| | Posted by Anne Marie

We’ve all seen it…

You’re in one of the final run-throughs of an upcoming production when suddenly someone gets hurt. Everyone and everything stops, people rush to help and find out how serious it is, get ice, offer ibuprofen for to slow swelling as it starts…

But this time, four weeks ago, it was me.
Now, I’ve sprained my ankle before, actually just over a year ago I rolled over the same ankle opening night of a performance, but nobody but my partner saw it and I finished the show (which ultimately made my injury worse of course, but it’s amazing what adrenaline will do). This time, everyone was there for our final in studio run-through of Taming of the Shrew which was opening 4 days later: Our Artistic and Associate Artistic Directors, Production Staff, Lighting Designer, Conductor and most of our Apprentices and Trainees. It was so surreal that at the time I couldn’t believe it was actually happening and was far too dramatic for my taste.

I was carried over to the side of the studio and set up with my leg elevated and packed with ice as someone set up my appointment with our Sports Doc. The run-through continued without me, starting with the section I had injured myself in, a Tavern scene with Petruchio (in this cast, my husband Paul) and two “Street Women”. Again, surreal, and definately not Paul’s favorite moment either.

Afternoon rehearsals were altered to fit in one of our apprentices, Mary LaCroix, into my corps parts and my understudy Beth Terwilleger into my “Street Women” sections and I headed to the doctor. I was diagnosed with a Grade II ATF sprain, and we took x-rays to make sure there were no hairline fractures, which was a concern because I heard some crunching when I rolled over my ankle, but my ankles are crunchy to begin with. But my x-rays came through completely clear. In reality, this was not a terrible injury, just terrible timing.

I was unable to perform at all the following weekend. Because of the nature of the work I was supposed to do in the three Act ballet, all the petite allegro and pointe work, I wasn’t able to get through it.

Luckily, I had amazing understudies. Mary LaCroix has been an apprentice with Ballet Austin for two years, was a trainee before that and is now heading to Nashville Ballet. Because of how Taming of the Shrew is structured, we don’t use our apprentices for it, so Mary had a rare opportunity. I’ve known Mary for four years now and the silver lining of my injury was that someone so wonderful could have this experience in her final weeks at Ballet Austin.

Beth Terwilleger is an amazing understudy. Half the time I’m dancing, so is she, so she really only saw what I was doing early in the rehearsal process but always goes over it, just in case. Because “just in case happens”, but Beth is not in anyway ever hoping something will happen. As the week progressed Beth (who is also one of my two dressing room buddies…) was always encouraging and hopeful I would be able to get out there, would ask me questions, referring to it as “our” part, not hers, she refused to claim it. And until it actually happens, you might think it’s such a small thing to be sensitive to, but I thought it was very revealing of Beth’s character and makes me only appreciate her more.

I’m mostly healed now, always a bit stiff and slow going in the morning, and still regularly going to physical therapy. But I’m dancing in our show next weekend, our final one of the season, and am finding myself more and more grateful that my injury was as simple as it was, and to learn more and more about my friends.

In my regular fashion, I used my photography habit as a means to maintaining my sanity over the weekend, here’s one of Mary in Taming of the Shrew:

And one of Beth:

For TONS more Taming photos, you can check them out at my Bloodygood Pictures galleries.