As always if you're up for more dance, diabetes and sparkles check out my full blog at A Diabetic Ballerina
This Saturday Sanspointe began more rehearsals for it's special 10th anniversary outdoor performance located at Railroad park. One of the dancers asked our artistic director Rhea, for a really difficult dance and so Rhea delivered! We began working in the studio with a fast paced dance including turns, flips and jumps. We all started sweating in the heat of the studio but I was having a great time.
My pump has an alarm on it to check 1 hour after I bolus. I like to see how I peak after meals so I have some information for my endo. So my alarm went off to me to check and surprise surprise, my blood sugar had sharply dropped to 58. I felt so confused. I felt fine. I was picking up complicated choreography and my balance was great. Rhea asked me if I needed water and I told her I needed a glucose gel. I was in good spirits so she decided to pull out the line "Juice is better" from Steel Magnolias. The whole company chuckled and I laughed myself. We are in the south after all.
An action shot of me flipping over my shoulder!
I downed my glucose gel (which is made by my friend Ethan. Check out his website here!!) and knew that it contained the right amount of glucose to keep me safe. Since I was feeling fine I decided to keep going with rehearsal and within a few minutes everything was back to normal. I quickly transitioned back from a diabetic having a low back to a dancer in rehearsal. Another dancer in the company is also a nurse and asked me what my number was. When I told her she made a face and went “oh dear”. It’s nice to know that when I’m low I have a nurse and an understanding, compassionate director.
Later on, we went outside the studio to practice the new piece of work on the stage that we would be performing it on. Railroad park is a large, gorgeous park located in downtown Birmingham. Our stage is a massive raked stage on the grass. The grass made the turns difficult but it made doing flips and jumps much more fun. I tried out new and risky movements that I had never done before. Nothing like a little fear to make you feel alive.
More rehearsals and photos will be coming up! If you are planning in being in the Birmingham area in October I would love to see you in the audience. For performance information check out our website!!
-Exit Stage Left