Hey, why are you on my back?!
I'll peel your shoulder blade.
A single dance competition heat
has a set total amount of points to be divided by.
Same with each judges' portion of points.
You understand?
The main match will be the battle of a zero-sum game.
Now Fujita... let's see how that worked on you?
It's hard to dance... when I just wanna dance normally!
It feels like I have loose screws!
My legs?!
What's happening to me?! My body's moving way too much!!
HEAT 21- "DOOR"
Stop No. 13! You're gonna crash!
My body's so loose it won't move how I want it to!!
...it's just a stretch.
What have you done to me, Hyodo-kun?!
I know you're watching me somewhere with that icy look of yours.
You're always like that...
You make your point,
and leave the final decision up to me.
I feel like I'm being tested...
and I honestly hate it!!
Are you experimenting?
It seems you're purposely teaching those two pairs opposite dances.
Did you call Fujita here to...
Oh stop. I just suggest the best dance that brings out their character.
It depends on their body figure and type, what kind of dancing looks best on them,
and what kind of dancing will capture the crowd.
And the kind to win?
Young dancers are only interested in winning.
When I was still competing, I was focused on polishing my dancing too.
But when I became a coach, my interests changed a bit.
I started to think about how dance ought to be, and its history and future as well.
Through the athletes.
I study them and pull those out.
Dance's history...
and evolution.
Two pairs that are opposite in body type and dancing.
The Kugimiya pair's weapon, their height,
simply makes their Technical Sways and Straights stand out.
Their Picture Poses are beautiful.
It's a dance style that clearly shows their basics.
However, the short Fujita pair uses visual effects to create a performance.
By using the sways of the upper body and varied speeds in their moves,
they create more volume three-dimensionally.
But isn't that type of rivalry game
only interesting if they're comparable at the same level?
Ahh, I haven't seen the Kugimiya pair in a while, but they're so fantastic!
Yeah, their swing's are wide and their silhouettes are beautiful.
Even the audience can tell Kugimiya-san's taking the entire show.
Well, he is tall.
It's an advantage that all your moves are big.
But more than anything,
those two's specialty is their Static Balance.
Their Straights stand out beautifully.
In order to fight that volume, you need to make yourself bigger.
In other words, increase your range of motion.
If the shoulder blade tissues are released,
the back loosens to let the neck stretch, making the upper body beautiful.
If you release around the hips and the joints,
it'll increase your agility and speed, making your response dead on to the music.
Crap, my back is so loose I can't keep my hold steady...
I did it for the best... but I guess I failed.
Oh, welcome back!
Why ya sittin' over there?
Can we sit here?
Next to you?
Kiyoharu, why are you sitting over here?
Just because.
Huh?!
Gaju-kun, in your eyes, who do you think are the winners?
The Kugimiya pair? They're really good, aren't they?
I wonder if those two are going out?
By the way, what was the name of Kugimiya-san's partner again?
Huh? You forgot?!
You really need to do your homework more.
Listen and don't forget.
Her name is...
Idogawa!!
...Tonegawa-san!
It's Idogawa-san.
The second dance is the Tango.
Doesn't Standard
have a lot of people with thin and long body types compared to Latin?
Oh, that...
So how 'bout it, Gaju-kun? Is there like some unspoken rule?
Huh? Don't athletes just do whatever style they like?
But doing the style you like and the style you're good in
doesn't always match, right?
Don't you have a strong and weak point too?
Ah.
I'm gonna become a Ten Dancer like Sengoku-san, so I don't have that!
But you said in your interview recently that you like to dance to upbeat styles.
Mako-chan, which style do you like?
What I like and what I'm good in are different, so...
Me too. Each dance style has its own personality.
Standard requires elegance and an abundance of personal aura,
and many dancers are both slim and tall.
Latin requires flexibility, power, and sexy expressions.
Couple balances are varied and there are many small dancers too.
Personality-wise, doesn't Latin have more cat people,
and Standard have many dog people?
Well put!
And today's match, Kugimiya-san's a Borzoi and Tatara-san's like a Pomeranian.
The oblong Kugimiya-san and the tiny Fujita, eh?
Looking at which styles will get them more credit,
for swing types, the Waltz and Slow Foxtrot, the Kugimiya pair is favorable.
With the Tango and Quickstep's detailed moves, the Fujita pair is favorable.
I wanted to say that, but...
Wide rough steps!
Sorry...
I gotta support him...
Hiyama's trying her best,
but you gotta stop where you need to stop in the Tango.
Like that.
The Kugimiya pair is on a new frontier to me.
-That's because? -Well...
To be honest, I never had the image of the Tango with the Kugimiya pair.
I'd always choose their Waltz or Slowfox for the photos on our magazines too.
I mean, don't you think those thin bodies look better in a swing type of dance?
That's true.
I never thought Kugimiya-san had the power to express the Tango's strong music.
But today...
Wow...
Continuing on to the third dance.
The Viennese Waltz.
Oh!
This match has the Viennese Waltz from the semifinals?
Uh-huh, this tempo!
Now this is my image of the Waltz!
Right?
Before I knew competitive dance, this is how I always imagined ballroom dance!
Like a formal ball!
Also known as the Vienna Waltz.
A dance that spread into Europe's high society from the balls of Vienna.
I don't really like it.
By the way, Tatara-san wasn't practicing the Viennese Waltz at all.
