Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 336 If I Don't Lose My Job, Who Will?

CCTV rehearsal hall.

More than twenty girls, dressed in bright green traditional Chinese costumes with flowing sleeves, are dancing gracefully on the stage.

Li Xiaoran was also among them, but she was just a minor figure in the back row. Firstly, she had only recently joined the group and lacked experience; secondly, every time she went on stage, she always looked listless and not cheerful enough.

Fortunately, if you ignore her face, her dance moves are quite outstanding; otherwise, she probably wouldn't even get a chance to be featured.

"Alright, everyone, take a break!"

After the dance ended, the choreographer clapped his hands to signal everyone to leave the stage for a break, and then went to discuss with the production team to see if there were any changes needed.

With their leader not around, the dancers immediately became lax, slumping and sprawling on the ground, no longer displaying the ethereal beauty they had just moments before.

There's no way around it. Apart from coming to CCTV for rehearsals, their usual training schedules are so demanding that if they didn't learn to relax in time, they probably wouldn't have been able to keep going.

Li Xiaoran followed her companion's example, rolling her skirt up to her navel and then sitting on the ground.

Just then, someone exclaimed excitedly, "Look, it's Zhao Zhongxiang and Zhou Tao!"

Hearing the commotion, only four out of the twenty-odd people curiously peeked out, and without exception, all four were newcomers who had just joined the group.

After all, the other female students frequently participate in CCTV events and have long been desensitized to these famous hosts.

Li Xiaoran was one of the four. She sat up slightly, first looking at Zhao Zhongxiang, and then her gaze settled on Zhou Tao.

She has such a great presence!

Li Xiaoran sighed inwardly. Everyone says that dancers have a good temperament, but after practicing dance for so many years, she had long since lost all the mystique about dancers.

Putting aside everything else, plenty of people dance until they're exhausted and covered in sweat, then go to sleep without even washing their feet, let alone taking a shower.

Li Xiaoran looked at Zhou Tao with envy, fantasizing that she could be like Zhou Tao, hosting programs with gentle elegance and intellectual charm, instead of working up a sweat every day from physical exertion.

Li Xiaoran is undoubtedly a gifted student. She was admitted to the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 14, but she is not a girl who can endure hardship. She even considered giving up in her freshman year.

It was only after repeated persuasion from his parents that he gritted his teeth and persevered until graduation.

Following the historical trajectory, when the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe laid off staff in 96, Li Xiaoran should have proactively responded to the call and declared on the spot, "If I don't lose my job, who will?"

"Xiaoran, Xiaoran!"

Just then, someone called her name from the side. Li Xiaoran looked in surprise and saw her old classmate who was staying on to teach at the school waving at her from the corner.

Li Xiaoran quickly pushed herself up from the floor and ran over, asking in surprise, "How did you get in?"

My old classmate proudly puffed out his chest: "A teacher's certificate from the Beijing Dance Academy is still somewhat useful."

Li Xiaoran said with a grin, "Stop trying to hold it in, it won't make much difference."

"Bah~"

The old classmate immediately looked embarrassed and annoyed. "You're just obese, and you even used your clothes to elevate yourself, that's totally cheating!"

Li Xiaoran laughed heartily. For a dancer who had just turned eighteen, she was considered on the plump side, though of course she couldn't compare to someone like Wang Luyao yet.

"Seriously."

After joking around for a while, the counselor, an old classmate, finally got down to business: "How's your life in the dance troupe going?"

"What else can we do, just like that."

Li Xiaoran pouted slightly, and the smile on her face faded.

Actually, she's not bad off, though she can only play a minor role on stage. There are some newcomers who can't even get on stage.

But what can she do when she doesn't like this line of work?

Even if I get the best, I don't feel happy about it.

Her old classmate discerned her thoughts from her expression and pressed her for details: "So you're still thinking about changing careers?"

Li Xiaoran shook her head slightly: "Changing careers is hard to say, but I plan to find a part-time job first—two of the good-looking young girls in the group have recently gotten jobs shooting commercials outside, and I'm also planning to give it a try."

Upon hearing this, my old classmate immediately said, "Then you shouldn't look for any part-time jobs. Why don't you just try to fulfill your dream?"

"A dream come true?"

Li Xiaoran looked puzzled.

"It's the same company that made 'Yuanmeng' (the company behind 'The New Dragon and Phoenix')! They're planning to start a dance troupe, so they wanted to hold a campus recruitment event at the Beijing Dance Academy. Although the school didn't agree, they did promise to let senior students apply. The people behind Yuanmeng also said that when there are no dance performances, dancers can also try to learn acting and then appear in film and television dramas."

"real?!"

