I returned to Practice Room 6 after lunch, the pumpkin soup sitting heavy in my stomach.
The assistant coaches had the formation diagrams spread across the floor, with colored markers indicating each trainee's position during different sections.
"From the top," the taller coach called out. "Opening sequence—scattered phantoms, frozen until beat three."
We moved into position.
I found my center mark, chin down, one hand reaching toward an invisible reflection.
The music began.
This time, something shifted.
My body remembered the morning's corrections—the angles, the timing, and the sharp theatrical gestures that replaced flowing transitions.
Beat three arrived, and I moved.
The motion felt natural now, my arm sweeping across my body with controlled precision. Around me, the other trainees mirrored similar movements, our scattered positions creating a visual echo.
"Good! Transitions on five—sharp, commit to every angle."