Coach Marisa did tell them to practice it though.
But I got to admit I don't practice the Viennese at all either.
Right? It's just an extension of the Waltz, so it's enough to cover that.
The number of techniques are much less compared to the other dance styles.
The natural turn and reverse turn, and then you switch them.
The routine is composed of just these few steps.
It's more like alternating the forward movements than spinning.
The man moves forward.
They switch.
The woman moves forward.
This simplicity is what's tough.
Just the size of each step makes a difference.
The Viennese is pretty much the basics of the basics.
It's the mainstream of Standard dances and the root of beauty.
The dance the Kugimiya pair aims for is purely the old style.
Oh yes, before the Kugimiya pair started training under Coach Marisa,
they were with an old fashioned teacher.
I wonder if his injuries are okay now.
If so, that'd be wonderful.
I'm very glad he's returned.
Seriously,
I respect him for just coming back.
He captured my eyes even as a child.
He was a beautiful dancer.
Those two kinda...
irritate me.
What is with Tatara-kun's lead?
When Chinatsu's right there as an example!
My teacher always said,
"A lead is like making a path for a girl.
As if you're opening a door for them."
Chinatsu had always opened the door really well...
and made a path for me.
The Waltz was dynamic.
The Tango was sharp and compact.
Chinatsu's lead was always steady and exciting,
making me wonder where she'd take me next.
Chinatsu...
is much better than that...
The fourth dance, the Slow Foxtrot.
I can't save my energy...
My mind's completely blank...
Something's odd...
I feel like they're even more reckless than the prelims.
Fujita-kun's body looks like it's spilling outwards.
You noticed, Shizuku?
I failed in an experiment earlier.
Fujita's moves were slow and pulling Hiyama down,
so I released his entire body's tissues.
But now Fujita has started moving too big and Hiyama's in trouble.
Kiyoharu!! Then right now Fujita-kun...
He mustn't have any power with his muscles loose...
Yeah. They're probably in a panic.
Well, that's something you always do, Kiyoharu, but for Fujita-kun...
Oh, I knew it.
Now what?!
Hiyama catches on quick.
This cannot be good.
These are the chills I feel when we're about to lose a mark...
I gotta match up... to Tatara's lead.
Like how we've been doing...
Hey, open it, Tatara.
I don't know how to open it. Chi-chan, open it for me.
Huh? Why don't you open it! It's the leader's job!
Is this enough?
Isn't that too narrow?
You open it.
What's up with this boy?
Hey, Chi-chan, open it.
Chi-chan, open it.
Why aren't you opening it yourself?!
Opening the door is your job!!
Chi-chan, you open it.
Chi-chan.
Will you stop already!!
Four months since we paired up.
Practice after practice.
And today all of that...
will come to an end in the worst way ever...
If you can't get the timings right, I'll cover for you!
I can't 'cause I don't understand you!!
No... we can't keep doing it this way.
Chi-chan?!
Did the partner just lead for a second?
Why would you do something that'd make it even worse now?
What a heavy weight shift...
Oh, they matched just now.
Now they're off again.
I see, interesting.
It's like there's two men.
What?
Two leaders are making way for each other.
How scary. Partners who've experienced being the leader...
They're all wild beasts.
Ugh!
This damn magazine is writing some random crap again!
It says I stick out too much and make the leader fade.
Jeez, maybe I should just separate already!
Chizuru-san, you're so unfaithful.
At the matchmaking, I already had a feeling I wouldn't get along with him!
I can't accept his aesthetics.
I have an ideal feeling too!
What a weird person.
His lead's timing is too slow and lame...
I always go and stand on my own in Standard.
Maybe it's because I do ballet.
That's it! I should find a partner overseas!
She separated from all the men she paired with after each match.
But Chizuru-san, who still wanted to compete,
kept entering Junior matches with her friends 'til she was 15.
Shortly after, she met a partner who clicked with her.
She picked up some following skills, and in just a few days...
she transformed.
She holds the leader's views.
And she became a partner with a leader's drive...
How can I match up?!
How would Tatara move?
What kind of person is Tatara?
I gotta respond.
No, it's too late if it's after hearing his sound!
Prediction?!
No!!
Empathy... or else...
Find your senses' common ground...
and match them up!
Oh, they matched up again.
Chinatsu...
This is the first time I ever thought this hard about someone else in my life.
Tatara's been doing this the whole time?
Responding to my self-centered dancing?
Tatara... where are you?
Tatara!
A guy who holds back and can't tell his partner what he wants.
A girl whose ego gets in the way and can't rely on her leader.
We're unbalanced.
Coach Marisa would teach us techniques,
but wouldn't teach us anything about partnership.
That's probably because there's no answer.
The woman's strengths kind of lies in
how much you can express yourself within a man's hold.
This is the result of believing you can't do it.
This locked out feeling...
I've let it build up too much.
There should've been something I could've done.
I notice for the first time after Tatara stopped focusing on me.
This must be karma.
Let me take what I owe...
and return it now!!
Let's find...
our true form!!
Yep. Just another step.
What... is this?
Huh?
And I was focused on my dance just a second ago.
What's this?
What is this awkward feeling?
It doesn't look like they're doing anything weird.
This... isn't my power...
This can't be called a lead or a follow...
This balance is...
Continuing on to the fifth dance of the Semifinal Round.
The Quickstep.
Next episode- "Leader-Partner"