{danseuse}

I love my dance teacher a lot. She's an inspired dancer, a sarcastic drill sergeant, and great at casual advice. I've had her for the past three years, but she's never liked me a whole lot. I'm quiet at first, and I think she wrote me off too soon.

This year, she bothered to give me a second glance, and now she loves me. She exchanges glances with me when Adriana is being ridiculous. She laughs when I make an inside joke about Friday night classes. She likes my music choices. She compliments me on my wings {as in the tap move, not as in feathers XD}.

We're a lot more alike than I ever would have thought, and when we work on my senior solo, it's pure electric serenity.

The first time I let her listen to the song I'd picked, I was really nervous. I knew exactly the style and moves I wanted in the dance. What if she had a totally different idea?

But she had the EXACT SAME impressions as I did.

When we work on my dance, we turn the volume so loud we can't hear anything but the pulsing beats and chilling harmonies. We don't talk; we communicate only by dancing and exchanging glances.

We do the dance as far as we've gotten, and then she adds something to the end of it. I understand her style and the way her weight shifts so that I can follow her right away, without her having to teach me. If I don't do it quite right, she repeats the move. I repeat it back to her, and we go back and forth until I've got it.

Sometimes when we get to the end of what we know, it feels so intense and full and explosive and perfect that we scream. You can't help it when you hit a dance just right. Your heart flies up into your mouth and you have to open it and let it out in a huge, joyful noise.

No one else is in the studio, and the music is busting our eardrums anyway, so we scream and scream and smile and high five each other.

Then we do the dance again and add some more.

I never would have guessed that Lauren and I would be such kindred spirits. I look up to her in a lot of ways, but when we dance, we're like equals. She's better than I am, but I'm very good. We feed off each others' energy and love for dance, and inevitably, friendship has followed. She tells me what's going on in her life, and I help her sort things out. She doesn't really NEED me, but it's always nice to have someone to listen and reassure you that you're handling things the right way.

Dance--and Lauren--are so special to me. The thought of leaving them behind is like severing a cord of my heart. To me, dance is so much more than just a sport, and Lauren is so much more than just a teacher. I'm going to miss them both so much when I leave for college. But no matter what happens, I'll always look back on these days as ones that filled my soul.

~Stephanie