Dance is a fun, personal, and sacred experience.
Depending on who you are, where you live, the people you learn alongside, and the people you perform in front of, will all influence your experience performing on stage.
Before the Show
Once you arrive on set you will catch the atmosphere and vibe of the show. Some shows are exceptionally professional with extravagant venues, others are a chaotic mess held together by sheer will power.
I locate my dressing room, the homestead for preparations. Here I will pray, dress in my costume, jewelry, hair, and makeup. Often littered with belongings, the dressing room is a bonding nest for the dancers to share pre-performance excitement and jitters. This is a buzzing time, as the show manager is zig-zagging through rooms announcing the show order. You always wonder “when am I performing?” and hope to catch a few acts before and after your time on stage.
On stage
Waiting in the wings I start to feel the first rush of emotions. Excitement mixed with nervousness…mostly confidence. I have drilled for weeks this routine; I can do it in my sleep.
The next time the lights go black will be my chance to shine, I navigate to my starting sequence. Once the music starts, I am transported.
The story I am telling becomes true, the audience along for the journey. Sometimes the audience is so close, that the hem of my skirts touches them. Sometimes they are so far all I see is a sea of darkness but feel a thousand eyes staring at me.
The music is loud and impossible to ignore, each step flows out effortlessly, I project my loving energy outwards. Through my face, my feet, and my breath.
I fight the physical exhaustion that starts to demand my attention back to reality.
“Not yet”, I silently tell myself.
Keep going.
The moment feels like forever yet incredibly short at the same time.
The music ends, I hit my final pose, and the crowd roars as the light slowly fade’s to black.
The finale drags me back to reality.
After the Show
Scurrying off the stage, I am immediately replaced by another performer. The cycle continues.
“Good jobs” are tossed at me like roses, I nod unable to speak, unable to breathe. After months of training, nothing prepares you for the fatigue of pouring your heart out on stage. I return to the dressing room to refresh and then try to sneak in a few performances before the closing ceremony.
‘Tis the journey of the Bharatanatyam dancer.