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Last Saturday we had a ballet performance in the Town Hall, it was a fund raising event to help an elderly centre in our neighborhood. I was selected to perform a two-minutes pas seul (solo dance). My mother and grandmother also came and watched the show.
After the show, mother squeezed me in her arms and told me the performance was marvelous and I looked very confident on the stage. She burst out with tears and said she was so proud of me. My mouth couldn't come out any word to express my thankfulness, so I just gave her a big sweet kiss.
Then I told mom, I had been preparing this show for almost a month.
Once I heard that I needed to perform a solo, I was so nervous and worried. Although I also realized that it was a great opportunity being able to dance in front of the public. Therefore, I told myself I mustn't chicken out. I must get my mind and body ready for that. And the good thing was, I still had the time to prepare.
During the next four weeks prior the show, I was working non-stop. Physically I was practicing at least 3 hours per day. And mentally I repeatedly imagining myself dancing on the stage with hundreds of eyes watching. Slowly day after day my anxiety and nervousness were faded. There left only one voice in my mind when I was finally waiting at the backstage on the night of the show: "Stay focused! Just dance it out!"
When the curtain opened, I was simply repeating, almost mindlessly, what I had been rehearsing for the last whole month. My body just flowed so smoothly along with the music. My mind was so peaceful and calm and thinking of nothing else, until I heard the loud applause from the audiences.
I have made it! What I had been working hard on had finally paid out!
Now I have learned how important preparation is. No matter you are doing a ballet performance, having an exam or making a speech or whatever things in life. Confidence just won't come naturally to conquer the fear of failure. But what we can do is to prepare ourselves until we know we can do what we have to do.
Kate, March 2011.
P.S. Lately I have watched the Oscar-winner movie "The King's Speech". The story really inspires me!
