Hmm...
You're here already, Tsukasa?
Are you practicing by yourself?
I was, but...
I'm having a little trouble with something...
Remember how our last lesson involved males playing female characters?
They taught us how to stand and walk, but I simply can't get my body to do what I want...
After all, it's because you're acting while also focusing on aspects of your bearing you've never had to think about before.
They say that onnagata actors in the world of kabuki live their daily lives with feminine mannerisms. For them, it may hardly fall under acting at all.
It's certainly not something we can pick up in one day.
You say that, but you seemed to do pretty well back there.
The others were astonished by how quickly you improved over the course of one day.
Hehe. The truth is, I've watched video footage of an all-male ballet company put on a performance a number of times.
I wasn't expecting the analysis I performed of their physical expression to come back and help me like this.
It just goes to show that it's important to keep your eyes open for anything and everything one can use.
Oh, I didn't know that...!
Would it be possible for me to also watch that video?
I don't know...
It was a stream that I just happened to stumble across, but I can try looking for it.
Anyway, are you done practicing?
No...
Nothing will come of me running circles in my head!
So, let's review what we covered during our last lesson!
Do you have time to watch what I do for a bit, Rui?
Yes, that's the plan.
(Starting with my shoulders. They still feel too square...)
Grrr! Why is this so hard...?
I can't seem to lower my shoulders without slouching. And every time I try to walk with my knees closer together, I end up waddling instead.
Yes, I may be your friend, but I must say that you make for a wonderful penguin.
Yes, I'm well aware of that!
How can you laugh at me like that?! I'm trying my best over here!
I know.
Let me apologize by telling you a trick I learned while practicing on my own. Will that suffice?
Oh? Let's hear it.
In order to make your shoulders look more round, try to make it as if your wrists are pulling them down.
Hm? My wrists?
The person who showed me was apparently told to not slouch, and to relax his shoulders more, as part of an assignment in order to improve his acting.
Thus, the key is to not curl your shoulders, but to drop them instead. That's supposed to prevent you from slouching.
And to avoid putting too much focus on his shoulders, he envisioned his wrists, far below his shoulders, pulling his arms down.
I should also mention that he said, “It's a solution I arrived on for this problem, so I can't say that it's for everyone...”
No, I believe his reasoning is sound.
It's difficult not to slouch when you're trying to round your shoulders...
But you have to concentrate quite a lot in order to push them down, which ends up affecting everything else you do.
In order to prevent that, you need to drop them instead of trying to round them. That's where your wrists play a key role...
So, am I right to say that this helps?
Yes! Now I'm glad that I got you to laugh at my waddling!
So, let me try this again, using the method you just described! Tell me what you think!
How's this, Rui?!
This should look much better compared to before!
Yes, you're using your upper body much better now! Your posture has also improved, and you look much less like a penguin now.
Excellent! To think that one trick would end up helping this much!
Still, that's incredible...
What you learned didn't come from a teacher, but another student, yes? He really came up with this all on his own?
Yes, because he knew this was a problem for him. He apparently struggled quite a lot before arriving upon this solution.
I see...
We're all doing our best to improve by correcting our mistakes...
But this fellow's efforts deserve more recognition.
I suppose that's what it means to be a student at Morinomiya.
As I thought, we stand to learn a tremendous amount by taking lessons here!
Yes, we do. We need to make the most of the three months we have with them.
Agreed!