Mexican Dancers

Everyone has their firsts right? Their first word, their first step, their first trip to a movie theater, first boyfriend or girlfriend, first kiss, the list goes on and on. The first time you do something you effects how you think about it for the rest of your life.

I am a very artsy person, I like drama, visual arts, music, the only thing I don’t like is dance. I am not a flexible person nor do I have good stamina so dance has no appeal to me. Which is why I find it strange that my first time performing on a stage in front of an audience was dancing.

My family was on one of our annual trips to Mexico and we were having dinner in the courtyard restaurant. There are nightly shows here that keep my brother Justin and I occupied during the meal so that we don’t get antsy. Rosalita, a nice local lady employed at the kids club, who I had been playing with thru out the week was hosting tonight’s show.

“Emily, sweets, what do you want for dinner? They have a nice spaghetti or chicken tostada’s.” I turn around to look at the person who asked me this. It was my mother; she was looking at me with her bright green eyes and playing with one of the short curls that make up her hair.

“Queso fondido!” I say a smile on my face. I have been having this Mexican dish for the past four days ever since my aunt gave me some of hers to try. My mom just sighs and looks away shaking her head. I return my attention to the stage where Rosalita is announcing the next act. As she leaves the stage a pair of Mexican women enter the stage dressed in long frilly whit dresses with bright red sashes. The music starts and the dancers grab hold of their skirts and start to twirl around in mesmerizing white blurs. When the dance is done and they leave the stage I turn around to ask my mom something only to realize the food is here.

I dig in hungrily while Rosalita reenters the stage and announces the final part of tonight’s performance, a dance off.

“Emily, you have to go up!” my aunt Gaby says, pulling me out of my chair, “You’ll have so much fun.” And without waiting for consent she pushes me up on stage. My heart is beating so hard and there are butterflies in my stomach as I look at the audience. There are, what seems like thousands - to my seven-year-old brain – of people and they are all looking at me. I swallow loudly as Rosalita comes up to me.

“Hi darling, what’s your name?” she asks and then puts the microphone right in front of my face.

“Uhhh.” Is all I reply, too nervous to day anything else.

“I think I know, it’s Emily right?” I slowly nod my head.

“Who wants to join this brave young girl up here on the stage?” with this prompting more people come up, a few couples and a group of little kids. So far I’m the only one alone. I frantically gesture at my family to come up and join me on the stage but no one does. Annoyed I figure that the only way out of this position is to leave the stage, and that’s exactly what I do. I start down the steps but all of a sudden my aunt blocks my path.

With my heart still racing she says, “Come on lets do this together.” I take her hand and drag her on stage. All of a sudden the speakers start playing this upbeat dance tune and my aunt grabs my hand and spins me around. I laugh and I forget about the people watching me, I start enjoying myself. When I’m in the middle of doing a funky dance move my aunt, without me noticing, slips off the stage so that it’s just me again. When the song ends I look around for my aunt only to find her sitting down but to be honest I no longer care. She helped me get over what I would later figure out to be stage fright. So I just looked at her, smiled, and waved. Rosalita came around with prizes and she gave me a beautiful Mexican doll, the first of many to come.

From that day on, I no longer had a fear of performing, in fact it remains something I love to do, for drama or for music, performing is my passion.