InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Check out IJ portal."

Gooseberry Mods (goosemods) wrote in gooseberry,
@ 2017-02-16 15:30:00

Entry tags:

! ic/ooc

GOOSEBERRY CHEER TEAM TRYOUTS

Although the cheer teams may not be competing against anyone from Ilvermorny or Hogwarts, the competition within Gooseberry itself is fierce.

Mr. Thorn is holding these tryouts in the warmth and safety of the lodge, so a number of students have rearranged the couches and chairs to form an audience seating area to cheer for the cheerleaders. There's a lot of gymnastic and dance talent in the room today, and only a few minutes to size up the competition before Mr. Thorn gets things underway.

"First off, in alphabetical order, I'm going to call you up to the room to do your prepared audition," he informs the room. "After that, I'm going to teach you all a new routine, and we're going to perform it together." So Mr. Thorn can focus on judging, he has three assistants to teach the new routine: Mackenzie Prince, Cecil Honeychurch, and Olivia Sanchez. The three of them have decided not to try out for the Gooseberry team, but instead graciously agreed to help Mr. Thorn today.

HOW THIS WORKS

There are 12 spots on the Cheer Squad, give or take.

Cheerleaders will be judged on technical skill, athleticism and teamwork.

A captain will also be selected. If you have strong feelings about your character not being chosen as captain, please let us know.

The first half of tryouts are individual auditions. You have up to one minute of the floor, but your routine can be shorter if you don't need the whole minute. You may bring your own music if you wish, but if it's inappropriate (Mr. Thorn looks directly at Casey and Riley as he says this) he's shutting it off.

The second half will involve the three student volunteers teaching a new routine to the group. Mr. Thorn will be walking through the cheerleaders, taking note on how well they follow instruction and overall skill. This will be a relatively simple routine, with some lifts but no complex throws or pyramids.

You may come dressed in your cheer uniform or athletic clothes.

The tryouts are open to the whole student body but preference will be given to current cheerleaders.

» Individual Tryouts: Would-be cheerleaders come up to do their routines in alphabetical order. You have up to one minute to impress Mr. Thorn!

» Group Routine: Student volunteers teach a simple cheer and dance routine to the hopeful cheerleaders while Mr. Thorn judges them.

» Audience: Cheer on the cheerleaders!

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

(Post a new comment)

	INDIVIDUAL TRYOUTS goosemods 2017-02-16 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Thread)

Casey (Auditions for a Dance Crew, Apparently)

sunsoutgunsout
2017-02-17 01:03 am UTC (link)

Casey rolls his eyes, huffs, and puts his shirt back on before he begins.

For those who only know him by reputation, his minute in the limelight might be kind of unexpected—not only can he dance, but apparently he's been practising? And apparently he put effort into the choreography? Huh. Who'da thunk. (Sorry Riley, he booked extra time in the studio when you weren't there so he could do more than throw his favourite trash fairy into the air and flex in the mirrors.)

If he's learned anything from Captain Ty this year, it's that Cheer can still be Cheer when it's a kickass dance routine. And this is a good thing, because despite his skill on the floor—he trains in contemporary dance, pays attention in Cheer Squad practices, and is an avid student of Rafael's barre sessions—he isn't a gymnast.

Instead of trying to do flips or handsprings, Casey spends his minute performing a spirited routine to "Watch Out for This (Bumaye)" by Major Lazer. It's an ambitious departure from the styles he's used to and relies heavily on dancehall moves he's been working on since the summer. His competence as a dancer is obvious as he can shift easily between moves and has good control over his body, but there are a couple of times where the ambition of working a new style into the routine gets the better of him and he makes a mistake. Although he's visibly unhappy with these moments he quickly recovers, and when he's done, his enthusiasm about Being Casey Patterson would lead one to think that he'd done the routine exactly as he intended. (He didn't, but that's Casey for you.)

