We performed at multiple elementary schools for St. Patrick's day as well. Our dance teacher would talk about Ireland and Irish dance to the students. Teaching them about why traditionally we dance with our hair up and our arms glued to our sides.

While our dance teacher was talking we were setting up our shoes for fast shoe changes and lining up for the first number. The first number was Antics which is a very simple soft shoe dance but looks absolutely stunning on stage. Unfortunately my shoe became untied halfway through the dance. My shoe became untied. I couldn't stop dancing to tie it. I couldn't risk tripping over the laces. Making a split second decision on what to do I grabbed my shoe and threw it behind us where no one could trip over it.

The third number was the reel step-about, meaning we each do one step of a reel dance, I was partnered with Nia as we had the same steps. Unfortunately our step had recently been changed. And a bad cold, plus dancing in only one shoe, plus one foot developing a bad blister, plus the nerves from having hundreds of children staring at you plus some of said children being very close to the stage making them very easy to accidentally kick and having to be hyper aware of your feet to ensure that does not happen, does not equal a pre-teen girl with all her focus on her steps. We were supposed to do: Jump change, up two three bum out, one two switch two three, step hurdle down, and skip two three and skip two three, and around and down, repeat. Instead I went off muscle memory and did change change, up two three, change bum out one two switch two three, step hurdle down, and skip two three and skip two three, and point and back, repeat. Now it sounds like small changes that wouldn't really trip anyone up, and since this was a performance and not a competition it would have been fine, if I had been alone. However I was dancing with Nia, and we were supposed to do the exact same step but I messed up. Which confused Nia. So during the repeat as you do the exact same thing on the left foot I did it the new way which I was supposed to do but Nia did the old way because she thought I was right. The confusion of it nearly caused us both to stop mid dance and ask each other what the step was.

I did not have an opportunity to get my shoe back until three numbers later. I had to dance three dances with only one shoe. Dancing in tights on top of a gymnasium floor is a strange texture. Best described as a weird cold thing gripping your foot whenever it has a chance and rubbing it with sandpaper. In some ways it was similar to when you're swimming in the ocean and your leg gets tangled in seaweed just less wet and slimy, a dry rough version. That leaves you with a giant blister on the bottom of your foot forcing you to wear a bandage on the bottom of your foot and walk funny because said blister is very tender.

It was even worse since I had to dance on top of said blister since it was on the ball of my foot.

But nothing could compare to the stare of disappointment I got from my teacher because I didn't tie my shoe tight enough. That I had to throw my shoe off to keep from tripping in the middle of the dance. I felt like I had just murdered her, at the time, kitten right in front of her.