I stood on the dark stage waiting for the music to start. My friends standing next to and around me were waiting too, waiting to start what we've been practicing all year. The music finally began and we started to move around, showing off all our hard work. We leapt and spun, jumped and twirled until the music came to an end and we struck out final pose. The lights went out as the audience clapped and we ran off stage so the next set of dancers could take their place. Our moment to shine was over.
* * * * * * * *
It was finally the day, they day I've been waiting for since September when class first started. It was a warm Sunday in June, Father's Day to be exact, and it was the day of my dance recital. As I pulled into the Bergen Academy parking lot, I thought about all the hard work and effort I put in throughout the past year. I reminisced about the past 15 years of my life dancing at the same studio since I was 2 1/2 years old. I parked my car, took out my costumes, makeup, and dance bag, and walked through the backstage door. As I walked though the door I noticed most of my friends were already backstage warming up. I found my usual changing spot on the stairs and started to line up my costumes in the order I had to wear them. Afterwards, I walked over to the girls, sat down and started stretching with them.
"You ready for this?" said Jackie.
"Oh yeah, " I replied. "I'm so excited!"
"Yeah, me too, but I'm still nervous that I won't be able to do the axel into a triple pirouette after the illusion."
"I think you'll be fine," I responded. "I was worried about that too but we broke our backs this year trying to get it so I think if we don't think about it we'll nail it."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
The anticipation was starting to build. There was only 15 minutes until the second act started and I was getting butterflies in my stomach. I walked back over to my little spot on the stairs and started dressing into my costume for my jazz routine. As I was teasing my hair and applying makeup in the bathroom, Sam came in to tell me that we were going on in a couple minutes. I put that last touch of hairspray in my hair and walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the stage. All the girls in my dance were standing behind the curtain, waiting for the signal to take the stage. The curtains were still down, but the lights backstage went off. My stomach did a summersault. We got the signal and set off on stage to take out spots. I was nervous, but it was a good type of nervous. I was ready to show off all that I had learned the past year and put everything I had into this dance, heart and soul.
The music began and my body took over my mind. I danced to the music, twirling and leaping in the air, putting in attitude where necessary. I finally came to the part of the dance that gave me such a hard time months before, the illusion followed by an axel into a triple pirouette. Without thinking and hesitation, I put all of me into the combination and to my surprise nailed it perfectly. It was as if a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders and I was able to dance the rest of the routine in peace that I nailed what I thought was the most difficult part. I glided across the stage like a skater glides across the ice, elegantly and gracefully with passion and expression. Finally the end of the dance came too quickly and we all struck out last pose and the lights went off and the audience clapped away. The curtains closed and we exited the stage, panting, but glad that we did our best and showed everyone what we've worked so hard on. Our moment to shine was over, a bittersweet ending.
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