#ballet enchainement

[tfbsafeageappropriatedance]

Lest you ballet nerds are living under a rock, grappling with no internet, or trying to save precious data by limiting time on IG/YT/TikTok, we all know that medium allegro (not the grand allegro, as Rockette alum Sophie Silnicki calls it) enchainement that has been making the GARGANTUAN rounds on social media so far this summer:

Yup - that’s the FAMOUS “Pas de Balanchine” medium allegro enchainement from Berlin Ballet’s 2021 World Ballet Day company class, presided by ballet master Tomas Karlborg, who just retired from his position a couple of weeks ago!

Haven’t hammed it up for your phone/GoPro camera yet - or rather, need some technique-based pointers on this combo? Get excited - because Ballet For All - the adult ballet media platform - will soon drop a step-by-step tutorial on YouTube that breaks it down for you! So, get out your pointe shoes, Frances (but with your dance teacher’s approval, of course).

While doing what we Filipinxs call “making hintay” - if you know what I mean by that - I have merch on the Big Z related to one of the ballet steps spotted in the above enchainement (and one Mr. Karlborg failed to mention): THE CONTRETEMPS!

I have TWO collections at the TFB for Safe & Age-Appropriate Dance Ed - for stationery and food items and lifestyle items - dedicated to the ballet step seen in the combo. And this pic’s just the tank top, customizable in any color you dance nerds wish!

Also in the meantime - comment on how many contretemps you spotted in the above combo! Oh, and speaking of Ballet For All, here’s the breakdown of it!

[fetznerdeathrecords]

Ad Vitam Infernal - Le ballet des anges

Brutal Death Metal from France

This is the second album from French death metallers Ad Vitam Infernal. Le Ballet des Anges contains 33 minutes of old-school death metal brutality. If you like bands such as Morbid Angel, Immolation, Hate Eternal, and Deicide, then there’s a good chance you’ll like what Ad Vitam Infernal unleash on their new record. Ad Vitamin Infernal’s sound is classic and timeless. Despite essentially being a product of the 90s in style, Le Ballet des Anges is the sort of album you could imagine coming out at any point in that last 20+ years or so and it would feel right at home. It’s albums like these that I can’t help but enjoy; solid, timeless, adrenaline-soaked death metal.

1. The Overture 01:22 2. And the Watchers Will Be Frightened 02:09 3. Shemihazah the Great 03:59 4. Asael (God Has Made...) 02:29 5. Enchain Them All! 05:09 6. A Peaceful Place to Wait... 04:32 7. Wandering Spirits 03:00 8. I Saw Everything 02:43 9. Free Will Has Set Us Free 03:37 10. Everyone, Everywhere 03:39

Release date: November 8th, 2024 via @doloremrecords

@advitaminfernal

[buckyismybicycle]

For FULL Masterlist, click here. Steve/Bucky under the cut:

“hey now, you’re an all star (get your game on, go play)” (Explicit, ONGOING [AO3 Link]):  Boston Bruins trade notorious party animal/human disaster Bucky Barnes to the Dallas Stars, and captain Steve Rogers is not impressed when Fury puts him on babysitting duties. But, as he gets to know Bucky - really gets to know Bucky - he wonders if maybe the media has got it all wrong - very, very wrong.

“precious“ (Explicit, 5.6k words [AO3 Link]):  During the fight in Lagos, Brock manages to make a deal for his life.

“(if you like it), put a ring in it “ (Explicit, 1.5k words [AO3 Link]): The "in" of this title is not a typo.

“clear as day, there was never any other way” (Teen, 5.7k words [AO3 Link]): Nothing could keep them separated. Nothing could pull them apart, whether it be days, years, or decades. Time after time, everyone around them catches on. Or, simply: This is Steve and Bucky’s world, everyone else simply lives in it.

“always & forever” (Explicit, 3.2k words [AO3 Link]): Steve’s body hasn’t experienced a heat in 70 years, Bucky hasn’t experienced affection in 70 years. An unconventional solution helps them heal together.

“home” (Explicit, 2.1k words [AO3 Link]): They say that a feral Alpha is dangerous. They say a feral Alpha is mindless. Ruthless. They say that a feral Alpha is an Omega’s worst nightmare. Steve disagrees. Or perhaps he just simply doesn’t care.

“bleed for you” (Mature, 1k words [AO3 Link]): The bloodied knuckles mock him, a reminder that Bucky fights for him.

“32557038” (Mature, 1.5k words [AO3 Link]): a glimpse into Bucky’s time in captivity after Azzano.

“sunrise to sunset” (Mature, 6.3k words [AO3 Link]): Maybe it’s not a smart choice, but Steve has to take it. He has to. He always said he would do anything to see Bucky again, would give anything just to talk to him one last time.

“s'this all for me?” (Explicit, 1.5k words [AO3 Link]): “Open.” The word sends shivers down Steve’s spine, and he instantly offers his mouth to Bucky, tongue out and waiting. He moans as he feels the heavy weight of Bucky’s cock slap against his tongue.

“swimming through sick lullabies” (Teen, 1.4k words [AO3 Link]): It was an accident. A teensy slip, a misstep, and yet a colossal problem. How does one possibly recover from kissing your best friend while you’re both snuggled up in bed?

“enchainment” (Explicit, 10k words [AO3 Link]): enchainment: a combination of steps. Or, a story of how ballet dancer Steve Rogers struggles to find what it is he wants from dance, ends up at a gentleman’s club, almost fired and then next to Bucky Barnes.

“less like a dream and more like home” (Explicit, 3.3k words [AO3 Link]):  Bucky likes pretty girls in pretty lingerie and Steve wants Bucky to look at him like that, too. That’s it, that’s the whole fic.

“Slut for Hire” (Explicit, 6.6k words [AO3 Link]):  Nat has a special gift for Bucky, who has too much energy to burn. Enter: Escort Steve Rogers, or: Slut for Hire.

“S” (Explicit, 6.6k words [AO3 Link]):  Nat has a special gift for Bucky, who has too much energy to burn. Enter: Escort Steve Rogers, or: Slut for Hire.

“fallen” (Teen, 300 words [AO3 Link]):  Because call-me-kayyyyy is amazing and this piece makes me feel things.

“he is mine and i am his, and we are no one else’s” (Explicit, 8k words [AO3 Link]):  Bucky doesn’t fall and Steve doesn’t stop the train - instead, they’re both captured and used to keep the other in line while Hydra wields the world’s most terrifying duo.

“I’ve got a secret, it’s on the tip of my tongue” (Explicit, 4k words [AO3 Link]): Prosecutor Steve Rogers is at a crossroads when his best friend becomes a suspect in a murder investigation. But he knows Bucky is innocent. Right?

“the thorn in my lungs” (Teen, 1.5k words [AO3 Link]): I may not remember a lot or know everything, but I know this: the man on the bridge? I knew him.

“Operant Conditioning” (mature, 21k words): Steve finds Bucky bleeding in his apartment, but can’t get a word out of him. Lots of hurt/comfort, PTSD.

“Five Times Bucky Unnecessarily Protects the Avengers” (Teen, 3k words): Five times Bucky unnecessarily protects his new friends, and the one time they stood up for him.

“5 Times Steve Thinks He’s Smaller Than He Is + 1 Time He’s Wrong” (Teen, 1.5k words): A little story of how Steve has no idea what size he actually is, and poor Bucky is always left to deal with his boyfriend’s idiocy.

