Ballet's Bussell finds relief in corset
June 5, 2007 
World-famous ballerina Darcey Bussell has revealed that, towards the end of her career, she has had to find relief from the strain of the dance by wearing a corset.
At the end of her rehearsals for her last Royal Ballet shows, journalists at the Guardian noted that Ms Bussell had slipped into a therapeutic corset to take the strain off her spine.
Although most people are aware of the impact on a ballet dancer's feet, many may not realise the effect of the art on the back.
But Ms Bussell may not have to wear the corset for much longer as her performance of Kenneth MacMillan's Song of the Earth, which is based on Mahler's Der Abschied, will be her last show at Covent Garden.
Aside from the corset, the 38-year-old also makes a habit of heading off for a massage at the end of dance practice.
Bussell fans who are not lucky enough to have tickets for her final performance can catch the show live on BBC2. Ms Bussell will also be touring in the run-up to Christmas, but swapping her ballet slippers for tap shoes in shows with singer Katherine Jenkins, called Viva la Diva.
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