Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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I felt uncomfortable almost at the mercy of Kim Hee Jung's stern and appraising eyes.
"Your previous dance teacher Hong Eun-ha has already informed me of your progress," the brown-haired Korean said after a while of silence between us.
"Also, according to the records, your previous performances and displays in training and evaluations were...passable." she then added in a neutral dry tone that showed no signs of any emotion.
"But...they would not be enough to deliver a powerful performance later in your debut or further on stage that the audience would remember for a long time. The basic knowledge that we want and need to teach every trainee at the beginning gives them an impression of the different dance styles for the first time. Subsequently, and after a certain period of training, they have the opportunity to filter their preferred favourites from this and develop their own more personal style as they progress."
"This knowledge and development are inevitable and essential for survival if one is to continue to pursue the dream of being a performer," she explained further, her eyes floating from me to the rest of the five girls standing by my side.
The tension in the room, triggered by her words alone was palpable.
"As a gymnast, I'm sure I don't have to explain to you that dancing is an expression of the inner self. We don't just move to the music playing in the background...we feel its energy in every tiny muscle of our bodies. This power drives us and connects with our movements." she continued, turning her brown eyes to me again.
"I have seen how your body can surrender to the rhythm of the music. It seems light and carefree at such moments, yet powerful enough. Good conditions according to that.".
"But your training needs to become more varied to be able to reach the level of the others in terms of dancing and performance...but above all to do justice to a debut group," she explained, turning away from me.
"The daily dance routines alone will not be enough to get you in good physical shape, no matter how many hours you spend training. So we focus on a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, including running, jogging, stretching and weight lifting. Your training will further promote agility, flexibility and endurance through a variety of sports and physical exercises such as Taekwondo, Kickboxing and Pilates. Much of this is important and crucial for the many varied songs and choreographies that will await you and your members after your debut. Not to mention...concerts and tours that will come your way throughout your time."
Again, her gaze met mine.
"It's going to be a lot of hard work...especially for you.".
My hands began to sweat involuntarily, causing me to run my palms over my sports leggings more than once.
The girls were not exaggerating with their statements about the "potato teacher" who was known for her strict approach.
I knew in advance that my resolved grounding would present me with some challenges, even though I was still firm in this regard.
My training schedule for the weeks was filled to the brim except for a few hours set aside for sleeping, leaving little opportunity to recover. Furthermore, the school took up many hours of morning training, hours that were necessary to catch up with the other girls.
Kim Hee Jung clapped her hands loudly and pulled me out of my mental schedule.
"Let's start with the warm-up exercises..." she said and turned on the music system.
♛
I enjoyed the feeling of the lukewarm water bouncing off my face and finding its way in little rivulets down my body into the drain at my feet.
My eyes were still closed as I slowly turned my body and turned my back to the warm stream of water. I slightly mouthed off as my legs began to shake again from the exertion of the small amount of movement. The pain of today, already dulled by the warm water, crept out repeatedly so that my hands automatically went to the white tiles of the wall and sought a better footing for my body.
This little routine alone cost me a lot of energy.
Energy, most of which had been depleted by hours of training in dancing and singing.
I took a long breath and turned back to the shower before turning off the water with a few flicks of my wrist. The initial mist caused by the heat of the water was still palpable in the air as I exited the shower and wrapped one of my towels around my body.
A gentle knock on the bathroom door made me look up.
"Can I come in, Josie?" I heard Jennie ask through the door and quickly unlocked the door. With a grateful nod, the Korean woman entered and closed the door again behind her.
"Busy first day?" she asked and I laughed softly before rubbing the towel over my wet hair. Jennie smiled at me from the side before reaching for her toothbrush.
"I felt like I couldn't feel my legs from the effort, last dance class," I said, sitting down on a chair near the sink. I heard Jennie murmur in agreement.
"With rhythmic gymnastics and riding, I'm used to straining and hard training, but they..." I began and Jennie interrupted her brushing of teeth.
"I was also very scared of her at first... she was loud and very intimidating, much like today.".
I nodded, thinking of our dance lessons with Kim Hee Jung today.
She didn't underestimate me when she told me at the beginning that I had a lot of catching up to do compared to the others. In her eyes, my status as the newest member of the group meant no special treatment or sparing compared to the other girls.
And much like my previous dance teachers, her eyes seemed to be everywhere, quickly alerting us to any of our mistakes. She always went through the motions with a certain rigour and strictness and accepted no slackness.
But the other experienced girls were not spared her harsh criticism either. Often the music was interrupted, due to increased mistakes within the group or individual members.
"It will get better...with time," said Jennie and turned to the sink.
