My hairpiece was digging into my head, and I could feel my hands getting sweaty and my stomach making noises. This was normal nerves before going on stage, but I knew it would feel normal once I stepped onto the stage. But it didn’t. It felt better. Way better.

It’s April 12, 2025, and I’m about to go onstage to perform as Kitri’s friend in the ballet Don Quixote. I step onto the stage with the smile I always have while performing. I haven’t danced for a while in the ballet yet, but I’m on stage, standing and watching my friends dancing on stage. Finally, I hear the music that plays before I go. The nerves start again. The music starts, and I jump out for the first step. “I can already tell this is going to be good,” I think to myself. While dancing, I can’t think of anything else except for “This is the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. Ever.”

I go offstage at the end of the ballet, after dancing for most of it. I tell my friends, “That was the best show I’ve ever done.”

But what makes a show so good? Why did this one feel special? I do the Nutcracker every year. It’s the same music, and yes, I do a different part every year, but the music doesn’t change, and I don’t get to step out of my comfort zone as much. Don Quixote was different. It was sassy and fast paced, two things I’m not the best at performing. It was fun and something new that I’ve never done before.

It was so good because it was unique and something none of us were used to. It was fun and exciting, and the audience seemed to feel it too. The feeling of doing something new is what makes ballet so freeing, and having that feeling of peace while performing is what makes it all the more amazing. And don’t get me wrong, the other performances we do are fun and exciting, but this one was new. It was a unique kind of excitement, and it was the best show I’ve ever done.