Center Stage 

    Dancing is something that makes me blissful every time I take center stage. The passion of my heart takes over the steps of my body. It’s like a pulse running through my veins. My name is Katherine Lozon and I am 20 years old. I’ve been dancing since I was six years old and these feelings of excitement and passion have yet to leave my body. I made dancing my lifestyle once I got to Ball State University and declared that as my major, however I will never forget the first time I took center stage at my high school when we performed the play CATS.

    It was 5:30 pm when I came through the doors of Providence High school in Providence, Indiana to our brand new school theater. It was actually the only theater that our school had ever seen, because before this time our school was not crazy on the whole theater production program. I was ecstatic because I was finally going to have a chance in the spotlight, by being the first and only one on center stage of the new theater. When I went back to the dressing room to spend forty-five minutes putting on my cat face. I sat and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. My dark brown hair flowed around my freshly painted cat whiskers, and the only thought running through my mind was, “I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I was in 8th grade.” I hoped that this production would go well because then our school would see that dancing and theater is what makes not only the actress and actors happy, but the audience as well. After I finished clobbering my face with makeup and adding the last touches to my furry costume, I went down to the dark basement of the stage and stood there for a while to stretch and to listen to all the voices of the audience, that were going to be watching me in less then thirty minutes. Being as anxious as I was, I went up the stairs to the main stage to peek out from behind the red velvet curtain. I was shocked to see all the faces staring back at me. It was a packed house, and it was the most amazing crowd I had ever seen at a high school event. When I was finished snooping around, I gathered all my friend dancers and we stretched for a good fifteen minutes so that no one would get injured while they were acting, singing, and dancing on stage. As we all sat around in a circle, I couldn’t help but smile at all the cat faces staring back at me. I was the dance captain and these were the friends and dancers who had my back through the production and would always be there for me. It made me think: even if everything goes wrong, we would still have each other and that’s all that mattered.

    The one word that scared me the most that night was when the manger of the play told us “Places!” We all rushed to our starting points, mine being the center of the stage, the only one that was going to be there when the red velvet curtain pulled back to start my first dance number. I was ready when the lights dimmed out. My heart started racing as I saw the light cue. I crawled my way on stage into my dance as they pulled back the curtain. My heart was pounding in my chest the entire time as the light reflected off the bright red paint on my costume. My thin body twirled in loops as my dance hit the climax and the spotlight came to my dim furry face. I stood up and bowed. My dance number was over, and all I could see was the dark blur of the audience as they rose upon their feet to give me the biggest round of applause for my dancing and singing. When I walked off stage of the darken theater, I never felt so much adrenaline and pure rush to be on stage and I will never in my lifetime forget that feeling. After the production was completely over, we all met our parents and the rest of the audience in the commons area of our school to say our thank you’s and receive great compliments on how well we all did. I rushed over to see my mom and dad. When I finally made my way through the crowd to stand by their side, they gave me the biggest hug and told me that I was never more beautiful then in that moment when I was dancing. That spring day and the production of CATS was my most memorable dancing day.

    Now that I am at Ball State University and dancing is my major, I look back on all the great times I had during high school and am looking forward to my future and what it might hold. I am hoping to one day be a dancer on Broadway or Musical theater actress where I can dance and sing on stage. Until then, I am working my absolute hardest and dancing like it’s my job. This summer I received an opportunity to be an entertainer at Kings Island, where I will be doing more theater performances. I will be in productions were I can sing and dance, as well as, having fun and being able to be my spunky spirited self. I was excited when I established this job, because this is one step closer to what I want to achieve in my life as a dancer. I will never forget the words that inspired me the most from my dance studio teacher, “If it is not the first thing you think of everyday, then it’s not what you want to do with your life. You have to want it.”

 

Figure 1: Katherine Lozon posing for a senior picture in high school, that is now her future life at Ball State University on May 25, 2007.

Figure 2: Practicing makes perfect as all the CATS dancers get ready for a big night in a studio close to Providence High School on April 7, 2007.