MountainTalksmm

Soft piano music plays to the intro of mountain talks. Black sky with stars, the words "uncia presents ...." fade away. Zoom in on a planet, to a mountain range, getting closer until you see an irbis walking up a ridge, the words "mountain talks" appear in the sky.

The background becomes black, and you see colourful tigerstripes - a dancer performing in blacklight. In the lower part of the screen a text scrolls through:

"mandy mannings (known as mm) has been dancing since the age of ten / after various performances on different planets she will be seen in the upcoming action movie 'the space adventures of siren & jane' / and she has more projects planned - -"

St. Angelus - The Daily Bread Cafe

As your typical friendly neighboorhood establishment, the Daily Bread Cafe sits right on the sidewalk with its door open to all the pedestrian traffic coming in from the town square. In addition to some of the finest breakfast and baked goods around, you can get a carvery lunch or an early dinner here too. A few tables sit along the windows looking outside, and there are also some booths in the back past the bakery counter. Everything on the menu is made fresh to order so sit down, relax and prepare to enjoy. You see a round table with two chairs in the natural sunlight on the terrace. In the background the town square can be seen, and the ocean in the distance. The camera slowly zooms in on the table. To the left, unci is sitting, fluffy irbis in nicely brushed fur with hys papers. To the right is MM.

What you see before you is an athletically built vixen, standing roughly 5' 9" tall. Her entire body is slim and has a decent tone, all covered by a layer of fluffy snow white fur. Looking at her face, you take in her well formed muzzle, with its cute black nose. Her lips are usually pulled back into a smile and her brown eyes look with inviting warmth. Moving down her body you take in her feminine shape, a decent bust adorns her chest, while her tummy is flat and hints at the strength of her abdominals, her back is also fairly toned and worked. Moving onward, you take in her slim waist as it leads into her niceley rounded hips, her tail twitching from side to side offering teasing peeks at the shape of her firm buns. Her legs are a bit longish, digitigrade, and well toned from years of exercise as a dancer. She is dressed in a simple blue blouse and skirt of light, shiny high-quality fabric. Around her left arm is a wide gold band. The band is engraved with the figure of a wolf sitting in front of a fox with their noses touching. Underneath the two their tails are tied together by a ribbon and they hold a heart between them. In the center it reads: MM and Aniu. Bound by love Forever

The camera focuses on MM's upper body and face, and you hear unci's soft voice in the background as the music fades out.

• "welcome to mountain talks. we are here in sunny oceania today with film star mandy mannings, best known as mm. welcome, it's great to have you here."

MM smiles a bit, and adjusts her blouse before taking the offered seat.

• "what project are you currently working on? i heard you are at a new film."

MM says, "Well, it's called "The Space Adventures of Siren & Jane" and as you can guess it is going to be one of those action type movies.""

• "that sounds interesting, which character do you play in it? and do you play all the scenes yourself or are there stunts performed by others?"

MM says, "Well, I'm playing the role of Siren. And actually I do like to do my own stunts. I used to be a dancer for a version of Cirque du Soleil, so I'm used to hanging by wires and doing acrobatics.""

• "any dancing scenes in weightlessness … zero gravity too?"

MM giggles, "There might be a few, we are still in production, and I'm not allowed to give out too many details just yet," she gives a wink, "But if I can help it there will be at least one zero-g scene."

• "well we are all looking forward to seeing the first scenes."

(brief movie trailer, an action scene, a spacecraft zipping through the scene and a couple furs floating swiftly and weightlessly through a corridor ....)

• "how did you come to the film and dancing business, mm? what was your first public performance?"

MM says, "Oh, I've been dancing since I was about ten years old, and it was a performance on luna colony, though I forgot the name of it.""

• "so you grew up in a lunar dome? sure the low gravity there inspires you to dance ...."

MM giggles and nods, "Yes it does, though we did performances on higher gravity worlds like Annyrion and Oceania as well. And it does take a bit to get used to the different harnesses needed. On Luna I can leap over ten feet on my own, but on other planets, mechanical assistance, elastic cords and such, are needed."

• "yes? how do those work, are they attached to a belt in order to allow you higher leaps?"

MM says, "Right, they also slow us down when we start to decend. Also non elastic cables are used to lift us up so we can float."

