One main light shines across the stage.

“Our dance is easier than everybody elses Emma, what could you possibly be nervous about,” I whispered to myself.

Then, I saw my family through an opening in the curtains. They were first row in the audience.

“Oh yeah, embarrassing myself in front of everybody. Especially them!”

“Now, Bat Dance by Mrs. Michelle’s Tap 3/4 class!”.

A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd, I’m terrified.

Come on Emma, you got this. Just ignore them. You’ll do fine. (deep breath) Just….trust yourself. Oh no, I was talking to myself again! That’s never a good sign. I walked out with a truly fake smile on my itchy face. I hated make-up. I hated that they made us use it, and I hated that I had to cover my whole face in it. I also hated that I had to wear tights. They were so itchy and horrible for tap dancing in. I mean all we do is move our legs around! I got into my starting position. All I had to do is to start dancing when the music started, how hard could it be.

“Bum bum bum” the music started. Without knowing I started to move my feet. I was a bit delayed to the start! I hope no one saw that. The echo of feet thudding on the ground grew louder by the second. The cheers have quieted now, but some are still cheering. I felt like nothing could make me nervous. Until I looked at my parents. All of a sudden I felt like I was messing up everything. I started to look at everybody else, like a ninja checking things out. I could hear my grandparents cheering my name, it was horrible. We finally got to the part where I struggled in the song. I made sure I wasn’t looking at my parents when I did it because I would’ve been human sharknado on stage. I started with my hands out during the move, but then I looked at my teacher and she was fiercely telling me to put them behind my back. Now my face was rosier than before. Every step I took I wobbled, making the wrong sounds. If only I had a time machine.

“Don’t doubt yourself now Emma you’re almost done! Your almost there. You’re doing great!” I repeated to myself over and over again.

Now I had the confidence of a fierce Lion! The bad thing was that we were half-way through the song, so . . . . that’s great. My smile started to turn real as I became more and more cheery while dancing! The deep sounds of the drums making me feel energized and peppy with every step I took! I felt like I was walking on clouds, even though I had heavy taps on the bottom of my shoes. We were now three quarters of the way finished! I was so proud of myself for getting the moves correct! This new confidence starting to taking over me because of my belief in myself exploding inside me!

“Woohoo!” I whispered. Gasp.

“I need to get this song on Spotify!” I thought to myself.

It truly was a catchy song.

The last bits of the song catch me by surprise.

“How could I be finished already?” I questioned myself.

I strike the ending pose and then everything went quiet. All of a sudden I hear the cheers erupt from the crowd. Parents whistling and screaming at the top of their lungs. hundreds of people standing and clapping. The one main bright light still shining on the stage, like a star in the night. The light slowly getting darker as I walk off the big wood stage. I didn’t think I’d be able to get through that, but here I am.