Bonus gif of Casey's normal dancing.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Diego (Mostly Just Muscles and Flips)

morale
2017-02-17 02:46 am UTC (link)

Diego's not in his cheer uniform, and is instead wearing just a fitted white t-shirt and sweatpants. When it's his turn, he hands Ravi his glasses and jogs out there.

Diego's audition is very short, and leans entirely on gymnastics. He stands at one end of the cleared space, and takes a deep breath as he gauges what he's about to do. Having judged what he can pull off without crashing horribly, it's time. Diego makes eye contact with Ravi (or the blurry shape of Ravi's face that he can make out without his glasses) before executing a round off back hand spring back tuck. He looks pleased with himself as he returns to sit with his friends in the audience for the rest of the auditions.

However, Diego's also available for any cheerleaders who need to be thrown or lifted for their auditions! (Handwave that they practiced before hand~)

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Diego & Ravi -

paladins, 2017-02-17 05:24 am UTC

Re: Diego (Mostly Just Muscles and Flips) -

misssperfect, 2017-02-17 07:06 am UTC

Hazel (Way too peppy, guys)

lilwitchhazel
2017-02-17 04:20 am UTC (link)

Hazel wants this bad. Having more excuses to cheer sounds amazing, plus cheering on the school team? Yesssssss!!! She shows up peppy and smiling and ready to go. She’s excited to show her stuff, and the prospect of cheering with people from other houses is equally exciting! She definitely rolls up in her cheer uniform (that is most certainly Coppertale colors).

She pops in "C'est Pas Une Vie" by Yelle and immediately gets into her routine, which is actual dancing (thanks Captain Ty, you’ve taught her well) with the addition of a few flips, aerial cartwheels, and standard cheer moves (sans pompoms). Hazel moves non-stop during her audition, bouncing on her toes to the beat as she performs. Everything she executes is with obvious confidence and excitement, and while she’s no master choreographer it’s clear she’s put in the time. She blows kisses at Ty when she’s done before skipping off.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Ty Hawkeswood

tyhawkeswood
2017-02-17 05:28 am UTC (link)

Ty is ready for this! A gifted athlete that's been dancing and doing gymnastics since he was young and has been cheering since his freshman year at Gooseberry, he puts on a strong solo showing. The routine, which he's been working on for about two weeks, is a blend of complicated dance choreography and impressive tumbling, with one of these feats at the beginning (a front flip, round off, whip back, back handspring, double full) and one at the end (a round-off, back handspring, kick full). All of his movements are neat and sharp, his jumps are high, and it's obvious that he's got strength and balance and flexibility (bones? what bones?) in spades. It's possible that he's more acrobatic as a boy than a squirrel.

All of this seems to come naturally to him and he's got an abundance of energy that makes it seem easy (even though it isn't), as does the broad smile he's wearing throughout. This performance is done over an upbeat Korean pop song, Can't Nobody by 2NE1. He fully expects people to 'Na Na Na' with him. C'mon, people!

When he's finished, he's beaming and seems to wish he had more time to show off and ~~maybe~~ definitely blows a kiss to Quinn.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Riley (In it for the Attention)

rageahol
2017-02-17 05:48 am UTC (link)

Riley’s primary asset when it comes to cheerleading is that you can throw her crazy ass high and she don’t give a fuck. That won’t work super well for an individual audition, and that’s your loss. Luckily, her secondary asset is FLASH, and that works for every occasion.

Riley wants to get on this team because Riley wants to be at the top of the goddamn pyramid when there are lots of people around, especially if any of those people thought she was a loser last year. And she wants attention. She wants so much attention. Since she’s been warned about appropriateness (bleh, whatever), she decides to mostly show off how many times she can flip, how much energy she has (she eats a lot of candy so a lot right now), and how CUTE SHE LOOKS WHEN SHE DOES THE SPLITS!! If she’s allowed to draft Casey in as a base, she will also definitely show how fucking fearless she is and do at least one kind of dumb but also kind of impressive stunt to finish the tryout.

