Slides of Strength can be the greatest relief to a tired dancer, just take their word for it! 10 seconds off your feet with several hands massaging your aching body is a dancer’s little slice of paradise in the BJC — that is, if paradise tasted like baby powder.

But what about the masseuses who work tirelessly to make the dancer’s brief reprieve everything they imagined? We give you: nine things that go through a masseuses mind during slides of strength.

1.) Am I actually helping them?

A stranger just slid in front of you and are relying on you to give them the only relief they’ll get for the next several hours. So while your masquerading a massage with awkward squeezes you wonder: is this too hard, too soft, do they wish they slid just a few feet further to get out of my reach?

2.) I will never get all of this baby powder out of my hair.

Baby powder is a great slide conductor there’s no doubt about it. However, being stuck in a never ending smoke cloud that gets flared up at the passing of every dancer is not fun. That and powder is not a gas, it doesn’t keep floating, it’s a solid so it has to fall down at some point, and for some reason it thinks your hair is the perfect landing spot.

3.) Oh no, did I accidentally touch his/her butt?!

The pure panic of seeing your baby powder hand print on the behind of some dancer, who definitely felt you do it, is unmatched

4.) Why won’t more people slide to me?

If you’re near the end of the slide mat, chances are that not many people are even going to make it to you. This usually means that you’re in the prime shake off point. This is the point where dancers dust the baby powder off themselves, and in turn, onto you. (refer to number 3)

5.) I really want to draw in the powder.

The whole mat is basically a reverse chalk board just asking you to doodle or write your name in it.

6.) Why are some people so into this?

This is a situation where you can definitely tell the introverts from the extroverts. The introverts will be timidly squeezing a persons leg/arm/back while the extrovert will be the one giving a dancer a ‘noogie’ and massaging them to the max.

7.) Dancers, please, please, please don’t hurt each other.

The number of times a dancer almost collides with another is too many count. There are the side collisions, or the more dangerous, foot to head collision. Both are enough to keep you on edge of your seat, or make you cringe at what could have been.

8.) This is awkward.

You’re trying to pull off your random pinching and squeezing as a massage to a random stranger. A stranger that you can only hope won’t make eye contact with you when the 10 seconds are up.

9.) Can I go next?

Self explanatory.