Dizzy and I were very lucky to have a very exciting opportunity recently. From the beginning of November, the MS Society was involved in a partnership with the Royal Ballet, where a group of individuals with MS came together from all over the country to create a ballet performance that would illustrate the hardships, turning points, and hopes that come with MS. The starting point was Cathy Marston’s beautiful ballet called ‘The Cellist’, which illustrates the story of Jacqueline du Pre, a world-renowned cellist, who was unable to continue with her career after her diagnosis of MS at 27.
This took part as a residency at the Royal Opera House every week on a Wednesday morning, which Dizzy loved, as she sees herself as a very Royal Donkey. And although Dizzy says she is a highly skilled ballet donkey dancer, it is something I have never thought myself able to do. I knew it was something I wanted to take part in, as I love watching dance and being creative, but I was apprehensive as I had attended one ballet class about 5 years ago, which made me so tired, that it took me 2 days to recover from.
I did not need to worry though, as even though it still took me days to recover from each week, from the first week, we were encouraged to work at our own level, whilst also exploring the life of Jacqueline du Pre and our own experiences with MS. It was wonderful to meet so many amazing individuals and learn about their different stories. It meant over the weeks, we were able to create a ballet performance that was entirely unique to us, that involved movement both seated (a lot of lovely seated) and standing.
At the end of the residency, we performed our piece in the Paul Hamlyn Hall to an audience of 300 people. It was amazing, and I hope people were able to see that MSers are actively a part of our community, and that a diagnosis does not change our ability to create something amazing. It has also taught me, that with a bit of bravery, MS doesn’t mean that you can’t do something completely new (it just may involve a lot of extra naps). 🙂 xxxx
What a great opportunity. I have always found the story of Jacqueline du Pre’s MS unbelievably sad and I don’t think I would like to relive it in ballet. I always think how lucky we are to have effective DMTs and how she might have survived so much longer with our advantages.
It was sad to visit her story, but also beautiful. We danced to her music, and it was lovely to celebrate her amazing work. xx I also feel very lucky to have the DMTs available that we now do. It always shocks me how little was available only 30 or so years ago. xxx
This is amazing! 🤩