Learning the Quickstep and how to deal with guys Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future, until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident. Dancing Queen A novel by Louise Anne Smithson Copyright © 2013 Louise Anne Smithson All Rights Reserved.

As soon as the office closed on Tuesday evening I changed out of the blouse and skirt suit that I’d been wearing for work into a pink tracksuit that Louise had donated to me, to await the arrival of Alan to take me to our first rehearsal. I’d toyed with the idea of wearing a dress but decided that was not really necessary for a first run through. I selected the outfit as there was a matching pair of high heeled sneakers to dance in. Although I was now quite used to walking in heels I was going to need as much practice dancing in them as possible.

I was waiting outside as Alan’s car drew up.

‘Hi Michelle, you’re looking very smart again today,’ said Alan as he arrived. ‘It looks as if Joan has done a good job on your transformation.’

I smiled and thanked him. I never tired of receiving compliments; it made the trouble that I’d taken to ensure that my hair and makeup looked alright seem worthwhile.

‘I’m still waiting for a new pair of breast forms to arrive but they should be here in good time for our dress rehearsal.’ I said as I got in his car.

One thing I liked about Alan was that having once danced with me, he now accepted me as I was.

‘So what treats have you planned for us for our next demonstration?’ he asked as we went on to the dance floor.

Although he was a better dancer than me, I was the more experienced choreographer and so he was happy enough to leave it up to me to work out our routine and choose the appropriate music.

‘I thought that for the Viennese Waltz all four couples could dance to the waltz from ‘The Godfather‘ with the two of us taking the lead.

‘Fine, I’m sure you’ve designed an excellent routine,’ he replied.

’Then, for the Quickstep, how would you feel if we were to have a go at ‘Let's face the Music and Dance’

‘Surely not the Astaire and Rogers sequence?’

‘Do you think that it’s a bit dated these days?’ I asked.

‘Not at all, it really is the high point for the Quickstep; but aren’t we being a little ambitious with all those spins?’

‘I’m willing to have a go if you are,’ I said, smiling. ‘But it might be better if we use the recording by Nat King Cole.’

‘O.K., you’re the boss; at least when it comes to choosing what to dance.’

As expected, the Viennese Waltz would be unlikely to present us with too many problems, and we agreed that the other dancers were all sufficiently experienced to be able to cope with my plans. However, our Quickstep routine was going to be a challenge, although we still had ten days in which to get it right. We were both so engrossed in practising that neither of us noticed the time go by and before we knew it, it was 10.30pm and time to go. We had made some progress and had the opening sorted, but there was still a lot to do and so we decided to need to meet again for some more practice on Thursday evening.

‘Alan, would you mind if I invited my mother to come along and give her opinion of our performance next time? She and my father won a medal for their Quickstep in the 1980s.’

‘By all means, do so. I’ll invite David to come along as well, so that he doesn’t think that I’ve abandoned him for my attractive new dance partner.’

By the time I got home it was 11.30 and Mum had gone to bed.

Wednesday morning was the 1st of October and I travelled in to work on the 31 bus service dressed as Michelle for the first time. Although I recognised several of the regular travellers waiting at the bus stop, nobody seemed to recognise me or look at me at all oddly. I therefore assumed that my long hair, makeup and different clothing provided me with enough of a disguise. Getting on and off the bus wearing heels proved to be a little more problematic than usual, but I felt sure that I’d get used to it, after all, other girls managed. During the half hour bus ride I read a free magazine and for the first time began to take an interest in some of the fashion features.

It proved to be another busy day at work, with Helen, Richard and Rob out for most of the time showing clients around houses or else measuring up and taking the details of new properties coming on to the market. Sarah was still suffering from her impaired mobility and found it awkward to get up from her desk and so I dealt with most of the customers who came through the door. Once again, I found that I was enjoying this aspect of the work and those people that I dealt with tended to be friendlier towards me and more willing to chat. By the end of the day I was fairly tired and so was quite happy to spend the evening at home with Mum, who naturally wanted a detailed account of how Alan and I had got on with our practice the night before.

‘The Viennese Waltz should be alright but the Quickstep is going to need some more practice,’ I explained.

She asked me what we were planning and I explained about the famous Astaire Rogers routine from Follow the Fleet, which we watched together on You Tube.

‘I doubt whether Alan and I will ever be able to dance as good as that,’ I commented.

‘Maybe not; but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a reasonable stab at it, all the same.’

‘Do you think so?’

‘As you know, the steps themselves are fairly straightforward but, as the name implies, they are performed very fast.’

‘Yes, the dancers need to keep their upper bodies upright and stable whilst their legs are going like mad,’ I added.

‘I found that the main problem with the Quickstep for the lady dancer is when she has to keep up with her partner without seeming to be struggling to do so,’ Mum explained. ‘It isn’t easy to do this as a woman’s stride is shorter than the man’s, especially if she’s wearing a long dress.’

