We waited anxiously behind the stage for the name “Nezhnost’” to be called. This was the name of our dance ensemble. “Nezhnost” means tenderness in Russian, reflective of the emotions we felt as we danced. Our ensemble had been recently formed and this was our very first performance.
We heard the audience cheer and applaud our performing competitors on the stage. Lights flickered from underneath the curtain that separated us from them. We knew that we would be next. In a few moments, our months of preparation would be put to the test.
A thrilling feeling of excitement and anxiety swelled within us as we finally heard the word “Nezhnost’” from the other side of the curtain. As we then approached, I realized that the stage entrance was on the left side instead of the right. Many hours had been spent rehearsing this performance on the right side of the stage. The feeling of excitement rapidly transformed into one of confusion and almost despair. This seemingly minor alteration would change the direction of our dance routine. In other words, in a few seconds we were about to perform the dance in a way we had never practiced before.
We entered the stage and from the very beginning my steps were awkward and misplaced. For a fraction of a moment, I felt hopeless. I felt like the dance that I once mastered was no longer in my control. Had this dance been a solo, I could accepted letting only myself down. I considered giving up by not giving the dance my all. But since I was not alone, it seemed like my closest friends would be brought down by my imperfections.
Suddenly, a spark of hope took hold of me as I remembered what my trainer once told me: “No matter how many times you fall, just keep dancing.” The words “keep dancing” sounded in my mind over and over again. I then began to dance with renewed vigor, once more giving it my all. My feeling of insecurity was swallowed up in the grace of the music and the serenity of the moment. I kept dancing. My past mistakes no longer mattered to me. I kept dancing, gracefully and nimbly touching the floor. My trainer’s words echoed in my mind again: “No matter how many times you fall, just keep dancing, keep going.”
Life is a dance. Mistakes of the past no longer matter now, what makes the difference is how you perform today. And even if you fall again, get up and keep dancing. “No matter how many times you fall, just keep dancing! Keep going!”
This is the musc to which we danced: