'I remember bright comforting lights, and a welling hotness that came out of nowhere on a winter night. I remember pink cheeks that felt before they where seen; furtively coughing down pixie sticks while our mothers dinners gurgled in our bellies. Backstage, we were dancers of anticipation, moves mapped out on our bodies like a dance step card. School ties were loosened and tightened, blazers buttoned and unbuttoned, starched collars pried from our throats. We sat perched on rocking desks, legs swinging, lamenting our unpolished shoes, while excitement fled from tapping fingers.' (introduction)