by Sarah Armor

Created on: December 17, 2006   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

You're not in until the eighth dance, but somehow, you're still terrified. The smallish room is full of costumed, half-dressed, or girls frantic upon losing their costume. Everyone is worried about something, running about doing something, and it's completely crazy. Nothing's actually gone wrong for you yet, but this scene scares you.

This is your first performance. You've never been on stage in front of a crowd before. All eyes will be on you, or so you think.

Relax. Don't let yourself feel even the smallest amount of fear, no matter how likely you think you are to mess up.

You see (and there should be some way of letting you know this before you get on stage; you shouldn't have to be reading an article) once you get out there, it's just you and a sea of faces.

But these aren't people about to judge you. All your inhibitions and secret terrors fall away, because these aren't people who will even know if you mess up. It's not your job to do the steps perfectly, though that's important, too.

Your only job, once you get onto that stage, is to make that sea of people happy. This is what you come to know, up there under that spotlight, and it's a calm, distant realization. It's a moment of absolute perfection.

Well, you should be saying, if you're thinking, why shouldn't I let myself be afraid? It's natural, and I've never been on stage. I don't know that you're even right. And anyway, it doesn't do any harm, does it?

WRONG. It's VERY harmful. By the time you get to your turn, you'll have worked yourself into such a tense, nervous state that by the time you begin to dance, you've exhausted yourself! You won't even notice it until you need the energy, and it's not there.

So don't scare yourself. If all else fails, remind yourself of how hard you've worked. You'll be fine.

After all, once you're there on that stage, before all those people, only two things matter: pleasing those watching eyes, and following the music to the happy ending.

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