The gleaming morning sun peered through my window. The sound of the coffee grinder made me want to cringe inside. The smell of bacon and pancakes stimulated my senses. I slowly rolled over, staring up at the ceiling thinking of what my day was going to be like. I knew as soon as I stepped down from my bed I would have a hectic morning ahead of me. Before I could even step from my bed my mom frantically runs into my room telling me to get ready. Today was the day I was going to take part in the Nutcracker.

The nerves raced through my body as I waited in line for auditions. This was a once in a life time experience that no one should give up on. Every direction I looked people were anxiously practicing their steps and breaking in their dance shoes. I just sat down nervously listening to music so I didn’t have to listen to everyone talking and just focus on what I was about to do. My dance teacher and my friend from dance class pushed me into trying out for this ballet company. They were only going to choose 10 girls to be apart of the Russian ballet company. I had never been so nervous before in my entire life. I had been dancing since I was two years old and to be given a chance like this I knew it was worth taking.
When my mom tapped on my shoulder I knew it was time. I gradually made my way to the door. I took a deep breath and walked in to the audition room. Three young ladies (one being my dance teacher that nudged me into doing this) sat gracefully in their chairs examining me closely. My hands were starting to get clammy and I could feel a pit in my stomach. They than told me to begin, so I started dancing. Once I begin dancing I forget about the rest of the world and just focus on what I am doing. I just need to start and than I don’t get as nervous. For some reason once I step on stage in front of a large audience I just pretend like they aren’t even their and just dance. I could see my dance teacher smiling throughout my whole audition. When I finished I got this adrenaline rush that went through my body because I knew that I had did my best. All three of the judges gave me a standing ovation. They didn’t have deliberate about anything they told me right away that I was going to be part of the Nutcracker dance company.

It was very difficult at first because I was practicing everyday after school for about two and a half hours. Being nine years old it was tough because at that age you want to always hang out with your friends after school but I was committed to something else.

The day of the performance I had butterflies in my stomach and felt as I did when I was auditioning for it. A lot of my family and friends were coming to watch me. I was so nervous, I was afraid I was going to mess up. But once the adrenaline builds up inside me nothing can stop me from what I love doing. It was a very frantic day of my mom doing my hair and make up and making sure I got to the place on time. But once I stepped onto the stage was the greatest feeling in the world. I couldn’t even see the audience because it was pitch black. The bright dazzling lights on the stage felt like they were going to melt me because they were so hot.







Being part of the Nutcracker has shaped me into the person I am today. I wish I could relive that experience again because it was defiantly the best experience of my life. I was dancing with the Russian ballet. Not a lot of people can look back and say they did that. From practicing everyday really paid off in the end. I not only made new friends but I learned new techniques. Thinking back to this experience makes me want to start dancing again. I stopped doing dance because I wanted to become more involved in high school activities and sports. When I am on stage I am a totally different person. People get startled about the fact that they are performing in front of a lot of people and can’t perform For me I get tense before I go on but once I am on stage I let loose of everything and just dance.