The Day I Got Famous In Changsha – My Best Day In China| 3 min read

Forgetting to tell my school leader that I actually suffer from a terrible stage-freight, was such a bad idea. Today, after about 1 month of using all my lunch-breaks for practicing, I would find myself on a big stage in a Middle-school in Changsha doing not only one, but two performances in front of an audience of about 1000 people or maybe more (counting in how all the videos will be showed).

It is ironic that none of my 1500 students have yet learned how to pronounce my name, Mikkel, correctly and consistently call me Mickey, since I will now be playing Mickey Mouse in my first performance, no jokes, pure truth. As a part of the whole “look-we-have-foreign-teachers” presentation at the Shazitang Education Group in Changsha.

I was asked very politely if I wanted to help the school by joining the performance along with two other interns. I accepted without hesitation and I recommended Michael and Sara to join us since Sara actually knows how to Dance and Michael is the one that everyone finds cute.

The day started out hectic, meeting at the school gate at 7 to get breakfast and do our first rehearsal. Michael had fallen in to the stress was up trying to find a replacement. We did, and off we went to practice at the stage with the costumes that we had only just found yesterday. I was, in all honesty, anxious to see how I would be able to dance with a giant Mickey Mouse head bouncing on my shoulders. But the rehearsal went fine and I was all set and ready to go.

Because I am also a photographer, after the morning practice I would find myself in one of the school’s activity rooms along about 70 girls, aged 6-12, getting ready for the show. I kindly walked out as they all changed dresses and came back in when it was time for the make-up. The schedule was hectic and everyone was working their hardest to get ready for the big performance this afternoon.

At 1:20 we left the school bound for the Middle School again, this time arriving to a big hall full of people. Sneaking around the back to the stage was fun trying to be quiet with 50 girls running behind you and wearing a giant head! Then, standing on the stage in the final seconds before I have to appear, the stage-freight kicks in. Now or never, here we go!

As we all enter the stage, I can hear people laughing because we are dressed funny and it was such a relief that they like us even before we start dancing. The first performance went perfect, my second performance as the Big Bad Wolf went just as good and everyone has been praising me all day. So fun, so cool, a day I will never forget!