• "i see. in recent years you've become a celebrity in several planets - congratulations for that. What has influenced your style most, and what have been your innovations on dancing styles?"

MM says, "Well, I wanted to do something unique, so what I do now, at least in my solo performances, is I dance nude under only a few black lights, so you can't see anything, with different patterns dyed into my fur with glow in the dark inks."

• "that's certainly spectacular. here is a bit of one of your recent performances on oceania ..."

(MM, done up in pink and green tiger stripes is on stage doing various flips and spins, as she performs the arial acrobatics.)

• "that's a great show. have you also performed on mars? i hear they have a law against public nudity there ..."

MM says, "I did a few performances, however they were when I was younger, and I was fully clothed."

• "when did you decide to enter the movie business? have you taken that decision, or has a film director contacted you?"

MM says, "Actually, it was the film studio that had contacted me first. They did several films of my performances for video."

• "did you have to learn a lot of new things when adjusting from dancing acts to movie acting? which one do you enjoy more?"

MM says, "Well, the first few films were just them filming my performance, which I already did well, so all they needed to do was set up the cameras and just switch between the different filmings. It wasn't until after that I got a few minor roles in a few films, nothing major, but I did learn a lot about acting." she smiles, "I must say, I don't have a favorite, I like both dancing and acting.""

• "do you also enjoy performing in a team rather than solo?"

MM says, "Oh yes, when there are more performers it does get a bit more complicated, and more can go wrong, but I do love it much more than just being by myself.""

• "have you also written your own choreographies?"

MM says, "A few times for my solo performances."

• "what has been your greatest audience so far?"

MM says, "I'd have to say that first time I performed was the best. The audience accepted the performance very well, and it was the first time I was on stage. I was quite nervous, but it went well, and I got such a thrill, that I've been doing it ever since.""

• "so having an audience is important? i meant also in terms of numbers ......"

MM says, "Actually, numbers really don't matter. I've performed for crowds in the thousands, and for just 20 or 30. I really don't much care about the size of the audience, just as long as they have a good time.""

• "where are you living now? which planet do you like most?"

MM smiles warmly, "Actually, right now I'm living on Oceania when I'm not working. I love it there, and my wife loves the beaches."

• "as you said, audience reactions are important to you. do you notice any difference in the reception of your art in different cultures - different planets and audiences?"

MM says, "Now and again, but on the whole, I do recieve a good reception wherever I perform. Though I won't be dancing in my fur on mars any time soon."

• "would you go to Mars at all? how do you judge the current political situation there? or do you think that performing arts are unpolitical enough that the situation should not matter?"

MM says, "Well, I haven't really followed it much, but if I was going to perform there, I more than likely would pay more attention, I do want to perform, but not at the risk of my safety or the safety of anyone else who would be with me."

• "part of your performances remind of the traditional treetop dances of the kirru culture on jalan on summer solstice, they are using their climbing and jumping skills as well as lianes and twines to swing between the branches to their tribal chirping chants. have you ever thought of performing with their tribe? it would be an interesting crossover, i think … and they are quite open to other cultures as long as their moral principles are respected."

MM thinks for a moment, "Actually, I hadn't thought of that, but it does sound like it would be interesting to give it a try." she says smiling.

• "we can organise such a contact if you like, i visit them regularly in kirru forest. after all they have their own spaceship so they could also come to join you for a performance. if you go to perform at jalan it would probably be without much technology - no artificial light or loudspeakers, and in open air."

MM hmms, "Thank you, I'd appreciate that, I think it would be a unique experience, and sounds like it would be a lot of fun." she smiles warmly.

• "besides the movie you're working on, are there any plans for the future that you would like to talk about?"

MM smiles a bit and shakes her head, "Not really, I just plan on seeing how things go, right now I just want to get the movie into post production, and then spend some quality time with my family."

• "i wish you all the best, thank you very much for your time."

MM smiles and hugs you, "Thank you very much for having me."

(Zoom out showing the two furs sitting at the cafe terrace, followed by a nice animation sequence, based on rendering data from Oceania's satellite survey - the camera seems to go straight up into the sky until you see the island of St Angelus with its cathedral, then keeps zooming out until Oceania disappears in the background. The silvery words "mm in mountain talks - presented by uncia" appear in the screen, followed by an advertisement for the improved services in uncia's newly refurbished first class cabins ....)