The First Dance Lesson
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 4 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Flora thinks her dance partner is careless, but he is just as nervous as she is.
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Flora goes to her first dance class on Thursday evening. The class is for beginners. The teacher puts everyone in pairs. Flora's partner is a tall man named Raoul.
"We start with the basic step," the teacher says. "Slow, slow, quick, quick."
The music starts. Raoul steps on Flora's foot.
"Sorry," he says.
One minute later, he does it again. "Sorry!" Then a third time. Flora's toes hurt. Raoul looks at the wall and not at his feet. She thinks he is careless.
After the fifth "sorry," Flora stops. "You can stop saying sorry," she says. "Just look at your feet."
"I know," Raoul says. His face is red, and his hands are wet. "I want to look at them. But I forget everything when the music starts. This is my first class too. I am very nervous."
Flora looks at him again. He is not careless. He is afraid.
She laughs. "I am nervous too," she says. "My knees shake."
Raoul laughs as well. "What can we do?"
"Let's go slowly," says Flora. "We can count out loud."
They start again. "One, two, three, four," they say together, very quietly. For ten minutes, nobody steps on anybody.
At the end of the class, the teacher claps. Raoul steps on her foot one last time.
"Sorry," he says.
"It's okay," says Flora. "Again from the start. One, two…"
