The music started.
I let the notes wash over me, waiting for the part where I started singing and started.
The vocals came first, low and steady. I kept my breathing controlled, hitting each note cleanly.
My voice cracked at a note but I ignored it and continued singing.
Then the dance.
I thought of all the pain I've been through recently and poured it into my movement.
A reaching hand, trying to grab something out of reach.
A turn away, rejection and isolation.
A collapse, giving up and breaking down.
Then a slow rise, desperate determination to keep going.
The choreography was simple but I meant every second of it. Let every gesture carry the weight of real pain, longing and desperation.
When the music ended, I was breathing hard, my heart pounding and I could feel a faint pai
