Surrounded by maids dancing on time (6)
I believe the answer is:
amidst
'surrounded by' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'maids dancing on time' is the wordplay.
'dancing' is an anagram indicator.
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'maids' anagrammed gives 'amids'.
'amids'+'t'='AMIDST'
(Other definitions for amidst that I've seen before include "Among" , "During; within" , "In the thick of" , "Beset" , "It's mad (anag.)" .)