"I have been assured by one who knows that we need to have a bit of this stagefright because it actually helps the performance..."

wrong...

" if you aren't a little bit nervous you may not be concentrating as much. You can bet your boots that the day you don't feel the nerves will be the day that you're not bothered how the performance is going to come out. "

And wrong again...

There is a big difference between stage fright and pregig excitement! I've NEVER been afraid of being in front of a crowd, whether it be acting, folking, dance or whatever...

Excited? Absolutely!