Day 51

Ask which is the most painful ballet to dance and the women are unanimous: Swan Lake. With its endless pas de bourrés - running tiptoe on the spot - and the chorus appearing in all four acts, there is no let-up. "Doing it in the round at the Royal Albert Hall is a killer," says Harrington, "because it's such a huge stage to run around." The intensity of the steps means that as soon as you stop, cramp floods your legs and feet. Try that eight times a week and your feet swell so much you have to ice them just to be sure of getting them back into your shoes. Dance of the Cygnets? More like Murder on the Dancefloor.

Cheers again Sally for the original headgear. Star XX