‘So I’m beginning to discover.’

‘But there are one or two tricks you can use,’ she continued.

She proceeded to demonstrate them to me, so that after an hour or so I felt a lot more confident.

‘Would you be willing to come and see us practice tomorrow night and let us know what you think?’

‘Yes, of course, I would love to do so, but first we should discuss the matter of your costumes. What are you planning to wear?’ asked Mum.

‘I hadn’t really thought about it. I was leaving it to Sarah to organise.’

‘Ideally you should wear a fairly traditional ballroom dress with floats for the Viennese Waltz, as they will tend to guide the eye movements of the audience to focus on the dancers and also give a sense of direction.’

(A float is a lightweight piece of material sewn at each cuff of long sleeves, or on wristbands in the case of sleeveless dresses.)

‘I hadn’t realised that floats served any practical purpose. I’d always assumed they were purely there for decoration,’ I confessed.

Mum rolled her eyes in disbelief. I was beginning to see that there were aspects of ballroom dancing of which I knew very little.

‘I’ve never really thought too much about female dance costumes,’ I admitted. ‘I always assumed it was up to the lady herself what she chose to wear.’

‘Yes, it is but there are certain basic things that need to be taken into account.’

‘Such as?’

‘Ballroom dance dresses are not the same as those that you might wear to work or for a social gathering. They need to look good whilst also allowing for the free movement of arms and legs. That’s why they tend to be made of light or stretchy fabrics such as silk, chiffon, Lycra, or Spandex.’

‘I suppose that is the reason why the dresses are often long and flowing.’

‘Yes, at least those that are designed for traditional ballroom dances, but they mustn’t be so long that they hide the feet, which must be visible to the judges at all times. Dresses designed for the Latin dances are usually shorter and tend to be more colourful; they are often designed to show off the dancer’s hip action.’

‘I may know about dance steps and body posture in ballroom dancing but I’d never given much thought to the importance of the woman’s costume before now.’

‘I’m sure that most male dancers feel the same way, but I hope you will now begin to revise your opinion, Michelle, in the light of your recent experience.’

‘I’ll do my best but I’m afraid that I only have one ballroom dress available at the moment. Sarah is trying to arrange for me to borrow some others for the later demonstrations in the series.’

‘Hmm, and that dress won’t be ideal for the Quickstep either; you’ll need something a little more colourful and fun to wear,’ continued Mum, seemingly talking to herself. ‘Maybe I should have a word with Sarah and volunteer my services.’

Thursday at work was also quite busy as Sarah was out for most of the day as she had an out patient’s appointment at the hospital. As a result Helen and I ran the office for most of the day. Alan telephoned at one point to make arrangements for our practice session that evening, and I confirmed that Mum would also be there. He then offered that he and David could collect us from our home and give us a lift to the dance studio. When Rob eventually brought Sarah back in to work she had a shorter plaster cast which allowed her a little more leg movement and enabled her to walk with a stick rather than crutches. She was still going to be out of action for a few weeks, but things had begun to improve. I gave Rob a series of phone messages that I’d taken for him during the course of the day.

‘Thanks, Michelle, it seems that business is beginning to pick up again.’

‘I hope so.’

‘I understand that you will be showing some clients around a property at Houghton tomorrow morning.’

‘Yes, it will be my first time and I’m quite looking forward to it,’ I replied.

‘Make sure you are well prepared and can answer any of their questions.’

‘Yes, I will do my best.’

‘How are you getting out to Houghton?’

‘I was planning to get a 37 or 38 bus.’

‘It would be more sensible for you take the office car home tonight?’ You’ll then be able to drive straight over to the house tomorrow without coming in to work first.’

‘Yes please, if I may.’

Fortunately I had left a pair of flat heeled shoes in my locker at work after driving in on Tuesday.

As I was getting out of the office car, one of our neighbours (a guy who’d never so much as acknowledged me during the five years that we’d lived at our present house) stopped to wish me a good evening. He had just got out of a large and flashy car (which no doubt served to compensate for other inadequacies on his part).

‘You’re new to the area, aren’t you sweetheart? I don’t remember seeing you before,’ he said after I’d briefly acknowledged his initial greeting with a nod.

‘Yes, I’m staying with my Aunt for a few weeks,’ I replied.

‘In that case I hope to see you around,’ he said with a self-satisfied smile.

‘Not if I see you first,’ I thought to myself as I smiled sweetly in reply, but didn’t do anything to prolong the conversation in case it might encourage him to ask me out.

It occurred to me that whilst it might be good fun being a girl for most of the time I was going to need to learn how to deal with such encounters over the next few weeks. At the same time, though, it was quite gratifying to be noticed!

Thanks to Bronwen for editing and to everyone else for comments and kudos which are always appreciated.Louise