[aselysium]

In the twilight's realm, where dreams reside,

Whispers weave a tapestry, where shadows hide,

A butterfly enchained, its fragile grace,

A captive soul, caught in ethereal embrace.

Its wings, a ballet of enchanting hues,

A kaleidoscope of secrets it imbues,

Yet, sorrow whispers through the midnight air,

Longing for freedom, a wild despair.

Within the mist, a tale begins to unfold,

A phantom's echo, a story yet untold,

The butterfly yearns for realms unknown,

A dance of chaos, a destiny to be shown.

In veiled allusions, a dance with fate,

A waltz of whispers, a symphony innate,

The essence of Knives, an enigmatic thread,

A presence felt, though never said.

Oh, pinned butterfly, a haunting artistry,

Your fragile form holds a cosmic mystery,

You embody the dreams we dare to embrace,

A longing for freedom, an eternal chase.

In stillness, you hold a timeless key,

Unveiling the wonders that lie unseen,

Though confined, your spirit takes flight,

Igniting souls to conquer the night.

So let the echoes of shadows entwine,

In your gentle flutter, a serenade divine,

For within your essence, a power gleams,

A testament to dreams and their haunted themes.

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Bars/Clubs Masterlist

d-i n-o s-a u-r a dinosaur (ao3) - bottomoftheocean michael/luke T, 4k

Summary: michael withdrew into himself as the older stranger continued to insist on a dance and a drink. his cheeks burned, and he knew that if he didn’t deny the man soon, he’d be dragged away against his will.

it wasn’t like him to have this much of a problem sending away pompous assholes at the bar. then again, it wasn’t like forty-year-old perverts to seek out someone as small, embarrassing, and awkward as him, either.

“there you are, babe! god, i expected you to be on the dancefloor by now!” a voice called. michael assumed the exclamation was meant for the twentysomething man on the barstool beside his, but the tall blond boy came to his side instead.

the absolute last thing he expected was the boy's lips on his.

End Up Here (ao3) - Hoodie, orphan_account luke/calum E, 2k

Summary: Calum was always going to the Bar where a bartender named Luke worked, and finally gets his attention after being his loyal customer.

Fine Print - @daydadahlias​​ (cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)) luke/ashton, past luke/calum M, 61k

Summary: If Michael says Ashton Irwin will be a good bodyguard then sure, Luke will put his money on Ashton being a good bodyguard. Besides, all Luke needs is a shadow. So what if he doesn’t like him?

Who ever cared about liking their shadow anyway?

or the one where Luke is a heartbroken solo artist who can't sleep and Ashton is his less-than-enthusiastic bodyguard

He Did Ballet (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum M, 34k

Summary: Like the way he danced, everything in Luke's life was perfectly placed, an allegro exercise all on beat, an enchainment with no mistakes. The last thing he needed was a distraction, something to pull his attention away and make him stumble, like losing your spot during a series of fouettés. He glances back towards the bar and sees Calum still looking in his direction. Luke catches his eye again by mistake for just a second too long and Calum smiles slowly and winks at him. Luke shivers slightly and already feels slightly unbalanced. Calum is definitely not a good idea.

Luke's life is perfectly on track. He is about to get everything he's ever wanted, to become a Principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. He's focused, determined and nothing will get in his way. Then he meets Calum, a smooth-tongued barman with dangerous eyes, and suddenly not everything's so simple.

He's just not that into you (ao3) - wastedheartmuke michael/luke N/R, 38k

Summary: Michael and Luke hook up while Luke is searching for the perfect man.

"I think I love him." - "You haven't even seen his dick."

If you dance with me darling, if you take me home… Will we talk in the morning? (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/ashton, michael/calum T, 4k

Summary: Luke is drunk, but nicely so, he thinks, everything slightly softer around the edges, lights a little brighter and laughs a little louder. Everyone and everything in the world would be slightly better if they were this level of tipsy all the time, he muses to himself as he waits for his drinks, leaning his chin in his hand on the bar where he’s wedged himself between two other people that were definitely waiting before him, but don’t have Luke’s height or smile.

It's Such a Shame That We Play Strangers (ao3) - velvethood (orphan_account) michael/calum/ashton T, 14k

Summary: “Well, when my favourite customer disappears I’m going to be worried.” Ashton reiterates, hands Michael his drink and a plate full of three types of cake like he knew Michael was coming. “You have a lot of food to catch up on. I’ve been on the cake wagon lately, haven’t I Cal?”

This is the first time Ashton’s addressed Calum in front of him which isn’t surprising because they’ve never been in this situation before, but Michael’s unsure of what to do with himself. They haven’t even been introduced each other.

i wanna fall so in love with you and no one else (ao3) - 5sosandfood luke/ashton M, 2k

Summary: luke arrives to the bar with one thing on his mind: hard liquor; he also leaves with one thing on his mind, but it isn't hard liquor.

Mixology (ao3) - dafeedil luke/ashton, michael/calum E, 23k

Summary: In which Michael is reeling from a recent breakup, Calum has just flunked a semester of university, Luke has never taken a risk in his life, and Ashton has taken too many.

One night, four boys, one Los Angeles bar. A recipe for...well, quite possibly, not disaster.

(or, they all meet at a bar and fall hopelessly in love for the night. Only, it's actually a lot more than that.)

Nightclub Escapades (ao3) - LyricalPary (hoseoky) luke/ashton E, 34k

Summary: Ashton meets Luke on just another ordinary Friday. Technically, the day of their initial meeting is almost entirely irrelevant, but it’s nice to be able to remember it. Besides, in the weeks following that fateful Friday, his life changes forever. That makes Friday a pretty significant day, doesn’t it?

Or, for a straight guy, Ashton sure does spend a lot of time in gay nightclubs.

this time i'm not leaving without you (ao3) - sourscarlets luke/ashton G, 4k

Summary: Sometimes Luke find himself looking back on his teenage years and wonders about things. He wonders how his old high school teachers are doing, if any of them have retired since he’s left. He thinks about his old classmates and if they are leading the successful lives they all dreamed about when the accepted their diplomas on graduation day.

Luke wonders if Ashton ever thinks about him.

or where Luke is a bartender in New York City when his ex-boyfriend comes in for a drink

Under the High Low Lights I See You There (ao3) - FayeHunter luke/ashton M, 33k

Summary: Luke moves onto cleaning the glasses, sneaking glances over at him, admiring the open blue flannel he’s wearing with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his chest in the white tank top he’s wearing and the pull of it over his muscles, the acid wash denim pants straining over his thighs. He’s attractive and Luke knows he shouldn’t be looking, shouldn’t be so obvious in his stares, but he can’t help it. The man was made to be admired.

Or: It’s the summer of 1996 in New York City when Luke meets Ashton at his bar. Things aren’t always as they seem.

Wonderland (ao3) - dracomalfloy michael/luke E, 69k

Summary: Luke will never forget the first time he saw him. He was standing there in his natural place, behind the bar, fiddling around with different bottles with different liquids in them in all sorts of colors, but that’s not what caught Luke’s attention.

He was beautiful. His hair was such a bright red and his eyes flickered, the changing lighting reflecting in them and his smile, Luke is willing to swear that it could light up a whole town. When he looked in Luke’s direction for a split second, his heart stopped beating for what seemed like a whole hour.

He didn’t even know the guy, but he definitely wanted to.

