She’s incredible. There’s so much musicality in her movements. She seamlessly switches between sharp, hard-hitting moves one minute to soft, languid moves the next. The moves are complex, requiring thedancer to use their entire body for the full minute and forty-five seconds of the song. Bailey makes it look easy. Her movements and expressions are arrogant, sensual, and fun at the precise moments.
It’s a sight to behold.
When the song is over, she walks off center with the shy smile I’m used to seeing on her. The class, who had been hyping her up the entire time, erupts with cheers, praise, and applause. I notice no one touches her when she’s done, giving her love from a respectable distance. Someone hands her a bottle of water that she drinks while the videographer gets set up for the next performance.
Every performance is spectacular. Some of the dancers lean on their group members to make the performance more uniform, while others tap into the creativity that feels right to them. There’s no space for freestyling in the song, but based on how the dancers approach it, each choreo looks completely different. I love seeing everyone’s take on the steps.
Bailey’s body language is much more reserved during the other performances, but her support is clear. She cheers loudly for everyone and gets close enough to hype them up, letting her energy feed them.
When the class is over, everyone exits the room, leaving only myself, Bailey, and one of the dance students.
“Dani, I thought that was you,” Bailey exclaims.
“It’s me.”
She waves elatedly so I return the gesture.
“What are you doing here? You taking a class?”
“Nah, Trish told me I could use this studio to get some freestyling in when your class was over.”
“Ahh, okay! Would you mind if I hung out for a little while? I’ve always wanted to see you dance.”
Trish didn’t mention that she’s ever talked about me with Bailey, so the only person who could’ve told her about me is Micah. I’membarrassed by how flattered I am that he told her about me. I smack my hand on the back of my neck, trying to cool myself down.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Bails, how you feeling?” the dancer next to Bailey pipes in. They’re around Bailey’s height, which is shorter than me but still tall, with a slender but toned frame, deep brown skin, and dreads pulled into a bun.
Bailey wraps her arm around their side, pulling them closer. “Dani, this is Justin. They’re my assistant dance coach.” She turns to acknowledge Justin. “Justin, this is Dani. She’s my brother’s friend,” she says, looking at me with a sly grin.
“Nice to meet you, Dani.” They give me a single wave, which I return.
“You too,” I say.
Justin turns back to Bailey with a scolding eye. “You didn’t answer me.”
“I’m a little tired, so I’m just gonna do my stretches and relax. I’m a fly on the wall, I promise.”
They rub her shoulder and lean their head on top of hers. “Okay, cool. Also, did you see our little Maddy today? She’s growing into a bad bitch right before our very eyes.” They pretend to dab a tear and Bailey dramatically lifts her hand to wipe their other eye.
“She was so fucking good!”
The two of them explain that Maddy is a teenage girl who was new to dancing, but the growth she’s shown in their class this past year makes them so proud.
Justin turns to grab their bag. “I’m gonna go ask Trish about the schedule for next week, but do you wanna go over ‘Top Off’ tonight?”
“Yes, boss,” she says, blowing Justin a kiss.
She salutes when Justin rolls their eyes and pushes their bag farther up their shoulder. They give me one final goodbye before dashing out of the studio.
“You were amazing today,” I compliment.
Bailey sits on the floor, and I join her so I can get some stretching in too.
“Thank you!” she exclaims. “I felt good about it.”
“As you should.”