And she’s got glitter all over her. She might have just rolled around in Cameron’s clothes for a little while.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Vee!!!

misssperfect
2017-02-17 06:53 am UTC (link)

Vee has been waiting for this moment literally since it was announced. She's been eager the entire day, and by the time she crowds into the lodge, she's practically bursting with energy. Being obsessed with cheerleading from a young age, she's been doing this almost all her life, and her athleticism, talent, and natural gymnastic ability are finely tuned. What's harder to teach is that boundless energy, confident, and the never-ending smile.

She's chosen a song that Ty introduced her to, which a change up from her pop punk alternative leanings normally. It's "Lucifer by SHINee, and the upbeat music still has the edginess that many might find surprising in an otherwise little miss sunshine. She uses that to her advantage, and it pairs well with her dance moves (which are confident and precise, but with a natural fluidity and sexiness that is slightly less "in your face" sexy than what Aly shows in this video, but pretty similar) Vee also is able to show off her flexibility in the lifts she has Ras assist her with (like you see here from Aly in minute 1:32) as well as the dancing, and her willingness to adapt as she goes along. She's a skilled choreographer, and can change things on the fly if needed. Vee incorporates a lot of tumbling and acrobatics in also, including starting off with cartwheels onto the scene (and literally like almost anything Ashley Tisdale and Aly do in this video) She's small and an agile flier when thrown, but her primary strength is in her movements and confidence.

Vee performs everything to the best of her ability, the energy and smile never leaving the entire time she's out there. She's proud to see all her practice come to fruition, and once she's done, just wants to sit down and enjoy watching everyone else bring their hard work too! And okay yeah, maybe give Ras a thank you kiss. But a small one!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

K-Pop Invasion~ Ty loves it! -

tyhawkeswood, 2017-02-17 07:33 am UTC

She did it for you Ty!!! -

misssperfect, 2017-02-18 12:21 am UTC

i looove that song i lived in korea for a bit & it was popular when i was there :D -

laaurel, 2017-02-17 07:46 am UTC

Ahhh! My friends are getting me into KPop now. SHINee is so good -

gottaplay, 2017-02-18 12:22 am UTC

GOOD TIMES -

tyhawkeswood, 2017-02-18 12:25 am UTC

Re: INDIVIDUAL TRYOUTS

caritasmitis
2017-02-17 06:45 pm UTC (link)

Tabitha arrives with the into music to "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake, which segues quickly into the chorus, because you bet she started researching cool sounding Muggle songs as soon as she heard about try outs! While she is most definitely not a confrontational type off the Cheer floor, as soon as the music starts, multiple things become clear.

The first is why she's a cheerleader in the first place - not only is she a natural performer (her musicality and physical expression, as shown in both choir and drama, come through the entire time), but she is a talented dancer who clearly has poise, strength and flexibility. Her confidence also shows - her music is less poppy and upbeat than some of the others who have come along, but her movement is fluid and her body almost pours itself into each new shape as the choral vocals come through into the song. Her transitions between moves are seamless and fast - a highlight is towards the end of the chorus, where she springs straight into a split, then bounces back up from the floor in perfect time to the beat.

Her choice of music also shows how she ended up as Ribbonfin captain, and how theirs is a squad with notably good performances so far this year. The choreography, of Tabitha's own design, is ambitious and slick, extremely well rehearsed and with excellent synchronicity. Obviously more drama can be created in group performances, but Tabitha is a captain who leads by example when hard work, creativity and showmanship are concerned.

In short - Tabitha might not be at Gooseberry for her academics, but she is damn well worthy of her place as a dancer and cheerleader if this performance is anything to go by.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Sun-mi Choi

henshinyo
2017-02-18 12:39 am UTC (link)

Ravi keeps teasing about all the things that Sun-mi can do en pointe, so today she's going to prove it. She arrives to tryouts wearing a loose fitted t-shirt, jeans, her pointe shoes and the swagger of a performer who knows she's damn good. (But Ravi's "WHOO" and anxious stage dad-ing are still very appreciated and earn him an enthusiastic wave in response.) Dance studio regulars have probably seen her goofing around to hip hop music in her pointe shoes before and her performance makes what it took years of hard training to achieve look easy. It's not a particularly flashy display of athleticism, but if anyone wants to call her a dainty little ballerina, they'd best remember she scaled forty feet of Ornery Oak last week.

