Playing like a 400-pound gorilla

Right now I'm working on a duet with my piano teacher to play in a recital coming up soon. It's called the Grand Finale, and it's supposed to be loud, fast, and dramatic. I love fast show-offy pieces, but it usually takes a bit of prodding from my teacher to get me to sink into the keys and play with the confidence needed to really make the piece. Today my teacher told me that holding back some energy for the very end of the song and then pounding the audience with sound would have a better impact and surprise them that two women could produce such a big sound. When she said this, I realized that when it comes to recitals, girls at my school don't typically go for very loud songs and are kind of expected to pick other songs (and some female voice student always sings "On My Own"). Girls aren't expected to make tons of noise and boys aren't expected to sing ballads, which is kind of a bummer when you think about the limits it places on kids musically. I am thus more motivated to play like the 400-pound gorilla my teacher wants and to set a very loud example for the younger girls at the recital.