Or the one where Luke definitely doesn't have a crush on the bartender with the flaming red hair. Michael has the prettiest eyes and a troubled past and Calum and Ashton are determined to make this the best summer of their lives.

[tfbbehindthedesigns]

The Story Behind the “Full Contretemps” Zazzle Item Lines

In summer 2023, Tomas Karlborg resigned as ballet master for the Berlin Ballet. One of his parting gifts to the ballet world was a clip from their World Ballet Day 2021 company class on stage, accompanied by Nodira Burchanowa on the piano. It was a medium allegro combination inspired by George Balanchine.

The steps go as follows: temps leve 1st arabesque, 2 full contretemps into a temps leve passe, then a temps leve 1st arabesque into a contretemps to temps leve 3rd arabesque. The dancer then takes two steps arrriere (to the opposite direction) to a temps leve developpe ecarte derrière to a balance arriere. The dancer does a tombe, pas de bourree, glissade, to a grand pas de chat, or the pas de Balanchine as Karlborg calls it.

The clip was posted on TikTok in the middle of May in 2023, but later that next month, ballet dancers current and former started doing the medium allegro combo wherever they could, regardless of whether they were wearing sneakers and street clothes or pointe shoes and tutus. Sophie Silnicki did it down the shore in North Wildwood, NJ, in a bikini on the sand.

“Growing up, being trained constantly, day after day, you know all of those ballet terms. You can hear the terms and immediately know the combo,” she said.

Most organizations, ballet schools, and even ballet competition bodies also got into the act. The Dutch National Ballet had their danseurs in gowns pull it off. YAGP has at least two videos featuring female ballet students execute it in tutus.

Some competition-oriented studios and mom-and-pop ones also dove in. After all, it trended smack-dab in the middle of intensive season.

Even Silnicki’s former dance troupe, The Rockettes, hopped on the bandwagon - LaDuca Annie boots first, LITERALLY.

And later on, Ballet for All posted a living room-friendly version of the medium allegro enchainement. It may omit the temps leve 1st arabesque after the temps leve passe to a contretemps before the temps leve 3rd arabesque, but it’s about feasible.

And yes, I REQUESTED IT, having seen several videos of dancers pulling it off.

Apart from at least two tutorials of the combo on TikTok, Yelena’s on YouTube explicitly mentioned the aforementioned contretemps included in it!

Here’s a personalizable notebook from my Zazzle collection!

Even days before Ballet for All’s tutorial was released, the medium allegro combo that went viral on TikTok sparked a merchandise line on the TFB for Safe and Age-Appropriate Dance Ed. Zazzle store: Full Contretemps. Each item is emblazoned with the script text that answers one of the deepest questions some ballet students ask, “Ummm… can you demonstrate a full contretemps once more?”

“This is an excellent example of important good content is on social media — even if it isn’t new,” Ceci Ddisman wrote on ArtsHacker, “Great content can be evergreen. Crafting captivating content significantly increases the likelihood of engaging a larger audience.”

And evergreen the medium allegro combo had been. And it became the influence behind the Full Contretemps merch line on Zazzle.

[allsassnoclass]

okay so re: smutless long fics, I’ve tried to compile a list of fics as close to 50k words as possible since that’s the wordcount the anon cited and tbh my friends there really are not that many that I personally have read but I did my best.  All fics under the cut are over 30k and have either been verified good by me or my trusted friends

delete this transmission by @anxietycalling: 67k mashton sci-fi. I reread this one recently and it’s just as amazing the second time around I very highly recommend it

“Yeah,” he says, catching sight of his reflection in the dimly reflective surface and running fingers through his hair to fluff it up. And instead of getting on the mag-train home like he wants to, he catches the northbound train to the greenlawn with Calum. “You know, I think I might not go through with it,” he tells his best friend, meaning his activation. They sit together across from the back doors of the car and watch the adverts for an upcoming showing of ‘Titanic’ at the interactive theater. While Calum sits beside him silently he gnaws on a thumbnail and wonders whether it’s too late to get his money back.

“You can’t go back on it now,” Calum tells him.

And it’s true: His payment has already been processed, the credits removed from his profile. The invoice showed up in his e-net overnight and he’d added it to his encrypted folder. “It’s just - weird,” he says, weighing each of the words on his tongue before he speaks. “To be in charge of another person like that. I don’t want that responsibility.”

I’m a Falling Star by @pixiegrl: 55k lashton fantasy, very cute and sweet

A philosopher once asked, “Are we human because we gaze at the stars or do we gaze at them because we are human?” Pointless really. “Do the stars gaze back?” Now that’s a question.

Or: Ashton’s a shop boy setting out on a adventure to find a star to help grant a wish. Luke’s a star crashed to Earth looking for some help to get back home. They’re both in for more adventure than they bargained for.

I Wanna Sleep Next to You... by milecgv: 54k malum college au.  I read it over a year ago but I’m pretty sure I enjoyed it then

"Cuddle buddies, how can I help you?"

Pausing, Calum thought, he could just hang up. Get over the moment of weakness and face the rest of the night alone. He could do it. But the idea of spending one more second alone, brought a fresh pang of hurt to his heart and really, he couldn't bear it. Before his thought process could spiral out of control, the calm voice repeated itself.

"Um, yeah. I-, I need someone to-" He cut himself off because really, how was he going to phrase this?

Chuckling softly, the man on the other line interjected. "Sir, do you need someone to cuddle you?"

