I have recently become a Taxi Dancer, and this is how it happened:
I filled in an application form which asked questions such as why I wanted to become one, why I thought I would be good as one, what I thought the job entailed etc, and I was supplied with a Job Description.
I was then visited at one of my regular venues during a Beginners Class to be assessed - the assessor danced along side me both as lead and follow and we then had a talk with a quick overview of what would be expected, what we (there were two of us being assessed that evening) were signing up for and to ensure we were still happy to go ahead with our application.
When a position became available I was sent a list of Beginner Moves along with the phraseology that we should use to call each move, and encouraged to attend some of the Review Classes in the weeks running up to my first session to get a feel for how they should be run.
I also assisted the Taxi Dancers the week before I was due to start, while they were greeting and signing up the Newbies to see what happened during that part of the evening (this was at my own request).
For the first couple of weeks we (my Taxi partner is new as well) were shadowed by experienced Taxis to ensure we were 'doing it right' and to help out if there were any problems.
(This would have happened before I started, but it was unfortunate timing that it was not possible ... ) The week after my first Taxi session I (and 6 other new Taxis) attended a half day training session where we were run through a Taxi Dancer's night in great detail - what we are expected to do, how we should do it, what to do if this, that or the other happened, where to be and when etc. - and got a chance to ask all those niggly little questions that had been preying on our minds. We also took part in a 'mock' Taxi Session to practice calling and timing the moves, each one of us doing 2 moves picked at random there and then. We were supplied with full written instructions on how to run the class (order, what to include, what to look for, what not to do etc), a separate list of hints,tips and general instructions, not just for the class but about being a Taxi in general, a further list of 'things to look out for' for each individual move, as well as another copy of the phraseology and job description. Pretty exhaustive really!! The training session was absolutely invaluable!!
Does that answer the question?
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