Next month will mark 17 years of dancing and in that time, I have done everything you can imagine. From ballet as a kid, to salsa, bachata, waltz, swing, you name it. It's why I started my dance studio 10 years ago. To share my passion and love for it, in the hope that I will inspire others to love it as much as I.
Every now and then though, someone will ask me:
"Miss Annie, how have you managed to dance for so long? How much longer do you think you'll teach for?"
"At least another 20 years I hope!" I respond, throwing in a casual excuse about some special yoga and running program to maintain myself. The truth though, is much more effective...
Every year, I select one of my students to help me with my own routines. As a dance teacher, I get the rare privilege of an insight into all of my student's lives. Dancing can be very intimate, and you can tell so much about a person when you dance with them. How they hold themselves, their posture, their frame, their presence on a dance floor. I also get to learn which partners can 'lead', and which partners can 'lead while being led'. I need to teach the men how to lead a woman on a dance floor, but I must lead them as they learn.
Fortunately for me, I find that there is at least one student with the right mix for my own routine... confident but willing to be controlled on the dancefloor, attention to detail for each precise movement, limited other commitments allowing plenty of free time, and the most important - a lack of self control (which is usually evident when their crotch presses into me during a lesson).
David had been dancing with me for 3 years and met all of these criteria.
"David, would you mind staying for a few minutes after class today?" I ask during one of our lessons.
"Of course Miss Annie."
After class once everyone has left, David waits patiently for me. I pretend to be finishing some paperwork, but in reality, it's his final test of patience and manners. After 10 minutes of him awkwardly standing there, I decide that once again, my intuition is spot on and I call him into my office.
"David, every year I select one of my regular students to assist me with my own routine. It's a private one on one session, after my last class each day. Would you be interested and able to commit to that?"
"Oh wow, yes Miss Annie. Thank you! It would be such an honour." He responds, naively excited for the opportunity and the chance for some alone time with me.
"Good. I just need you to sign this form. Nothing to worry about, it's just a standard contract and NDA - you'll gain insight to some of the confidential aspects of my business which I need to protect. Meet me at this address at 815 tomorrow night."
"Of course, you can absolutely rely on my discretion." He replies, signing the form without a glance. His trust and naivety working to my favour.
At precisely 815 the following night, my doorbell rings. I answer the door and his reaction is just as I expected, slightly dumbfounded as I'm standing in front of him barefoot, my hair out, in a 3/4 length silk robe. He is dressed smartly, clearly expecting a dance lesson. Typical really, they all do, but I pick the naive ones for a reason. They are more malleable and easier to control.
"David!" I say enthusiastically, feeding his ego. "Please come in."
"Hello Miss Annie." He says happily as he steps through my door, taking off his shoes without prompting.
"Come this way. Now David, as detailed in the paperwork you so kindly signed yesterday, my personal routine involves a significant amount of private care to ensure my body stays in prime condition for dancing. I'm so glad you were keen to help me with this." I say to him, knowing full well that he didn't read a word.
"Oh yes, of course. Anything you need." He bluffs, trying to protect his confidence and hide the realisation that he probably should've read what he signed...