Shit, it was now or never. "Yeah. I-uh, I do." His voice came out so small, and he really hoped the man on the other side wouldn't pick up on how desperate he was.

~~~

Calum gets the opportunity to live out his dreams in New York City but it proves too much for him, and on a lonely night he ends up calling the professional cuddle service he swore he'd never call.

those are the only three completed fics over 50k that I personally can vouch for, but here are a few more longer ones I’ve read and I’ll link some over 50k that have gotten good reviews from my friends after those.

Destination: Perth by onlythevoid: 34k lashton 

The stranger swung into the seat next to him and sighed contentedly. Luke stole a glance from under his hat. It was a boy with light-brown messy hair, reminiscent of surfers Luke saw on the beach in Brisbane - he had a t-shirt on and black jeans, and fade-tint round-frame sunglasses propped on his straight nose.

The stranger caught Luke’s eyes.

“Hey?” The stranger asked. Shouldn’t have looked at him, Luke thought. Too late.

The stranger had set his sunglasses on his head and was peering below Luke’s cap. “Dude. You look terrible. Are you okay?”

Oh, so the stranger was one of those guys. Too friendly and ever-inquisitive. Yes, Luke looked like shit; he’d been crying for an hour at a time, every few hours, and all he’d had to eat in the past two days was some wet broccoli at the hospital and a bag of chips he’d bought that morning in Brisbane, and there were bruises all up and down his right arm from a car crash he wished he’d died in.

Luke didn’t say any of that. He prayed his voice would be steady and said, “Yes. Thanks.”

The messy-haired boy did not seem convinced. After a pause, he offered, “My name’s Ashton, by the way.”

hello, hello by @clumsyclifford: 30k lashton

For one long, blinking minute, Luke stares at Ashton and wonders if he’s hallucinating. Because that’s definitely Ashton. That’s Ashton Irwin, his former best friend from Sunny Days, the show they co-starred on as children.

But it’s also definitely Ashton Fletcher, professional film actor worth many millions, possibly hundreds of millions, of dollars, standing on his doorstep, wind ruffling his hair.

Now for the fics that I haven’t read but can confidently say are good through a rigorous peer review system (aka I have friends who read them/I have read and enjoyed other works by these people)

home is wherever you are tonight by @lifewasradical: 72k lashton. this one is on my tbr, I have only heard good things, and I’ve read other things by Amanda and trust her as a writer

Life has become so mundane in the past few years that there’s very little that sends a thrill up Luke’s spine anymore. It’s that idea that had him saying yes to the idea of moving out here for a few weeks anyways: the knowledge that this was a completely new place where no one knew his name. He could be anyone he wanted to be here, within reason. He wouldn’t be seeing any of these people again after May, so what’s the harm in becoming a new person for a bit? Someone not so bogged down by the shit in their head that they can’t get out of bed some mornings. Maybe this is a step in the direction of the person Luke wants to be in the future anyways.

Or, Luke inherits a beach house on a tiny costal island that needs some work. He didn't plan on falling in love with the guy at the hardware store.

world war series by prettyluke: 58k lashton historical au. Megs really likes this one and I trust her judgement

Even after months of seeing bodies ripped apart by bullets and bombs, Ashton still isn't prepared to be ripped apart by the fragile German soldier who has seen far more than any child should.

and

Luke shows up in Britain after 25 years right in time for World War Two to start, and Ashton has been waiting for someone to yank him from his melancholy since Christmas of 1914.

i’ll keep on fighting (just to make you believe) by @squishmichael: 33k muke I have heard good things about this one, have read other works by Taylor and trust them as a writer, and also I did skim this one when it first came out and it’s good I just need to sit down and fully read while paying attention

“Hi, Mike,” Luke says softly.

Michael might have cried from hearing his voice so clearly, not through a phone line, but instead his smile just gets bigger and bigger until his cheeks hurt.

“Hey, Luke,” he replies before throwing himself at Luke, arms looping around his neck and holding tight.

“Easy there, tiger,” Luke says with a chuckle, but he hugs Michael back.

It feels so different, all the shapes and sizes wrong, yet Michael has never felt so at home, melting right into the hug. Luke still fits so perfectly against him despite everything. Because it’s them, and they’re meant to be, and Michael never wants to let go.

*

In which Luke is finally coming home to Australia for the summer after two years, and everything should be perfect. Michael quickly realizes nothing is.

Under the High Low Lights I See You There by @pixiegrl: 33k lashton 90s bar au. I have heard a lot of good things and I have read and enjoyed Emily’s writing

Luke moves onto cleaning the glasses, sneaking glances over at him, admiring the open blue flannel he’s wearing with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his chest in the white tank top he’s wearing and the pull of it over his muscles, the acid wash denim pants straining over his thighs. He’s attractive and Luke knows he shouldn’t be looking, shouldn’t be so obvious in his stares, but he can’t help it. The man was made to be admired.

Or: It’s the summer of 1996 in New York City when Luke meets Ashton at his bar. Things aren’t always as they seem.

He Did Ballet by @kaleidoscopeminds: 34k cake. people love this one and meg is a great writer

Like the way he danced, everything in Luke's life was perfectly placed, an allegro exercise all on beat, an enchainment with no mistakes. The last thing he needed was a distraction, something to pull his attention away and make him stumble, like losing your spot during a series of fouettés. He glances back towards the bar and sees Calum still looking in his direction. Luke catches his eye again by mistake for just a second too long and Calum smiles slowly and winks at him. Luke shivers slightly and already feels slightly unbalanced. Calum is definitely not a good idea.

Luke's life is perfectly on track. He is about to get everything he's ever wanted, to become a Principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. He's focused, determined and nothing will get in his way. Then he meets Calum, a smooth-tongued barman with dangerous eyes, and suddenly not everything's so simple.

The Sun Is Burning Down Los Angeles by @burstingsunrise: 40k cake. have heard good things and Molly is a good writer

Calum probably signed a form saying he wouldn’t fall in love with the lead singer of the band. And he really doesn’t want to. What a cliché. It’s just…people get famous for a reason. This guy got famous for all the reasons.

***

Calum moves to LA to work for 5SOS.

[kaleidoscopeminds]

He did ballet

Like the way he danced, everything in Luke's life was perfectly placed, an allegro exercise all on beat, an enchainment with no mistakes. The last thing he needed was a distraction, something to pull his attention away and make him stumble, like losing your spot during a series of fouettés. He glances back towards the bar and sees Calum still looking in his direction. Luke catches his eye again by mistake for just a second too long and Calum smiles slowly and winks at him. Luke shivers slightly and already feels slightly unbalanced. Calum is definitely not a good idea.

Luke's life is perfectly on track. He is about to get everything he's ever wanted, to become a Principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. He's focused, determined and nothing will get in his way. Then he meets Calum, a smooth-tongued barman with dangerous eyes, and suddenly not everything's so simple.

Inspired by this from the wonderful @calmfolklore

Chapter 1 - Read on ao3

[trans-axolotl]

Hey! so I am writing a story and one of the characters in the story is a ballet dancer, but I don't know ANYTHING about ballet. What are some basic things that I would need to know to write this character? I won't describe any dancing in detail, I was just wondering if there is anything you could offer. Thank you so much!! :))

Hi! So my experience is based only on being a teen dancer in a preprofessional program, so I can’t really give you much advice specifically on what it’s like to be a professional dancer. 

Basic things to know : 

Ballet classes are pretty much always structured in the same way. Usually, dancers will warm up outside the studio doing some basic stretches, then go into class and spend about thirty minutes doing a formal warm up at the barre (this is going to be exercises like plies, tendus, rond de jambe, frappes, and grand battements, to name a few). Then, there’s usually a five minute break where people get water and do some bigger stretches, and then we go to the center. In the center, we go through enchainements(combinations of steps) and pratice specific steps. We start with slow combinations like port de bras and adage, and then move onto turns, then small jumps, then large jumps. 

