Chapter 12: Graduation

Nine months later we are a week away from graduation. I’m more concerned about the next six months I must spend indentured to the von Herrschaft conglomerate than tonight’s end-of-year performance in Lyon. Yvonne and I have both performed over twenty public and private performances; some as solos but the majority together.

In some respects I will miss the academy’s strict daily routine. The restrictions on our movements, and the limited access to technology, have made it feel like we’ve been held in prison. We’ve been expected to obey the staff immediately and without question. Under the guise of dance training, I’ve practised several positions to adopt at the end of my performances that seem more like a slave submitting to her owner than a finale to a dance. However, I think the routine and discipline has made us fitter and better dancers.

Of the thirty three students who started the year, only twenty eight are completing the course. All five who dropped out mid-year were from the fractious modern dance class. My friend Hannah passed the modern dance course, thanks in part to the departure of some of the troublesome students.

By now I own three full sets of costumes plus some additional props and adornments. My earnings from public and private performances have helped pay for the new costumes. As Yvonne once speculated, she and I have practised several common styles of belly dance, and we can now perform in any of three different styles without mixing them up. We also have our own personal repertoire of dance music.

My furtive sexual relationship with Nita has kept my sexual needs satisfied, although we will be going our different ways once we leave the academy. Yvonne and Anna briefly had a similar relationship, but the sexual component ceased around mid-year. In part that was due to the varied schedules and venues for public performances that kept different classes apart for longer periods.

All the students at the academy are obligated to the von Herrschaft Foundation in one way or another. However, only a few of us have indentures lasting for a single six month period. Some of us have been given the opportunity to repay the obligation by a levy on their earnings from their performances. Others have signed agreements for a series of short term indentures over a period of years similar to the one Bea had accepted. I suppose I could have negotiated a different agreement, although I’ve reconciled myself to a single six month term of indenture. Quite what that will involve remains a mystery, but by now I’m accustomed to having my activities regulated with minimal amounts of freedom.

The end-of-year performance follows the same routine as earlier performances. Annalisa has been my regular costume assistant when the performances have been in Lyon. I’m glad of the chance to thank her and say goodbye. There is a party mood behind the scenes at the theatre. However, the performance on stage is still to the academy’s high standard, and the audience expect nothing less than perfection. In my opinion, my own performance is one of my best, and the audience clearly appreciate it.

The next morning Yvonne and I are given letters from the von Herrschaft Foundation with instructions about reporting for our six months of indenture. Train tickets are enclosed with the instructions, but there’s no indication what will become of us once we arrive at our destination. Yvonne’s instructions are to go to an address in Paris, while mine require me to travel to Munich. I wonder whether my destination means that I’ll be working at the von Herrschaft Schloss in Bavaria. Our costumes and any personal items not on the list provided are to be packed and left with the academy for onward carriage and delivery. Even our mobile phones must remain behind with our costumes.

Even though there are only a few days left of our studies, the daily routine isn’t varied. We practise and exercise just as we’ve done every day for the last year. Aaliyah continues to instruct us although there’s nothing new to add to the material she has taught us. The final session is only slightly more emotional than previously as we say our farewells to Aaliyah, and thank her for everything she has taught us.

“Bonne chance, mes chéris,” says Aaliyah as we finish our practise for the last time.

The graduation ceremony is a relatively low key affair. There are no guests and we are simply called onto the stage one at a time, congratulated by Mademoiselle Serena, and handed a certificate. We are treated to a party afterwards, although the usual ‘no alcohol’ rule still applies. The party lasts until nine o’clock when we slowly drift back to our dormitories and rooms to finish our packing. It’s the last time the whole body of this year’s students will gather together.