Li Xiaoran was overjoyed. In fact, there were opportunities to play guest roles in the railway art troupe, but she felt that she had not learned any knowledge in this area, so she did not dare to try.

But if Yuanmeng provides a systematic learning opportunity, she would definitely prefer to be an actress rather than a dancer.

She was about to ask when the recruitment would start and if there were any identity restrictions when the choreographer clapped his hands, signaling everyone to come on stage and continue rehearsing.

"No date has been set yet."

Seeing her anxious expression, her old classmate quickly said, "You continue with your rehearsals, and I'll let you know when I have any news."

Li Xiaoran quickly ran up the stage while pulling her skirt down. Before long, the twenty-odd girls who had rolled their skirts up to their navels were back to their flowing, elegant appearance.

at the same time.

Zhou Tao, who was discussing the hosting rhythm with Zhao Zhongxiang backstage, suddenly received a notification from the "Zhengda Variety Show" production team, asking her to go to the producer's office.

Zhou Tao rushed over and found that in addition to the producer, the program's chief planner was also in the office.

"Xiao Zhou, have a seat."

The producer gestured for Zhou Tao to sit opposite him, then picked up the documents on the table and said, "We've already reviewed the revisions you submitted this morning. They're all quite targeted, but—"

Upon hearing the producer's sudden change of tone, Zhou Tao asked in bewilderment, "What, is there something wrong with these opinions?"

She has more than just trusted Zhang Yan's abilities; she's almost superstitious about them. If there's anything wrong with Zhang Yan, it's probably the production team's fault.

"That's not it."

The chief planner shook his head and said, "These suggestions are all realistic and in line with the current state of our program, but... they just lack a bit of innovation."

The producer chimed in, "We're talking about something groundbreaking, like the 'Chinese Poetry Competition'."

Got it~
They were thinking about 'reform' rather than 'change'.

In fact, Zhou Tao initially wanted to make a name for himself, but Zhang Yan made it clear that he was unwilling to put in the effort, so he had to settle for second best.

But she couldn't say that truthfully, so she said seriously, "Because our 'Zhengda Variety Show' has always had good ratings, I thought it would be best to fill in the gaps and make up for the shortcomings, so as not to affect the viewing experience of the core audience."

This is also why Zhang Yan is unwilling to put in a lot of effort. Innovating in a program that already has a good audience and satisfying everyone is much more difficult than creating a new program.

The producer and the chief planner exchanged glances, then nodded in affirmation, saying, "Your composure is commendable, but the current situation is a bit special. The variety show team has invited the famous director Chen Kaige to help with adjustments."

I heard Director Chen has come up with a lot of imaginative ideas. Our "Zhengda Variety Show" can't fall behind, especially now that you've just taken over.

Hearing this, Zhou Tao also became a little anxious.

Chen Kaige won numerous awards for his film "Farewell My Concubine," and he's also Ni Ping's rumored boyfriend. If he puts all his effort into giving ideas to "Variety Show," the current production team might not be able to handle it.

[PS: These days, people tend to have a strong belief in foreign awards, and naturally, they tend to elevate directors who win major foreign awards to an unrealistic level.]

Seeing Zhou Tao's changing expression, the chief planner pressed on, saying, "So, it would be best if we could ask Director Zhang to perform the surgery for us. I heard that he recently planned two variety shows for Shandong TV, which Shandong TV considers a treasure."

Zhou Tao frowned and said, "But Shandong TV not only bought the first broadcast rights to 'The New Dragon and Phoenix,' but also proposed to collaborate with Yuanmeng on a TV series. What kind of help can our program team provide to Yuanmeng?"

She did offer Zhang Yan some 'feedback' last night and this morning, but it was clear that Zhang Yan didn't think it was enough.

Moreover, it was clearly the production team that encountered trouble, so why should she bear the burden and make the sacrifices all by herself?

"Uh~"

The producer and chief planner remained silent. Although they were key creators of CCTV's flagship program, they had no way of influencing the station's major policies.

Finally, the producer said awkwardly, "Xiao Zhou, you're an old friend of President Zhang, so you can emphasize the difficulties we're facing."

Zhou Tao secretly rolled his eyes. Sure enough, the station had been speculating about his relationship with Zhang Yan for a long time.

However, this matter did involve her own interests, so after hesitating for a moment, Zhou Tao finally nodded reluctantly and said, "I'll give it a try, but our production team ultimately has to rely on itself and can't keep looking for external help."

The producer was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "That's for sure. The main reason is that 'Variety Show' hired outside help first, otherwise..."

Zhou Tao, however, was no longer interested in listening to what he was saying. All he could think about was how to get Zhang Yan to intervene and offset the 'advantage' that Director Chen brought to "Variety Show".

(End of this chapter)