Six years ago today, on January 12, 2010, one of the most devastating earthquakes in history struck Haiti, a country that was already pinned as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Léogâne was its epicenter, a city just west of Haiti’s overcrowded capital, Port-au-Prince.

She sits on the left side of the stage, behind a thin wall next to the other contestants, clad in a soft yellow, floor-length dress with a matching scarf tied around her neck. She holds her hands clasped in her lap, her legs, ever so slightly, move to the beat of the music. The expression on her face suggests she is nervous, but I’m confident that will change once she claims the center of the stage.