If your character’s a teen, depending on the studio, there might be specific uniform requirements like having specific leotard colors for specific levels. If your character is an advanced teen, they’ll probably wear black leotards most of the time. Girls always wear their hair in a bun or braided and pinned up. 

Most dancers don’t start dancing on pointe until they’re 11 or 12. Getting your first pair of pointe shoes is a really exciting and serious process, and you have to get them specifically fitted. Everyone has different brands of pointe shoes that they wear and different methods of toe protection. We have to sew the ribbons and elastic on ourselves, and a lot of younger dancers are really bad at this lmao. 

Depending on the age and level of your character, they’ll dance anywhere from 3 to six days a week. Advanced dancers from ages 14-18 are probably going to be dancing five or six days a week at their studio. Younger dancers are going to be dancing anywhere from 2-4 days a week. Usually, dancers will take several syllabus classes a week, which is the type of class I described earlier, and also classes like Variation class, where we learn famous choreography, pointe and pirouette classes, and stretching classes. 

Usually, most studios do the Nutcracker as a big performance in the winter, and might do a big showcase performance in the spring or summer. 

Ballet is really, really athletic, and requires a lot of strength and stamina. Ballet dancers have to be able to memorize choreography quickly, and keep track of all the million things that make good technique while also staying with the music. It is really difficult, and injuries are common, although a lot of dancers do a lot to prevent injuries. 

There are a lot of problems with ballet culture. Fatphobia is rampant, and most ballerinas struggle with body image because of the immense pressure to be thin.There’s also a huge amount of racism, and so many old famous ballet have really racist choreography and sterotyped casting. Homophobia and transphobia are also very prevalent and it’s almost impossible to be a trans ballet dancer professionally. (unrelated but I’ve been wanting to make a post about what it’s like to be a trans ballet dancer for a while now, would anyone be interested in that?)

I can’t really think of anything else right now and this is kind of all over the place, so if you have any more specific questions let me know and I will do my best to answer!

[little-legged-lesbian]

Amber teaching us a free enchainment in practice of her BABE audition tomorrow

[tfbsafeageappropriatedance]

AN ANIMATED POC SIMS 4 MOD IS DOING THE FAMOUSLY VIRAL MEDIUM ALLEGRO ENCHAINEMENT BY FORMER BERLIN STATE BALLET MASTER TOMAS KARLBORG!?!?!?

Oh, and if you haven’t tried the above combo out, ballet nerds, here’s a tutorial on that:

[ssmhhh]

Ballet Akterrakeh

⚘

a mirage-shimmer of my beloved

recites an adage enchainment of provocation

en dehors my recessed corneal corner

— nobody puts mine in one of any sort—

thus,

my reactionary allegro melts His flickering form

like spoiled butter into trickster’s palm

His tantalizing specter evaporates instantly—

under my frantic fouetté focus,

thirsting boil,

scrambling snap of spotting gaze

—only to recombine at once:

assemblé entournant,

as my eyes, downcast dans le tourment,

pas des bourrée away.

⚘

[buckyismybicycle]

Another year, another blackout! 💗 

B1: “Call for Help” - won’t feel these slices and cuts - (Bucky x Steve x Tony, Teen, 2,413 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/39935256 

B2: “Protectiveness” - bargaining chip (Bucky x Sam Wilson, Mature, 6,869 words)   https://archiveofourown.org/works/38199793 

B3: “Sam Wilson/Falcon - Starvation Chapter 1 (Bucky x Sam Wilson, Explicit, 1,306 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/42564450/chapters/106913892 

B4: AU: Sports - bleed for you - (Bucky x Steve, Mature, 943 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/42316401 

B5: “Kink: Strength” - surrender - (Bucky x Clint, Explicit, 2, 2027 words)   https://archiveofourown.org/works/42342684  

U1: "Ballet" - enchainment (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 10,018 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/40516356  

U2: “Steve Rogers” - s’this all for me? - (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 1,533 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/41676519 

U3: “Jealousy” - less like a dream and more like home - (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 3,332 words)  https://buckyismybicycle.tumblr.com/post/694506000535912448/pairing-bucky-barnes-x-steve-rogers

U4: “AU: Hockey” - hey now you’re an all star (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 3,418 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/40852287/chapters/102368862 

U5: “Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad” - 32557038 (Bucky/Steve, Mature, 1,573 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/42425112 

C1: “Caretaking” - swimming through sick lullabies - (Bucky x Steve, Teen, 1,486 words) https://archiveofourown.org/works/41589807 

C2: “Kink: Double Penetration” - spread your wings (Bucky x Sam Wilson x Joaquin Torres, Explicit, 3,370 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/38516482

C3: FREE SPACE - sunrise to sunset (Bucky x Steve, Mature, 6,356 words)  https://buckyismybicycle.tumblr.com/post/697559501231013888/pairing-bucky-barnes-x-

C4: “Kink: Brat” - 5 Times Bucky's "kindergarten teacher" Side Made an Appearance - (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 2,438 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/42607452 

C5: Kink: Alpha/Beta/Omega - “home” (Bucky x Steve, Explicit. 2099 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/43801242 

K1: “Super Soldier Serum” - Slut for Hire - (Bucky x Steve, Explicit, 6,078 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/39019821

K2: “Falcon” - Starvation (Chapter 3) - (Bucky x Sam, Explicit, 2,077 words) -  https://archiveofourown.org/works/42564450/chapters/107050539#workskin 

K3: “Kink: So Glad You’re Alive Sex” - clear as day, there was nevery any other way (Bucky x Steve, Teen, 5,713 words) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/43540498 

K4: “Kink: Held Down” - Starvation (Chapter 2) - (Bucky x Sam, Explicit, 1,901 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/42564450/chapters/106980804#workskin 

K5: “Thighs” (swapped from Vulnerability) - Ride (Bucky x Sam, Explicit, 1,000 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/43371885 

Y1: “Thief” - ROBBED. (Bucky x Tony, Explicit)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/43509253 

Y2: "Kink: Arm Kink" - cold blade of silver, his eyes they burn so wild (Bucky x Zemo, Teen, 1,271 words)  https://buckyismybicycle.tumblr.com/post/694504027567849472/cold-blade-of-silver-his-eyes-they-burn-so 

Y3: “Forgiveness” - Aw, Balcony, No! (Bucky x Clint, Mature, 7,342 words)  https://archiveofourown.org/works/43355124 

Y4: “Metal Arm” - Sit Still (Bucky x Tony, Teen, 242 words + Moodboard) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/43466205/chapters/109337007 

Y5: Kink: Breathplay - Bucky’s Bunny - (Bucky x Tony, Explicit, 1,117 words) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/42064431

[autodidact-adventures]

Ballet History (Part 19): The ballet d’action

By now, ballet in Paris had reached a crisis.  Sallé and her generation were gone, and dance was moving towards virtuosic technical feats, but not much more.  Both artists and critics scorned dance for its shallow artifice and insincere deceit.  “Like a dancing master” was a common insult to describe anything that had fallen into a false, decadent state.

This criticism of ballet came from the cultural upheaval of the French Enlightenment.  1600's French classical culture had declined into decorative excess and overindulgence, and the current generation of artists & writers were at odds with the society they lived in. The Enlightenment wasn't just about the ancien régime's underlying principles, but everything – how people dressed, moved and danced. Politics, art, fashion, performing arts – all these were the subject of strong debate.  Many of the articles written about dance were published in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie (compiled 1751-80).

Noverre acknowledged his debt to Diderot in his Lettres.  Diderot had written a lot about the problems in French theatre, which he found “wooden” and far too formal.  The actors postured & preened at the front of the stage (where the light was best) to perform their dramatic speeches.  Then they would drop out of character and wander aimlessly around the stage.

Diderot wanted to develop a new kind of theatre, which would have sustained action, dramatic tableaux, and pantomime as its base.  He wanted actors to remove their masks; look & speak to each other, not the audience; and stop using the traditional declamation techniques (like Garrick). Others had the same ideas.

