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There’s a Difference Between Jazz and Tap
He’s a blushing, stuttering mess, but Minami manages to muster up enough courage to declare a very loud, “this is for you, Georgi!” as the announcer moodily explains that Georgi has been disqualified following his card tricks from the previous day and that Skater Minami Kenjirou has been moved up a slot.
“It’s not fair.” Minami crosses his arms across his chest and huffs. “They won’t even let him on the ice?”
Yakov looks ready to blow a gasket, but Georgi just shrugs it off: he’s surprised it took this long for judges to forbid skaters from preforming their Free Skate after throwing their Short Program.
“You should get ready, you’re next!” Minami’s coach reminds brightly with a wink.
Minami nods, watches Yakov and Georgi takes seats close to the ice, and Minami rushes over. He’s a blushing, stuttering mess, but Minami manages to muster up enough courage to declare a very loud, “this is for you, Georgi!” as the announcer moodily explains that Georgi has been disqualified following his card tricks from the previous day and that Skater Minami Kenjirou has been moved up a slot.
Minami rushes back to a bench to change his shoes. His coach waves across the rink to the main sound director before any officials or judges can stop Minami when it becomes clear he isn’t going to skate. The stadium nods when Minami’s music begins: it’s jazzy, definitely something for swing dancing, and the stadium gasps when Minami ducks underneath an official’s outstretched arm and heads for the gate. He hops onto the wall, shoes clicking against the worn plastic, and Georgi sits up further in his seat while his heart starts to pound. Yuuri’s wall routine had been frightening enough, but one misstep from Minami could crack his skull open on either side of the wall. It’s almost more nerve-racking than Yuuri because Yuuri had been trying to do a beam routine: working on a narrow surface was the name of the game, but even line dancing would be difficult given the dimensions.
Skaters and coaches and press quickly form a half circle around Minami to keep officials from getting to him and pulling him off the wall. Minami is all smiles as he taps away, all grand arm gestures and quick footwork. No, not just tap, Georgi realizes: it’s a mix of tap and jazz and one-sided swing. Minami works his way down the wall and back again in time to the music. It’s so similar to his routines that Georgi forgets that Minami isn’t skating. Minami leaps, touches his toes, and lands on one foot before he starts a startlingly fast sequence of foot work that has the arena snapping and clapping along with him.
His music ends all too fast, and Minami offers a bow before hopping down off the wall, breathing hard but grinning to a standing ovation. People are chanting “one more song! One more song!”, and it seems like the press prefers the talents to the scoring scandal, because the music director is safely surrounded.
Georgi wastes no time pulling his skates off and heading for Minami’s side as another song begins to play. Georgi might not have Minami’s skills, but he’s a gentleman, and gentlemen know how to dance. He offers one hand which Minami accepts with glee.
“You’re good at this!” Minami compliments.
They’re not doing much more than a push and pull with long steps, but Minami throws in a few extra flicks of his foot and Georgi spins him around once or twice. Other people have followed the pair in their impromptu dancing, and Georgi glimpses Yakov nodding along with the music while the aisles fill. Georgi is lucky that Mila isn’t present: she’d be picking up people and trying to do some real swing dancing.
“This is the best!” Minami spins Georgi around as best he can given their height difference. “Much better than dumb judges and dumb scoring! This is fun!”