My alarm goes off at 540. I didn’t get enough sleep.

I haven’t had enough sleep in the past week.

But that’s how it goes every time.

This is what it is to be a slave to your art.

I’m dramatic, I know.

I set my alarm for six. Resting my eyes for another 20 minutes, thankful that I’d showered the night before.

And five minutes later my alarm goes off again. My phone says it’s six, but my body says I should sleep more.

But it’s the Christmas performance. It’s the big one. It’s the one I tell myself I’m going to start working on in September every year when I’m scrambling to finish choreography in November.

Maybe next year I will.

But for some reason I only know how to work well under pressure.

You want something good from the dancers? Sure how about a five-minute group number for the opening act? Then a duet to follow, which isn’t really a duet, but more like two solos brought together with a bonus of three girls doing a part for the bridge.

Make sense?

No? Guess you’d have to see it to understand.

Ok ok, how about a nice solo to finish?

And how about I whip it all together in less than two months?
Ha.

I’m a slave driver and a masochist at the same time.

I spent the last two weeks, scouring the city for the items I needed to build beautiful golden arcs, for the final pieces of their costume, for affordable mini, battery operated lights and  opalescent sequined ribbon.

My fingers are burned from hot glue and my body exhausted from a lack of rest.

But that’s over and done with. It’s the big day and I’m laying in bed thanking God for dry shampoo and clean tights.

I told the girls they needed to be there by 730. We go on at 930.

Two services. Four dances.

I need to dress them, do their make up and secure the crowns I designed and made for them.

A difficult task since they include a battery pack for the lights.

Yes I made them light up crowns.

Yes, you should want one for yourself.

I wash my face, brush my teeth and dress quickly.

I’m out the door before sunrise and I know that as I watch the dawn break in front of me, everything will be worth it as i watch my girls in full costume, with the music going and the stage lights up, and their hair twinkling, with the crowd enraptured.

These are the fruits of my labor and they are beautiful.