Diderot & others also wanted to make the costumes more realistic – peasants didn't wear silk!  And in the 1750's, actors began to listen.  In 1753, Madame Favart (Comédie Italienne) wore simple peasant dress when playing the part of a village girl.  In 1755, Mademoiselle Clairon (a tragic actress) performed without hoopskirts and toned down her delivery.

But if the problem with theatre was that it didn't say things realistically, then the problem with dance was that it didn't say anything at all!  Louis de Cahusac was a writer & librettist who worked with Jean-Philippe Rameau, and he complained that ballet had reached its limits – Sallé had been expressive, but ballet-dancers nowadays were nothing more than technicians, and they were debasing their art.

Diderot said: “I would like someone to tell me what all these dances such as the minuet, the passepied, and the rigaudon signify...this man carries himself with an infinite grace; every movement of his conveys ease, charm and nobility: but what is he imitating?  That's not singing, that's solfège.”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau had composed operas & ballets in Paris in the 1740's and 50's, but he would later turn against ballet, saying that it was an example of how society “enchained” individuals, destroying their natural goodness with unnecessary social graces:

If I were a dancing master, I would not perform all the monkeyshines of Marcel, good only for that country where he engages in them.  Instead of eternally busying my pupil with leaps, I would take him to the foot of a cliff.  There I would show him what attitude he must take, how he must bear his body and his head, what movements he must make, in what way he must place now his foot, now his hand, so as to follow lightly the steep, rough, uneven paths and to bound from peak to peak in climbing up as well as down.  I would make him the emulation of a goat rather than that of a dancer at the Opéra.

Rousseau believed that performing ballets within operas interrupted the story and wrecked its dramatic effect.  Baron Grimm agreed, worrying that ballet had taken over French opera: “French opera has become a spectacle where everything that is good and evil in the characters is reduced to dances.”  And these dances, he said, were nothing more than academic exercises.

Rousseau's decision was that “all dances that depict only themselves, and all ballet which is just dancing, should be banished from lyric theatre.”

Noverre wrote about these issues in his Lettres.  He wanted to turn ballet away from the shallowness & pleasure-seeking of the aristocracy, and towards the study of man, towards tragedy and moral dilemmas. Performing beautiful movements against beautiful sets with beautiful costumes was not enough – ballet should appeal to the emotions as well as the eyes, becoming a “portrait of humanity” with manking & truth as its subjects.  The German critic & dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (who admired Noverre) said the same thing, in a different way: “If pomp and etiquette make machines out of men, it is the task of the poet to make men again out of these machines.”

So dance had to tell a story without words of any kind – only with movement.  Not just light, entertaining stories – Noverre wanted to choreograph ballets about murder, betrayal and incest, and he went on to do so.

But he had no intention of changing the actual steps & poses of the noble style.  The reformation of ballet would be done with pantomime, not with the  steps.  Noverre would create the ballet d'action – a mixture of pantomime, dance and music.  It would be a new genre.

By “pantomime”, Noverre didn't mean the “low and trivial” gestures of the Italian bouffons, or the “false and lying” gestures of society, which people practised in front of mirrors.  This type of pantomime would cut through the pretense and artifice of court forms, and reach the human core.  It would be a “second organ” and a “cry of nature”, revealing man's deepest & most secret feelings.

Words often failed, Noverre wrote.  Or they could be used to cover up what you truly meant.  But the body couldn't lie – it moved instinctively, the muscles twisting the body into positions that conveyed inner torment far better than words ever could.

But pantomime had its limits – for example, it couldn't express the past or the future.  So Noverre decided that ballets should be like paintings, not plays.  They should be a series of “living tableaux” that followed one after the other, like a triptych.

Noverre studied art & architecture, and then applied the laws of perspective, proportion, and light to his ballets.  He arranged the dancers by height, shortest at the front and tallest at the back, and then worked out patterns of chiaroscuro (light & shade) onstage.

The dancers, he argued, shouldn't be just pretty ornaments lined up in neat rows, but individual people, each given a specific role, with gestures and poses, to realistically show a moment of action.  In his tableaux, the dancers often froze in a photo-like image and then moved on. Noverre even introduced pauses into his ballets, to bring attention to “all the details” of these “pictures”.  [Not sure if that's referring to his regular ballets as opposed to the ballets d'action, or the dancing within the ballets d'action.]

The use of tableaux wasn't an original idea – as mentioned earlier, Diderot wanted to use pantomime for a new form of theatre.  Parisian lawyers had begun using dramatic poses & tableaux to strengthen their arguments, as a rhetorical tool.  The aristocracy used tableaux for art, too – when Louis XVI married Marie Antoinette in 1770, the celebrations included tableaux, with actors freezing in painting-like scenes, each marking an important symbolic moment in the celebrations.  In the late 1700's, staging “live paintings” became a popular salon activity, especially for women.

But Noverre's use of tableaux changed how ballets were structured.  In French opera, ballets were divertissements (numbers), arranged around an overarching theme, for aesthetic purposes.  Symmetry, hierarchy, and patterns gave order to the dancers and the stage.  Instead, Noverre created a series of static tableaux, in which irregularly-posed groups fixed their bodies in expressive postures, limbs at angles.

Noverre also wanted to change how the dancers looked: “Children of Terpsichore...abandon these cold masks, imperfect imitations of nature; they denature your expressions, they eclipse, to put it bluntly, your soul and deprive you of your most necessary resources for expressing yourselves; get rid of these huge wigs and gigantic coifs, which distort the proportions of head and body; do without these tight and fashionable underskirts, which deprive movement of its charms, which disfigure elegant positions and efface the beauty of the upper body in its different poses.”

Like Garrick, Noverre insisted that the theatre should be darkened & quiet during the performance.  The audience members should be seated at exactly the right distance from the stage to best enter the world of the performance.  The backstage area should be hidden from view, and set changes should be invisible and carried out smoothly – in Paris, set changes were usually announced by the stage manager loudly blowing a whistle, and the crew carried them out noisily and in full view of the audience, with curtain raised.  This was the practice until the last decades of the 1700's.

Like Diderot & others, Noverre wanted to strip away the social mask & artistic constraints, to rediscover the natural man beneath it.  The idea of the ballet d'action had a lot in common with the utopian desire to return to a pre-social world, with a primitive & universal language that would speak directly to all people, no matter their social class.  Utopians disliked the French language (one critic called it “a perfidious language”), and many philosophers looked to pantomime as an alternative, one that was clear and completely honest.  Louis-Sébastien Mercier would later say that gesture “is clear, never equivocal; it does not lie.”

These people didn't want to just change art – they wanted to create a new society, one that was honest and direct, and not based on a decadent court culture.  So pantomime was part of a wide array of social/political issues, and thus the subject of a wide-ranging debate.  Ballet was a part of the intellectual life of the time, not separate from it as it is now.

Rousseau was against ballet, but for pantomime.  He felt that it could capture & express essential parts of the human nature, parts that had existed before people had been corrupted by society – the “cry of nature” that Noverre was interested in.

But Rousseau also agreed that pantomime had limitations.  As a form of communication, it was primitive – it could convey basic needs, but nothing complicated.  Humans couldn't fully express their emotions without words, he believed, or become morally self-aware.

