DANZ QUARTERLY Issue No 14 -- January, February, March 29009
Time to Heal
By Nicola Muir
Four years ago, Christchurch-based dancer Erica Viedma sustained a dramatic injury, which almost ended her dancing career.
Erica was touring with Michael Parmenter when the injury occurred: “It was during the opening night in Wellington, right at the end of ‘Jerusalem’, when I felt something go. I wasn’t sure what was going on and had to crawl off stage.”
Erica was told by the A and E department that her foot was broken and would take six weeks to heal.
However, weeks later, the injury had not improved. In Christchurch, it was identified that she had a Lis Franc fracture, which meant there was bone debris everywhere in her foot and that an operation was vital. Erica was told to take a year off with the warning that she might never be able to dance again, let alone walk without pain.
This came as a huge blow; the night Erica went into surgery was the opening night of Michael’s work in Christchurch. “‘Jerusalem’ was the reason I started dancing. I really wanted to come back and perform the piece in front of my family.”
This was Erica’s first major injury. “I felt pretty shattered, like my body had betrayed me. After four years of dancing full-time I felt I was at my physical peak.”
After the accident, one of the worst aspects for Erica was the feeling of guilt that she had let down the company. Erica remembers trying to teach her role to an understudy but couldn’t because she was unable to put any weight on her foot.
During her recovery period, Erica found it tough not doing something creative with her body; she even started re-learning the violin to keep herself active. Eventually she and her husband decided to have a baby, which Erica admits was the best thing she could have done as it forced her to have a whole year off movement. Without being pregnant she confesses she would have returned to the studio sooner.
“Overall, it was such a humbling experience, going from feeling that ‘I’m the bees knees’ and being offered different dance work to aqua jogging in the pool with a load of nannas!”
In February 2006, her first son Jordi was born; after his birth Erica soon took classes again. Oddly she found walking and running painful, but dancing was a joy: “The first dance class I did was like heaven – it felt so good. I took a class with Fleur de Thier. She introduced me to contemporary dance so it felt like coming home, coming back to my roots.”
Erica feels the ordeal has changed her view of dancing for the better. “I now think: how can my whole body support the movement? – rather than just focusing on how I can move higher and faster. I am now less egotistical with my dancing.”
Although there are two large scars on her foot and there’s an occasional dull ache, Erica doesn’t think about the injury any more and sees it as just being a part of who she is. Dancing full-time contracts from time to time, alongside teaching part-time at the Hagley Dance College, Christchurch, Erica is still very much involved in the dancing world.
Some advice Erica would like to give injured dancers is not to be afraid of ceasing dance for a while and taking time to recover properly. She advises acknowledging that there are other aspects of life that can feed into your work. Mostly, Erica feels she has learnt to listen to her body a lot more: “Before I was too blinded by trying to emulate being the best dancer – rather than being what my body truly is.”
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