The light on the stage illuminated a lone male dancer at the center of the stage.
He was dressed in a black vest over a black shirt with ruffles at the neck and white tights.
His face was grim and he stood perfectly still, one arm held open, the other at his side in the third arm position, one foot in front of the other.
Then suddenly, as if possessed by some spirit, he spread both arms out and started to spin, at first slow then faster and faster, building up in speed until his long sleeves waved around his spinning form.
He stopped suddenly again, then started to perform a series of forms and jumps in time to the orchestra's music. He was supposed to be conveying The Sorcerer's plan (to turn all his brides into animals) to the crowd through his dance.
His routine incorporated a signature move from each of the twelve animals that the female soloists would perform later —The Deer, The Leopard, The Hawk, The Swan, The Fish, The Snake, The Fox, The Toad, The Butterfly, The Chameleon, The Bat, and The Mouse.
His body was tight and his movements were sharp and quick.
His movements were concentrated at the center of the stage, strong and swift. The music from the orchestra followed him, growing harsher and stronger as the performance went on.
As the harmony drew to a still, he entered another final spin.
This was to show the crowd how the enchantment would work. In other words, every time they watched him spin one of the ballerinas in a similar manner, it meant that his spell had worked and she had been transformed.
The Deer came out first. She came in from behind the male dancer, dancing on her toes.
Her movements were gentle. Every so often she would execute a delicate jump with a soft landing, The thin fabric of her brown dress fluttered as she moved across the stage, accompanied by the soft melody.
The danseur (the male dancer) danced around her and out of her way as she performed her routine. Then as she executed one more jump, he swooped in caught her in his arms on her landing, signaling she was caught in his trap.
They started to perform together then in a push and pull motion.
Finally, he pushed her into a spin, holding her arm as she spun out away from him. Then he withdrew his arms and she continued to spin until she was out of their sight.
It was the shortest of the night's performances and Ingrid shook her head. The Deer, after all, was too naive to notice the danger lurking the entire time she was dancing.
The next was The Leopard.
It went on like that.
Ingrid smiled to herself when The Fox kept The Sorcerer at bay the longest with her tricks. In a bold orange tutu, she pretended to have accepted her fate each time and danced towards the danseur's arms only to spin out of his reach at the last minute.
The Chameleon too was entertaining. To try to save herself, she moved behind the danseur and started to dance in his shadow, performing the same moves he did, imitating his movement as he searched for her.
Towards the end, The Sorcerer had all the brides under his enchantment and all thirteen dancers performed a group routine together with the danseur at the center of the stage.
Finally, the brides circled The Sorcerer in a tight circle, the different colors of their dresses fluttering around him, then spread out spinning wildly, before they all dropped to one knee.
Their moment of death.
The curtain came down on the danseur still spinning at the center of 'their corpses'.
Ingrid joined the crowd when they rose to their feet and erupted into applause.
It had been magnificent.
It almost made her wonder more about the job Zephyr was offering.