So he imagined a golden stage in the development of human culture & society, where people would have enough language to communicate, but not enough to be deceptive & hypocritical.  In this utopian world, people would live among music, dance and poetry.  They would be ethically aware and good.  It was the perfect middle ground between primitivism and decadence.

Rousseau was interested enough in pantomime to write one of his own.  He wrote the one-act Pygmalion in 1763, and it was performed in 1770.  It mixed pantomime, speech and music, and the performers used gesture instead of words at moments of great emotion, when they had been reduced otherwise to silence.

Diderot, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about pantomime.  It is true that he laid out instructions for a new genre of drama, but there was a part of him that was not happy with pantomime.  In 1761, he wrote Le Neveu de Rameau (it wasn't published until after his death).  In it was a dialogue between Diderot and Jean-Philippe Rameau's nephew, who was a real person, a failed composer who had irrational outbursts but did have insightful ideas.

He writes the nephew as a desperate, defeated man, because of his inability to live up to his uncle & revitalize French music with a “cry of animal passion”.  He is scornful, bitter, and self-indulgent, and extremely skilled in the art of pantomime, which he uses to make his way in the world.  He demonstrates it for Diderot, showing how he mimes opera scenes and scenes from his own life.  He is vain, manipulative and ingratiating, and uses his skill to get the luxuries he desperately wants.

Diderot tries to persuade him to give all this up, because it is false.  But the nephew refuses to.  Society is unrelenting, he says and social species devour each other (like Mademoiselle Deschamps against the financiers), so he has to join in, too, or he will be nothing.  And so “he leaps, he climbs, he twists, he drags: he spends his life taking and performing positions.”

Diderot is furious: “The fact is you are a weakling, a gourmand, a coward, a muddied soul...No doubt worldly experiences come at a price; but you don't realize the price of the sacrifice you are making to get them. You are dancing, you have danced and you will continue to dance this vile pantomime.”  The nephew is like Jourdain in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, self-serving and depraved, morally ruined by social posturing, corrupt and fawning.  He's given up on everything that matters – but he is at least honest by admitting it, and this in a way makes him better than Diderot's philosopher & man of high principles.  By the end of the story, it's not clear who's teaching whom a lesson.  The contrived pantomime may be all we have, in the end.

Diderot considered Le Neveu de Rameau to be one of his “mad” works.  But it shows that behind the self-assured tone in his writings of pantomime & the “natural man”, he was aware of just how impossible it was to escape or get rid of social conventions.  For him, pantomime was all tied up with the failures of French music & social corruption.  It seemed impossible to separate them, let alone get out of it all.

There were others who opposed pantomime.  Jean-François Marmontel was a prominent librettist and a protégé of Voltaire, and he wrote a long article for the Encyclopédie, in which he argued that pantomime was morally dangerous & decadent, a form of pure passion which would seduce audiences and put them into a highly emotional state, unable to reason or think critically.  The Romans had yielded to pantomime, and look what had happened to them!  They had preferred sensational theatrical forms over rational forms that encouraged wisdom and moderation.  Manners and comportment civilized man, but pantomime made him a beast.

Another critic argued that the raw gestures of pantomime were an insult to the French elite, and their formal, restrained manners.

So the ballet d'action wasn't just a new ballet/theatre genre.  Noverre was focusing on pantomime, one of the most fundamental ideas of the French Enlightenment, and tying ballet's future to it.  If he succeeded, if pantomime could cut through the social conventions that stifled & dragged humans down, then it could become the foremost new art of a modern man.  It was very ambitious.

But, as mentioned earlier, Noverre didn't go all the way in eschewing the court origins & roots of ballet.  Ballet and its steps were a court art, rooted in the court etiquette that he wanted to get away from.

Most of his ballets were not ballets d'action, but regular ballets, which stuck to the same conventions & techniques he criticized so strongly in his writings.  He continued to use the steps & poses of the noble style.  By focusing on pantomime, Noverre could use gestures to reform ballet, without going as far as to think about the actual steps, and how to take the court out of them.  It was a safer route to take.

Of course, there were practical reasons for this as well: it wasn't just that he shied away from questioning the foundations of the art he'd been trained in & danced himself.  Outside of London, he depended on the aristocracy to survive.  He opposed the etiquette & conventions of the French elite, and was known for his rough manners and impulsive outbursts, but he was also a courtier, and could be charming & smooth when he needed to be.  His portraits show him very well-groomed, as would be expected of him.

Diderot had the same problem.  He was voluble, gobbled at table, and was far too unrestrained & enthusiastic for polite society, who were offended by him.  But when Louis-Michel van Loo painted him at his desk with messy hair, he complained that he had not been depicted with his wig on.  And Rousseau dramatically renounced Parisian society in the 1750's, getting rid of his fancy clothes and accessories, but he was extremely self-conscious about his appearance for the rest of his life.

Foreign courts usually hired Noverre as a French ballet-master, not as a radical. They expected him to stage the usual Parisian ballets that would be performed at the Opéra.  When Noverre travelled to Stuttgart, Vienna & Milan to work there, he brought French dancers with him, and had them keep training in the serious style, even though he was composing his radical pantomime-ballets at the same time.

Throughout his career, Noverre preferred the French costume-designer Louis-René Boquet, who had trained with Boucher.  His costumes were extravagant, following Parisian fashion, and were the exact opposite of what the ballet d'action required.  Noverre represented both the French aristocratic style and the Enlightenment criticism of it (and did very well out of it.)

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Dancing Masterlist

Between Us (ao3) - jadedperspective luke/ashton T, 7k

Summary: “Where are we going?” Luke asks.

Ashton’s fingers tap the steering wheel, his face light as he glances at Luke and then back at the road. “Wherever you want.”

“Okay.” Luke’s stomach swoops with the elation of spontaneity, the possibilities of where they could go this weekend seemingly limitless. They’ve paused at a stoplight and he angles himself towards Ashton, head tucked against his own shoulder as he admires his profile. “Can we go somewhere quiet?”

Or Luke has an awful week at work and Ashton knows just the way to cheer him up.

dance with me (ao3) - allsassnoclass (brightblackholes) michael/ashton G, 1k

Summary: "Dance with me. It doesn't have to be for very long, but I want to dance with you."

He Did Ballet (ao3) - kaleidoscopeminds luke/calum M, 34k

Summary: Like the way he danced, everything in Luke's life was perfectly placed, an allegro exercise all on beat, an enchainment with no mistakes. The last thing he needed was a distraction, something to pull his attention away and make him stumble, like losing your spot during a series of fouettés. He glances back towards the bar and sees Calum still looking in his direction. Luke catches his eye again by mistake for just a second too long and Calum smiles slowly and winks at him. Luke shivers slightly and already feels slightly unbalanced. Calum is definitely not a good idea.

Luke's life is perfectly on track. He is about to get everything he's ever wanted, to become a Principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. He's focused, determined and nothing will get in his way. Then he meets Calum, a smooth-tongued barman with dangerous eyes, and suddenly not everything's so simple.

How He Moves (ao3) - thesoulsailor michael/luke, calum/ashton E, 30k

Summary: And Luke knew he was staring, he knew, but he couldn’t stop, couldn’t pry his eyes away. Because the feeling that spread through Luke's body when he looked at the strange boy was the same he strived for when he danced. The stranger was consummate.

or Luke lives for the ballet, Michael lives for the moment, Ashton is a dance prodigy and Calum will do pretty much anything to win his boyfriend back.

How It Happened (ao3) - Keyori luke/ashton T, 3k

Summary: Luke and Ashton are mad at each other for some stupid reasons again. On the other hand Michael finally dates his crush of all time and Calum is forced to tag along to babysit.

Leopard Briefs (ao3) - im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance michael/ashton E, 2k

