A PRANCING proposal that took three months to prepare has become an online sensation watched more than 12,000 times.

Steven Scott, operations manager at Harwich and Dovercourt High School, convinced six friends to join him in learning a dance routine to perform in front of party guests.

Although the event was to celebrate his own 30th birthday, Scott turned it around to be a very public proposal to long-term girlfriend Grace Pearce, 27.

The 27-year-old was asked to sit on a chair at the front while the men performed a dance routine, choreographed by the school’s head of dance, Sarah Parker.

Steven said: “We’ve been together eight years so I wanted to do something different and I’d seen other people do similar things.

“It was very very hard keeping it a secret.

“Three of us work at the school so we just said we were working late but the others had to come up with reasons for being late, things like going to the shops and there being traffic or going to the gym.

“We didn’t tell anyone other than the dance teacher and the IT guy Martin Rudland who did the recordings.

“About 30 seconds beforehand a couple of them told their partners ‘you might want to film this’.

“The first thing Grace said when I asked her to sit at the front was ‘you’re not going to propose to me here?’ but the music had already started so I went with it.”

The men, which included Grace’s brother Harry and Steven’s brother-in-law James, performed dances to songs including Thriller, the Full Monty, Smack That by Akon, and Single Ladies by Beyonce.

Near to the end of the routine Steven is seen on film whispering in Grace’s ear as he asks her not to be angry before getting down on one knee.

Steven said: “Everyone was really surprised, I’ve never done anything like this before.

“Grace was too and about how many people have watched it - people have shared it we don’t even know.

“I’m getting pressure now for the engagement party.”