Getting old sucks!

It's a truism that getting old sucks. The problem is that the only alternative to aging doesn't seem that attractive to me.

Yes, I know, it's been a year and a half since I updated this blog. I'm still taking ballet classes. Two years ago I was taking as many as four classes a week. But that was causing an increasing number of issues like tendonitis, so I backed down to two classes a week. For quite a while that seemed like a sustainable number.

Then, in early February of this year, I went to do a simple grand plié during barre. Something felt off. At the bottom of the plié it felt like I had something soft behind my knee, like a pillow, that was preventing it from bending as much as it usually did. There was no noticeable swelling and it didn't hurt, but it limited the depth of my plié in both first and fifth. I figured I might have not gotten enough warm-up before class or something. It didn't seem to affect me other than in class.

Bilateral Achilles Tendinitis

© Mayo Foundation

That's what the doctor says is causing the pain in my heels. Per the Mayo Clinic website:

Achilles tendinitis is caused by repetitive or intense strain on the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects your calf muscles to your heel bone. This tendon is used when you walk, run, jump or push up on your toes.

Cuz ballet dancers don't jump or push up on their toes, right?

My First Nutcracker

First a question for Nutcracker veterans: how long before the music stops playing in your head?

In addition to rehearsals, I watched rehearsal videos repeatedly to fix the timing of my (small) role in my head. In quiet moments I still hear it playing. A friend of mine who grew up dancing in The Nutcracker year after year told me she still hears it.

The Nutcracker claims another dancer

The Nutcracker may have claimed another dancer: one of the professionals suffered a sprained ankle during rehearsal this weekend. 

Maybe pointe shoes should come with a warning label?