Summary: Calum and Michael were not even supposed to be working that night, they were supposed to be having fun at their own party but instead, they were serving drinks at someone else's party. Maybe in the end, it would not be all so bad. When Michael's eyes first landed on Ashton, he did not know the other boy would end up in his apartment. Along with his sexy moves, his leopard briefs were also a major turn on.

Magic Mike (ao3) - im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance michael/everyone E, 3k

Summary: Ashton Irwin is turning 21 and wanted a grand party. To his surprise, his idea of 'Grand Party' does not coincide with what his friends think a 'Grand Party' means. His night may turn out to be better than he had imagine.

more than just your best friend, we do everything together (ao3) - dancingmalum michael/luke N/R, 4k

Summary: Luke's ballet performances were beautiful, and Michael couldn't help but fall harder for him.

new shapes (ao3) - galacticsugar luke/calum E, 23k

Summary: “Anyway,” Calum says, “I’ve been thinking about it, and I wanted to talk to you about it, because I kinda think it would be a really good idea for us to fuck each other.”

Luke chokes on his water.

Calum slaps him on the back a few times, even though Luke has told him over and over that doesn’t do anything to help.

Partner Steps (ao3) - allsassnoclass (brightblackholes) michael/ashton T, 18k

Summary: Ashton Irwin wants to release his second album. He hires Michael Clifford to choreograph the video for the lead single.

Red Light - @daydadahlias​​ (cornflowerblue (daydadahlias)) luke/ashton E, 32k

Summary: Ashton hates strip clubs. Hates them. And Calum dragging him around to them because “good dick mends a broken heart” is not making him hate them any less.

Granted, there is one dancer that makes him think they have potential.

Sweet Creature (ao3) - no_clue_who luke/ashton N/R, 1k

Summary: He watched Ashton crouch down, holding Petunias front paws dancing around. Maybe dancing was a strong word, Ashton was moving while Petunia stood there unamused. Luke bit back a laugh at Ashton's antics.

"Tunia, you are a terrible partner to dance with." Ashton says, "How am I going to impress Luke with my dance moves if you aren't dancing with me?"

"You always impress me dear." Luke finally says, letting Ashton know he's home. "Plus Petunia's a little too short for you, but I'm the perfect height."

or how not to figure out you are home

that boy is a problem (ao3) - demlips luke/ashton, michael/calum M, 12k

Summary: {lowercase intended because hey why not}

luke probably wouldn't have slipped if it hadn't been for the asshole who strutted into the studio like it was no big deal to be stunningly gorgeous right when he was practicing some new choreography. like, be hot elsewhere, yeah? lucas robert hemmings, motherfucking ballet virtuoso, does not slip. it doesn't happen. but there he was, a tangled pile of limbs of the floor, staring at the literal vision of flawlessness. in that moment, luke decided to hate him. or luke is an extremely talented ballet dancer and ashton "kinda does the hip hop thing?"

The picture of how it's supposed to be (ao3) - shmlessfiona luke/ashton T, 5k

Summary: This would have been their last training together, tomorrow Luke would leave for Sydney and the academy. He was already looking forward to it. In the upcoming week, he would spend time with some of the best dancers in the country and he was so, so excited. Even though he didn’t exactly know what to expect from it, he was pretty sure this week would stay with him for the rest of his life. Whether he got in or not. This week would be all about dancing and showing how good you were, and then proving yourself once again at the real audition. Which was what Luke had been practicing for.

Or, where Luke loves ballet more than life itself and Ashtons happens to be the greatest dancer he ever comes across. Maybe it's the dancing that makes him fall in love, maybe it's his giggle that reminds him of sunshine.

when you're up close (ao3) - toddamyanderson luke/calum M, 5k

Summary: It’s a lot more wild tonight, more free, and maybe that's because it’s just the two of them here, dancing in a random bar in London while the rest of the band and crew are probably asleep back at the hotel. Calum’s not complaining though, he likes it when it’s just the two of them. Luke and Calum, Calum and Luke, like it always is.

[mariaghost]

Pas de deux

SPN Rare Ship CC: Round 10 | mariaghost vs. @blue-reveries Prompt: sleet Ship: Abaddon/Naomi Word Count: 785 Tags/Warnings: Ballet AU, some strong language, ballet is a cruel world, pre-relationship, silly unoriginal title Summary: Abaddon is a knight in shining armor (obviously knight from Hell). AO3 Link

Abaddon should’ve dropped the ballet school months ago. It’s just not her thing. She hates her father who thought that all girls should dance and have an over-split. Now she’s 18 and can do whatever she wants and, thank you very much, ballet is not it. She still works decently, because she’s too pride and wants all the teachers beg her not to leave.

She rolls her eyes when their instructor for the hundredth time tells them to follow Naomi’s example. No way in hell.

Naomi. Girl with eyes made of the bluest ice. Perfect technique. Pretty, but detached. Literal ice queen. A touch of passion and she would be the prima ballerina. But from other point of view, it’s what makes her strong. There are “passionate” girls here - they all are crybabies. And Naomi is so hardworking (even though she usually looks like she doesn’t even try) that Abaddon has no other choice but respect it, though she allows herself to make fun of it from time to time.

Anyway, the torture is going to end after few repeats of the last enchaine-ment.

How good it feels to let hair down from this awful tight bun. It makes her look stupid. She’s about to take her bag and leave everyone to their gossiping and whatever. Suddenly Abaddon stops and watches as Naomi takes of her shoe she’s just put on and shakes it. Something shiny sheds on the floor. She doesn’t see what it is but she clearly sees red on that delicate foot. Blood.

“What the fuck?!” she doesn’t even try to control herself, while Naomi seems completely unfazed, just sits and begins to inspect her cuts. Maybe she’s a biorobot that doesn’t feel pain, but Abaddon isn’t going to let it slide. She turns around to look every other girl in the eyes. They all are shocked, wide eyes, hands clasped at their pretty little mouths. And still, one of them did it. Who else could it be? But no, Abaddon is not going to look for and expose the culprit, she’ll just scare the shit out of them and everyone else for a company. “Really? Pouring glass into someone’s shoes just because they are better than you? That’s just pathetic. She works her ass out, while you sit on yours being jealous. And what, you think she’ll just cry and doesn’t come back tomorrow to put you in shame? In your fucking dreams.” And she just goes on like that, until she’s sure everyone got the point. Only then she lets them go and they gladly run away.

“Well, that was unnecessarily harsh,” Naomi comments, speaking for the first time. “You’ve just stomped their egos into the ground.”  

“I didn’t see you trying to stop me. And don’t even dare to thank me,” she warns. No dumb ideas should get into that pretty head.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Naomi chuckles and puts plaster on the last cut, but Abaddon can’t miss that ice in her eyes is melting with unshed tears.

Any decent person would avert their eyes, but Abaddon isn’t about to respect Naomi’s dignity. But Naomi isn’t averting her eyes either.

“Have you not started that impressive speech, I’d blame this on you,” Naomi smiles. Weird thing it’s not her usual condescending smile, but something sincere instead, softening the words. “Just joking, I’m sure you would have thought of something more creative and humiliating.”

What the..? Flatterer. Abaddon grins.

“Obviously. I mean, you’re a bitch alright, but that was just low,” she says dismissively. “You done? Let’s go.”

“You didn’t have to wait for me. I might start thinking I’m special,” Naomi teases. Really, since when she has it in her? Where’s the ice queen?

“You are especially annoying,” Abaddon replies.

It’s nasty outside. She can’t tell if it’s snowing or raining. Probably both. And she didn’t think to take an umbrella. Damn, she can’t wait for real winter. Suddenly Naomi puts her umbrella above her head too. And it means she’s standing really close.

“It’s just snow,” Abaddon tries.

“Yes, very wet snow,” Naomi comments dryly.

“Shit, why must you always be right?” she huffs but shifts even closer.

She tries not to dwell on how pleased she is when Naomi takes her by the arm. Because her foot hurts, of course.

Seems like she’ll have to give the school another month. Not to make sure no one is bullied. It’s just the girls are pretty. And the prettiest one is walking with her right now. Naomi. Girl with eyes made of the bluest ice. One days she will be standing on the stage, showered with applause. Abaddon hopes she will be somewhere near to see it.