Nervous energy courses through your body like an electric current. You sense yourself walking a touch too fast to the warmup room. Don’t slow down; better to embrace your excitement than stifle it.

Pull open the double door and feel the chatter of voices envelop you, pull you into the exhilarating anticipation of pre-show jitters. Set your oh-so-heavy dance and makeup bags aside and glance around. You see one girl warming up at the barre, headphones in her ears as she pliés to an invisible rhythm. In the corner, a frenetic frenzy of girls has congregated, rushing to touch up each other’s lipstick and eyeshadow before curtain call.

One girl rushes to you, her face panicked and her bun askew. “Do you have bobby pins?” she gasps, her kohl-lined eyes wide with question.

You nod and reach into your bag. She thanks you profusely and attempts to fix her bun. Satisfied, she smiles at you and hurries away to stretch. You do the same, loosening your rehearsal-weary muscles and pushing your flexibility to its limit: tonight is when it matters.

As you finish stretching, a girl offers to add some glitter spray to your high ponytail. You grin and nod, a childhood fantasy of being a sparkling princess flashing through your mind. She hands you a mirror, and you can’t stop the smile from widening your face as you watch the silver sparkles gleam in your hair, raining down onto your shoulders like fairy dust.

Suddenly, your dance teacher rushes into the room. “Five minutes until curtain call!” she shouts, her reputation on the line. “Make sure all of you are warm before you head backstage!”

You hurry and check your lipstick, and then run your routine inside your head one last time. Ready, you whisper to yourself, terrified and thrilled all at once. As everyone hurries to the stage, you exchange hugs, hand squeezes, and whispers of “Good luck!” before the curtain rises.

As the curtain falls one last time, you embrace your fellow dancers, exhilarated at the performance’s success. You all return to the warmup room to gather your belongings before your parents and friends come to congratulate you. The smiling, elated girls around you remind you of the most important thing: it’s not about the performance. It’s about the friendships you foster and the memories you create. That is why you dance.