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Is there a doctor in the house? How well would your company handle an emergency?

Article Excerpt
Is There a Doctor in the House? In the picture-perfect world of theatrical dance, spectators don't expect to hear that question called out from the stage. Imagine the surprise of performers and audience alike when a principal dancer collapsed onstage two-and-one-half-hours into a performance of Pacific Northwest Ballet's Cinderella in March of 2002. Two physicians and a nurse in the audience responded, hurrying backstage to check on the fallen dancer. Also found was a prince to finish the performance. While a CPR-certified physical therapist administered first aid backstage, the new lead couple quickly discussed their impending unrehearsed performance. The company continued, repeating the final pas de deux.

Says Olivier Wevers, the prince who came to the rescue, "It was ah amazing moment. We were all nervous but we knew what to do: 'The show must go on.'"

Emergencies are an ever-present, if uncommon, risk in dance. The types of emergencies range from ah accident on the stage to ah acute episode of a pre-existing medical condition to the rupture of ah Achilles tendon.

Dancer choreographer Dan Wagoner, who teaches at Connecticut College, recalls ripping his foot on a protruding iron nail in the floor when dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company in Samson Agonistes in 1961. Paul Taylor and Martha...

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