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Published: March 15th 2007
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Despite what I have said about taxi dancers and their employers I employed a taxi dancer for an advanced gancho class with Fabian Salas and Carolina de Rivera. This was the first advanced class I had taken and I didn't want to burden anyone in the class if my level was not up to scratch, but if it was, I did not want to be burdened with someone who was not.
I had my little scrap of blue paper that meant I had a taxi dancer but I wasn't too sure who to give it to and if my daxi dance would find me. Perhpaps I should have worn a red carnation in my hair. Maybe he'll be wearing a blue safari suit.
the guy who checks your name came to me and said "Here is you taxi dancer" a little too loudly.
"Hola" he kissed me hello
"Hola" shit I hope he speaks some English
"What's your name?" Thank God...
"Pi Wei"
"Pi .....Wei"
"yeh, y tu?"
"Jesus"
"....Je .... sus"
"Christ"
"Yeh I know which Jesus it is"
"Hola Buen dia how are you...." Fabian Salas' voice rose above the preclass chat and he dove
straight into the explaination of the steps we were to learn. His English is clear with a faint american aaccent and he uses a red laser pointer to delineate imaginary points on the floor that you need to respect or cross over. Carolina chewed incessantly and impassively on her gum as he drew lines on and around her feeet. The mild and incidious arrogance of the local dancers attending CITA has made me a little self conscious of my "tourista" status and I have an expectation of copping some of that with my taxi dancer. We start doing the first part of the sequence and I am reminded that the taxi dancers are there to learn too as he slowly paces out the step.
"Oh! You're very good! .... I'm sorry! I'm so tired.....so stupid .... ha ha" he steps again and gets me to do my step. "What are you afraid of? I'm not a monster .... more." we get the step and he dances other steps in between so he can spring the sequence in when I'm not expecting. He seems pleased at the other sequences he finds to make a segue in and out of the sequence.
"Eh! Fabian Fabian! Mira mira mira !" fabian comes over
"spanish spanish ha ha ha spanish" Fabian corrects a few things and we continue.
"You are doubting something" Jesus says "no doubt. Be happy" I look at his smiling dark skinned face and smiled too. "you look angry"
"no ..... I'm happy"
"yes huppy and ungry"
"oh HUNGry ..... yes I am Happy and Hungry"
I eat a whole milanesa and half of Jesus'. He doesn't eat much if he claimed to be as hungry as me. I watched his brown hands hold the cultery like a Chinese person - awkwardly. His hair is thick and black and his features look like the camel that sells Camel cigarettes. Something that seemed more animal than human emanated from him but I could not say which.
"no more ungry?"
"yes ... I mean no. I'm full."
"I have to go to see my psychologist now. Do you have another class?"
"No" He motioned for the bill
"Oh. I'll get that" why on earth is he seeing a psychologist?
"why are you rich?"
"In some countries I am....plus I did all the eating"
"I'm rich too" the waiter comes "spanish spanish spanish ha ha ha"
"well thanks"
"un gusto. Are you going to Sunderland?"
"probably."
we left the cafe and split ways.
I stood on the street for a moment to get my barings and started off in the wrong direction.
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