My Blog

18
Feb
2013
Stories from Tour - Washington DC ~ As a young ballet student one of the things I looked forward to the most about the career I was working toward was the chance to perform around the world. The idea of travelling to exciting cities and dancing in front of new audiences in beautiful theatres sounded so glamorous. I heard stories of The National Ballet of Canada leaving on tours that lasted weeks across Europe, Asia, and the United S...
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11
Dec
2012
Diary of an Injury Part 5 - The Comeback ~ I awoke in a panic. The dream, although full of ridiculous events, had seemed so real. I dreamt it was my first show back from injury, and due to various crazy occurrences I was a half hour late for curtain up and not in the right costume or warmed up. It doesn't take a genius to analyze that one!   It was coming down to the moment of truth. I had started back at rehearsal on October...
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08
Oct
2012
Diary of an Injury Part 4 - Getting (Ballet) Specific ~ Since last I wrote, I have had some much appreciated breakthroughs with my healing. I am no longer wearing my brace, I almost have full range of motion, and the swelling has decreased enough to allow my muscles to start firing properly. I have also gained strength in my injured leg, and  it is now almost as strong as my healthy one. I have also suffered a big disappointment. In a week and a...
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16
Sep
2012
Diary of an Injury Part 3 - Mind Games ~ The mental aspect of injury is more difficult than the physical. It is the mind that dictates how successful a recovery is, and there are so many daemons that can derail that success. I have seen fellow dancers recover badly from an injury not because their bodies did not heal, but because they were never able to get over their mental hurdles. Having seen this happen, the first time I had a major ...
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22
Aug
2012
Diary of an Injury Part 2 - Staying Strong ~ I am happy to report that I have been given a new knee brace that allows for a little more movement. It blocks how much I can bend my knee, but after 2 weeks in a full leg brace that kept my knee completely straight I’ll take it. The reason for the restriction was explained to me on Wednesday Aug 8th by orthopedic surgeon Dr Ogilvy-Harris. Apparently the small ligaments that would have torn ...
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08
Aug
2012
Diary of an Injury Part 1 - What happened? ~ On Friday July 27th I dislocated my kneecap. It happened at the end of the first rehearsal of the day in the last 2 minutes. There was only about 16 barres of music left to go. According to my osteopath Penny Flemming it was a fluke, as I wasn’t doing anything really strenuous or a range of motion that I had never done before, and I was in shape even though it was only the Ballet’s fir...
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07
Jul
2012
Me? Give Advice? ~ A few months ago I received an email from the Student Council President at the National Ballet School. She asked me if I would be willing to give a speech at the upcoming graduation ceremony for the class of 2012. I was honoured to be asked, but also shocked that I have been away from the school for long enough to be asked to deliver some words of wisdom. After getting over the fact that it has be...
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13
May
2012
Feast or Famine ~ One of my favorite things about working in a large ballet company is the diversity of repertoire. The National Ballet of Canada will be dancing Sleeping Beauty or Swan Lake or Giselle and then switch to something like Crystal Pyte’s Emergence or Wayne MacGregor’s Chroma and excel in both. I love the challenge of this and the fact that my schedule is ever changing. The down side however...
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06
May
2012
LA Bound ~ This blog was originally posted on the National Ballet website in mid April. After a successful tour to Ottawa with John Neumeier’s “The Seagull”, in which I was so happy to dance the role of Nina once more with Keiichi Hirano as a wonderful Kostya, I boarded a flight Sunday for sunny Los Angeles. I have to admit I was feeling very “Hollywood” because I was being flow...
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07
Apr
2012
What a Month!!! ~ The month of March was one of my busiest of my career. Actually, I suppose the work began in January with all the rehearsals leading up to the March performances. I had been working hard to come back from an ankle injury that took me out of the November and Nutcracker seasons. It is a very difficult experience being injured filled with anxiety, frustration, obviously pain, guilt, and sadness. On t...
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