you will agree with this idea.” “Then let’s hear this idea!” says Penelope. “Okay. Have you guys ever heard about ‘Acrobatic Skating’? It’s basically a combination of acrobatic acts and ice skating. We’ve already done it, actually, during our performance in Mel Lastman Square, when Xiang Mei balanced upside down on Tom’s shoulder. I’m thinking about expanding such acts, creating skating acts that are different from ordinary skating. All these years, all of you have been learning from me the classic moves of skating. Since we come from different dance backgrounds, why don’t we learn from each other from now on? I wonder what kind of skating it will become if we can combine all our skills together,” Vyria says to explain her idea. “That sounds cool. What are we going to call this new skating group?” asks Maria. “Hmm … how about … ‘Rebel Skating’?” Vyria suggests. “Rebel Skating? Cool! I’m in!” James immediately likes the name. “Rebel Skating? Please wait a minute! I don’t think my parents will like that name. If I say that our skating group’s new name is Rebel Skating, she may not allow me to go,” Xiang Mei objects. “Oh, come on, Xiang Mei! You’re not a kid anymore. You’re an adult now!” says Vyria. “I also disagree with the name,” says John. “Huh, so you agree with Xiang Mei?” Vyria isn’t happy about that. “I disagree because we have to think ahead into the future. One day, if we ever have a chance to perform, we better choose a neutral name for our skating team. Rebel Skating—although is an interesting name—some people may not like it. If we can choose a neutral name, then we may have more audience,” John says to explain his objection. “That sounds logical,” Clara agrees. “So, John, do you have an idea for the name of our skating group?” “How about ‘Vyria’s Acrobatic Skating Team’?” John suggests. “That name is so lame.” Vyria is rather sensitive lately, because of her concerns with Alice and also because of her tiredness due to so much homework and studying. So she is like this every time someone disagrees with her. “Actually, I like this name,” says Penelope, disregarding Vyria’s sensitivity. Maria gives her opinion. “I do, too. Rebel skating has no clear direction about what our skating group will be doing, while acrobatic skating has a clearer meaning. With this clear meaning, we can define our performance more easily. The audience will know better what to expect in our performances.” “Personally, I like Rebel Skating better, but if we can attract more audience with the name Vyria’s Acrobatic Skating Team, then I have to vote for the latter,” says James. All the others also vote for the name Vyria’s Acrobatic Skating Team, so Vyria has to give up the name Rebel Skating. “All right! Since everyone agrees with John, we’ll choose Vyria’s Acrobatic Skating Team as the name of our group,” says Vyria reluctantly. Then she continues, “So now we have the task of defining our performance. We will put all the criteria on a list. Who wants to go first?” “As the name suggests, there will be acrobatic moves in our performances. I will try to figure out what moves are possible on a skating rink. I will discuss this further with my parents,” says John. “Okay. First criterion: acrobatic moves. We will expand this criterion further in the future to list everything acrobatic that we can possibly do on ice,” Vyria says, and this concludes their first criterion. “Next …” “Song. I’m thinking about live performance. What do you think?” Maria suggests. “Well, that will not be an easy task, but it will be nice to have,” Parama agrees. “Let’s choose an upbeat song! A rap style, maybe,” says James. “I’m thinking about a mix between pop, rock, and maybe some rap also. Some songs will be slow, and some songs will be upbeat. That way, the audience won’t be bored,” is Vyria’s opinion. “Can’t disagree with that,” Penelope says with a nod. “Okay. I’ll write it down. Live music; mixed song styles. What else? Well, I’m thinking about jumping higher. I’m thinking about having a kind of a jump-board to help us leap higher,” Vyria suggests. “What will it look like? Will we jump with skateboards?” Cindy wonders. “No, I think we cannot beat a skateboard jumper. We will jump with our regular skates, but with the help of a jump-board, we can jump higher. That is the goal: to jump higher. I’m thinking about turning five or even six times in the air during the jump. That will look cool,” says Vyria. “Well, what you are actually saying is that you want to cheat, so that you can jump higher with this jump-board,” Xiang Mei muses. “Xiang Mei! Anyway, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Come on! Admit it! Among us, I’m the only woman who can do a triple jump. But with this new tool, maybe all of us can have three turns, or maybe even four or five turns in a jump,” says Vyria. “All right! We will agree, as long as it is doable,” says Tom. Clara suddenly gets a new idea. “The clothes—I think we will need clothing that is different from what we are used to seeing in competitions.” “That is an interesting point, indeed,” Vyria agrees. “The ladies might wear some of those dresses with long tails and skate slowly and gracefully during one of our performances. That will look pretty cool.” Tom suggests his idea. “We need colourful disco lighting. What do you think?” “Yes, that will be wonderful to have.” Vyria writes these items on her list. “I think it would be beautiful if we had some hanging ropes to help us fly during our performances,” Parama suggests. “That is a good idea.” Vyria adds to the list again. “How about fireworks?” asks Xiang Mei. “Xiang Mei! I don’t think fireworks are a good idea, since our skating rink is made of ice,” says Vyria. “It might be doable if we shot the fireworks far above the ground. But maybe lighting is more important for our performance, since fireworks may only be good at the end of our performance, and they may be rather expensive,” says Tom. Parama voices her idea. “I’m thinking about combining gymnastics with skating. We can use gymnastic balls or ribbons in our performances.” “That sounds like a pretty good idea,” Vyria agrees...