Ballet Summer Intensive was intense! Is she injured?

So my daughter just finished her four week long ballet summer intensive program at her studio. She danced everyday for 9 hours!  She set three main goals for herself- to be able to do 32 fouettes, to get a 6 o'clock ponche and to eat healthy.  She documented herself everyday by video so she would be able to see her progress.  I hope she posts the videos on youtube soon so I can post them here too.  She did get her 32 fouettes and by weird coincidence, she got to do the Paquita piece that included 32 fouettes for the Summer Intensive Showcase on stage.  She came very close to getting a perfect ponche and every day she had grapefruit for breakfast; salad, a piece of fruit and a nutrition bar for lunch; and a normal dinner.  She worked her tail off during those four weeks and also learned a lesson about not over doing it.  She did sooo many fouettes everyday (that's all she did during her "breaks") that the day before the showcase her ankle and Achilles began bothering her.  At first she didn't admit it to me, but I could just see it on her face that something was hurting her.  I asked to see the video she took of herself that day and when she was doing her fouettes, during some of them her standing heel wasn't going all the way down on the floor as it should.  Then I remember her telling me that the night before during evening class her legs gave out during jumps ( I bet her heels weren't all the way on the ground then either).  She was so freaked out because she has never had an injury before (knock on wood) and I was scared she would permanently injure herself since she pushes too hard sometimes and doesn't know when to take it easy.  She said that she would see how it felt during class and then decide what to do.  I was nervous that she might totally biff it on stage and injure herself even more.  Anyway, right before her performance I got an amazing email from the Ballet Mistress of the ballet company and I called her right away with the news knowing that this would help her forget about her Achilles.  It worked and she ended up doing 32 perfect fouettes on the other leg.  Funny that she was able to do them and so well since she had been practicing for four weeks on the other leg!  The audience clapped after she did eight, but I didn't because I was holding my breath.  After she landed the last one I released my breath and clapped in relief.  I hope she learned her lesson of not overdoing it!

ballet pictures mommy ballerina and ballet mom; nutcracker 2 generations

Me wtih my daughter as Clara in The Nutcracker 2010.  She was 14 in this picture and it was her second year dancing the role of Clara.  What a lucky mom I am!

My daughter, me and my son

Me as Clara in The Nutcracker when I was 15 years old. 

Me holding my daughter during Swan Lake when I was a cygnet and Neopolitan.  My mom brought her to the theater so I could nurse her.  The next day I ended up in the emergency room since I got dehydrated from all the intense dancing.  That was the hardest ballet I ever danced and also my favorite!  My daughter was about 10 months old in this picture.  The cool thing is that this year, 2011 and about 15 years later, my daughter got pulled in at the last minute to dance as a swan!  I was so proud I could hardly see her on stage through my tears!!

My daughters new video

My daughter just created a new video called "ballet- the definition of dance" that I think is great and I think it has a positive vibe to it.  The response we got from it being on youtube inspired me to create this blog.  We have been posting ballet videos for the past 6 years and have come to conclude that there are snobby dancers who think ballet is all about having the perfect body and being able to do amazing tricks, and then there are the ones like us that aren't born with the stick-figure ballet body, but who just love dance and everything about it.  That's why I've decided to create this blog.  I would like this to be a place where dancers and fans of dance can talk about he positive aspects of dance since the dance world can get so full of negative vibes.