To My Dance Teacher

By Sahana Prabu

Posted on July 4, 2026

Cover Image Title: Dancing Clouds

Cover Image by: Gabbie Le Guin

Classification: Photography

Specifications: 4032 x 3024 pixels

Year: 2026

I don’t ask for joy to pour into my life

Because you don’t ask for it either

You turn potholes into night skies

So I try the same

Fireflies scream behind my eyes

Watching you watch me make a glorious, slick mess out of the stage floor

You taught me to concentrate on this radial center hovering over the audience 

The center thrums and pelts ripples in all directions

When I smile, it screams into the raw biology in me

I become the originator now, creating this new emotion

Where ecstasy cleaves into stage fear

When I tear off the bells on my feet after the performance

In my mind, I’m already running back to you like a spark plug

When I look for you, my heels refuse to touch the ground

With a floodgate pressing down on my mundanity, I lay eyes on you

Ready to repurpose my smile with yours

Description: 

This poem is supposed to feel like it is bursting. At least this is how I felt when writing it. This poem is meant to convey the ineffable tension I feel as a dancer, whether backstage or in front of my dance teacher. The poem addresses my stage fright and what it felt like to overcome it. It addresses the gratefulness of having a mentor and how it makes me feel complete.

[ Writing Editor: J.Y.  ]