I'd like to start with a BIG thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes when Zoe was born. Thank you! Zoe's birth was a much more pleasant experience (compared to all the traumas that accompanied Phoebe's arrival) than I'd expected: I hadn't realized how nice childbirth could be! And it was wonderful to be able to take her home so soon. Zoe is a great baby and has started sleeping through the night. Angus and I are blessed to have two wonderful, healthy daughters.
The last six months have obviously been very busy, but I have managed to get out once in a while. Last December I made it to the opening of Johan Persson's photographic exhibition at the National Theatre. His prints looked fantastic blown up - and I hope you enjoyed reading his interview on this site. I also took Phoebe to a stage rehearsal of Cinderella just before Christmas. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience of sitting in the auditorium in the dark and was fascinated by every aspect of the show: the lights, the orchestra and the dancing - despite some problems with the staging at that time, which meant a few stops. Phoebe has now designed her own little stage in the kitchen and puts on her own dance shows for us! (She 'does' dance at her Nursery.) We even have stage directions for opening and closing the curtains - and then, of course, there's rest time for dancers! (It's very important for dancers to rest and put our feet up.) Now, when I'm leaving for work in the morning, Phoebe tells me not to forget my ballet shoes.
I'm very excited about being back at work, although it means I've got to be really, really organized at home. It seems such a long time since I danced! Watching Igor Zelensky's show at the Royal Albert Hall in April - especially Apollo - made me realize that it was a year to the day since I'd danced Apollo and Raymonda, my last shows. I do, however, feel like a new person now. I have no worries about my ankle at all, which is great. Before the surgery, my ankle was so bad that I was unable to do very much jumping in class (because of the pain when I landed). That made some of my shows hard and I really had to pace myself. To build stamina you need to be able to push yourself in class, especially with jumps. It does seem amazing that dancers can continue to dance for such a long time when they're in pain. You can actually get so used to it that you don't even think about it.
At work I've been doing Pilates and coaching so far, taking it slowly for now! My coaching just now can be described as Nursery for ballet dancers- but it's the only way to get your body ready for the stage. I'm doing very simple, basic technique: co-ordinating arms and legs seems to be the hardest part just now. I'm concentrating so much on legs that I have to remind myself what position my arms should be in! They say ballet is like riding a bike - once you've learnt, you never forget. I hope this is true! However, I do think it's going to be slightly easier to come back a second time. After all, I've already done it once, so I know what to expect. I did have doubts after my first pregnancy, but now, knowing it's possible, I have a different focus.
I'm extremely pleased I'll be able to dance at the end of this season on tour in New York. I'm scheduled to do the Birthday Offering pas de deux with Johnny (Cope) and the Awakening pas de deux with Inaki (Urlezaga). It will feel strange to be making my comeback away from my home stage, but this gives me the chance to break myself in gently ... though I'll still need to get into shape and build up my stamina before then. I need to rehearse something like In the Middle - which would really push me and build up stamina - but I think I'll probably start with Sylvia, in preparation for next season. I'm excited about next season's ballets. I will also be performing with the Royal Ballet in Paris at the end of September in a joint Gala with the Paris Opera Ballet at the Palais Garnier.
Later on this year Coalport are releasing another figurine in their collection, Cinderella, which should be released around December. I'm also doing a photoshoot for Marks and Spencer in June for their new range of Fitness Wear (another reason to get back into shape quickly).
Thank you again to everyone who has sent cards, letters and gifts to me at the Opera House; I really appreciate your support. Sorry for the delay in replying to some of them - I am still working my way slowly through the pile, so if you haven't heard from me yet, you will soon. Thanks also for the comments regarding this site.
I hope you enjoyed the newsletter. Please come back again to see what I have been up to.
Enjoy your dance.
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