Sun-mi has always been impressed by the performances put on by the other teams - especially Azurcrest's stuntwork - and this is a chance to work alongside other performers she wouldn't normally get to. While her heart isn't set on this, she is hoping this will be a chance to make some friends from other houses and.. maybe even work together with Diego? She's been noticeably warmer towards him (read: not scowling) since last week's bonding and for Ravi's sake she's going to keep trying to ~~figure out what the heck he sees in him~~ be better friends with him.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Essie!!!

magitechnically
2017-02-18 12:43 am UTC (link)

Riley may be smaller, but Essie is pretty darn adorable. She performs an adapted version of the talent show dance routine that Pippa choreographed for them. As before, technical skills are very much made up for with enthusiasm!!!

Essie's out here today because the quidditch team tryouts were SO FUN to watch and she wanted to take part in these! But she rejoined the Azurcrest cheer team earlier this month, so she's already getting to cheer with Diego and for Jeffy and her heart won't be broken if she doesn't make the team. But being part of all of this with some of her other sophomore buddies definitely would be FUN!!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	Coralee firecoral 2017-02-20 09:26 am UTC (link)
	Coralee's individual routine focuses more on dance than gymnastics, since that's where her strength lies, but she makes sure to show off her flexibility with plenty of splits and high kicks. Her performance may not be as technically skilled as some people's, but it's still engaging and surprisingly fun. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Gabi (kinda thrown together because Sara meant to do this DAYS ago)

gabiflor
2017-02-21 11:33 am UTC (link)

Gabi is another one of the girls who leans toward enthusiasm rather than technical skill. Her routine- which is choreographed to the clean version of Lily Allen's smile, the...nuances of which may be lost of Gabi because she's an innocent flower- consists mostly of jumping around and some simple handsprings, as well as a LOT of beaming at the crowd. If nothing else, no one can deny that she's perky, peppy and having a great time.

(this was gonna be better but my computer is destroying my life and i've gotta goooo)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	GROUP ROUTINE goosemods 2017-02-16 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Thread)

Casey

sunsoutgunsout
2017-02-17 01:19 am UTC (link)

Casey tried to take his shirt off two more times but was ultimately unsuccessful, and has been made to promise that he won't try again. :(

Following instructions for a new routine? CASEY CAN DO THAT! I mean, he's probably winking ludicrously at Riley while he does it, but darn tootin' he can follow directions when dance is on the line! Most perilous to his success and attention span is his desire to show off to the spectators—he can't resist an audience.

If the routine gets into any gym-nasty gymnastics he'll do well enough thanks to the ever-present acrobatics of his squad's captain but he won't excel, and that's when he's most likely to make mistakes.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Hazel

lilwitchhazel
2017-02-17 04:24 am UTC (link)

Hazel is coordinated, attentive, and quick to learn. She’s a team player, even with people that she’s less than fond of, and despite wanting a spot for herself on the team she’s not being combative or uncooperative. Still, sometimes she’s anxious to do something a little more exciting and may try to spice up a move just a little bit. She’s super into any lifts but really wants those epic throws that she’s not going to get in this audition routine :(

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Riley

rageahol
2017-02-17 06:09 am UTC (link)

There is one key to making sure Riley succeeds, and that is making her feel special. Acknowledge that she is the cutest and tiniest and easiest to lift and throw, and she will do reasonably well. She’s easily distracted, winks at Casey and Kenzie at least a time or two, and thinks she needs to be just, like, a little closer to the center, but this is a simple routine, and cheer practice is something that Riley actually drags herself out of bed for. She’s got rhythm and catches on quickly, and looks like she is having, like, so much fucking fun you guys. It’s about 70% genuine, too.

