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<\/p>\nDizzy 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\u2019s beautiful ballet called \u2018The Cellist\u2019, 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.<\/p>\n
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This\u00a0 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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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\u00a0 lot of lovely seated) and standing.<\/p>\n
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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). ![\"🙂\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/72x72\/1f642.png\")
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The post A Royal Balleting Dizzy<\/a> appeared first on Dinosaurs, Donkeys and MS<\/a>.<\/p>\n