The last couple of weeks before the show are always stressful. So many things are coming together, and we’re introduced to a lot of new things all at once- sets, costumes, stage, lighting and sometimes even people. No matter how hard you worked before this, these last two weeks are always the hardest.

One of the many trials that we have to deal with is introducing two new characters into the ballet. One of them is Von Rothbart, who we’ve actually been planning for even though he won’t be showing up until Thursday. The second is a minor part, who is only in one scene. He’s already been to a rehearsal though, and he seems to know what he’s doing, so there shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

This inserting of new people at the last minute was at least semi-planned and is common at our studio. We often have to pull people from other places, and not all of them are able to just come down and rehearse whenever. However, there are other things that, although we can try to plan for them, will completely blind side us. One of these things is Radie twisting her ankle.

Radie is one of the people I dance with the most in Swan Lake. She, along with Katy and me, is a princess and a cygnet. Halfway through rehearsal on Saturday, she limped off our makeshift stage in the middle of a dance and collapsed as soon as she was out of the way of the other dancers. By the time the dance was over, our director was examining her already swollen and bruised ankle. He refused to let her stand on it for the rest of the day. She wasn’t able to get into a doctor until Monday afternoon, so we don’t know whether or not she’s going to be able to perform. Although Radie has understudies, our director called in his sister to come learn Radie’s parts, because the understudies are too tall and they all have other parts.

It’s extremely nerve-wracking, but all we can do is hope for the best. No matter what happens in these next two weeks, the show must go on.