After the tryouts, she’s going to make someone go outside and throw her in the air, because these pansy lifts and baby tosses are just not cutting it, though.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Vee

misssperfect
2017-02-17 06:56 am UTC (link)

Vee, as ever, is an eager student. She has been memorizing choreography for so long that it's become second nature for her to pick it up quickly. Still, she doesn't try to outshine her teammates or the students instructing them, instead listening attentively and being an avid player the entire time. No show boating here! No forgetting she's not in captain mode! She's just having fun with everyone else, really, and it shows in her energetic and entertaining performance.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Ty Hawkeswood

tyhawkeswood
2017-02-17 07:30 am UTC (link)

While this routine is a little vanilla for Ty and he's out of the habit of being instructed rather than instructing, he pays close attention while the three volunteers talk. Once it's time to actually cheer, he does well, picking up the routine quickly and performing his role with solid, reliable precision and a lot of energy. He's still all smiles and he's an enthusiastic, supportive teammate for others in the group, though he does offer unsolicited advice on form or technique from time to time. He's a captain; he can't quite stop himself and he is trying to help ~~and he's right, if that matters~~. As with his solo audition, Ty is strong on the dancing portions and the gymnastics portions of the routine and seems very comfortable and confident with everything that's being thrown his way.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: GROUP ROUTINE

caritasmitis
2017-02-17 06:50 pm UTC (link)

The time for dramatics and showboating was during the individual routine. Tabitha knows that showing off, taking over and cockiness will NOT go down well with Thorn (plus, yanno, Ribbonfin) so when it comes to student ship, she plays close attention, asks a couple of clarification questions from the volunteers to show that she's keen to do this right, and watches bodies as they demonstrate as well as their faces when they're talking.

Of course, as an experienced cheerleader and dancer, it's not the most challenging of routines. However, Tabitha knows that's not the point and makes sure she gets her parts perfectly on point, then confers with her group to make sure they are confident with timing and what they each need to do to make this work.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Sun-mi Choi

henshinyo
2017-02-18 03:19 am UTC (link)

Ribbonfin's team is known for its dancing and Sun-mi is quick and confident with learning new choreography, paying close attention to the instructions given. Her tumbling skills are probably decent enough for a simple routine, but they're definitely her weak point here.

While she's fearless enough to be a flier, she also has the considerable leg strength needed to be an effective base (and doesn't mind the occasional kick to the face). Lift her, let her lift you, either is good, but she's definitely a bit smug about showing off how strong she is.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	Essie!!! magitechnically 2017-02-18 03:25 am UTC (link)
	Bless your heart. That sums Essie's audition up pretty well. She was on the Azurcrest team last year, so she's not a disaster, but she's definitely not tight on her choreography or as skilled as most of the other entrants. BUT GOSH IS SHE EXCITED TO BE HERE!!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

Coralee

firecoral
2017-02-21 04:49 pm UTC (link)

Coralee doesn't look particularly attentive -- her default expression is usually "five seconds away from smirking like she knows a secret about you" -- but despite giving off the impression that she could do a better job of teaching this routine, she does listen. She wants on this team, and if that means actually putting effort in then so be it. Being slightly taller than average, she probably ends up as a base rather than the one being lifted in this routine (and unlike Sun-mi she is not okay with anyone kicking her in the face) but she grits her teeth and smiles anyway.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	AUDIENCE goosemods 2017-02-16 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Thread)

	AUDIENCE solveforx 2017-02-17 02:01 am UTC (link)
	Xavier is a slacker who doesn't take a lot of classes, so he wanders in to watch at some point, lugging a giant bag of spicy puppy chow he made in Rudiments today. He "WOO!"s with varying levels of enthusiasm, depending on how full his mouth is, at pretty much everyone. Generally, he reserves his best "WOO!"s for Ribbonfins and Diego. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)