Amber realises dancing dream
13 year old Amber, a keen dancer, had her wish granted to visit The Royal Ballet and have a dance class there.
Amber, from Southampton, was diagnosed last year with Rhabdomyosarcoma – a cancerous tumour of the muscles – and endured a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy which caused her to lose her hair. Even more upsetting was that she became too weak to dance; she has been a dancer since the age of three and before being diagnosed danced four or five times a week.
When the day of her wish arrived, Amber was picked up from her London hotel and taken by limousine to the stage door of the Royal Opera House, where she was met by Assistant Ballet Mistress Sian Murphy, and whisked off to her very own dressing room!
Once she had her leotard and ballet pumps on, Amber was treated to a special dance class led by the Ballet Mistress, Ursula Hageli, before having the chance to watch a stage rehearsal of The Nutcracker. Amber had the rare opportunity to sit in the wings for the first act but chose to move to the auditorium for the rest of the production as she had never been to the Royal Opera House before and was enjoying the chance to see the view that the audience has. She was also introduced to the rehearsal cast and given a pair of pointe ballet shoes by Principal Dancer Sarah Lamb, who had danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the rehearsal.
Mum Jackie said: “It was just lovely to watch Amber dance, as she hasn’t been able to for so long. Everyone made her feel really special! Something like this affects the whole family so it was really nice to have the opportunity to spend some quality time together.”
Ballet Mistress Ursula Hageli told us: “It was a delight to meet Amber and a real pleasure to teach her. She really held her own with the professional dancers in the ballet class with her. We hope she enjoyed her special wish as much as we all enjoyed having her with us for the day.”
Many thanks to all at The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera House for their help with Amber’s wish.
