It doesn’t claim to make me a higher power – but it does make me look fantastic and feel great. At the risk of offending Private Eye, ballet has to be the new yoga – and I can see myself doing it when I’m 60.”‘New York City Ballet Workout 2′ (Palm Pictures, £12.99)’Ballet helps change your body shape’* Ballet is suitable for everyone at beginner level – but it is vital to find a good teacher who can accommodate your needs. For classes in your area, call the Council for Dance, Education and Training on 09018 800 014.* Ballet increases flexibility and lengthens limbs, using all muscle groups. It also improves core stability – the key to preventing back pain.* Rather than being a quick fat-burner, ballet tones and strengthens muscles. “It helps change the shape of your body,” says Maggie Paterson, ballet teacher at Pineapple Dance Studios in London.* “You need strength to dance, so it’s important that you eat well,” says Chris Thomson, director of learning and access at The Place, the London-based centre for dance. “Lots of pasta, fruit and vegetables – ballet’s about having a positive attitude to your body,” adds Thomson.Kate Haffenden.

Paul d’Auria shouldn’t be around. Twelve years ago he heard the worst possible news from his oncologist: a rare chest cancer he’d been treated for the previous year had returned He had, said the doctor, between six and 12 months to live. For Paul and his family it was, of course, an appalling blow. He was 32 years old, a commercials director with a handful of accolades and the promise of a fruitful career. Three years before, he’d married Caroline, with whom he’d worked at the BBC, and they’d recently had their first child, Charlie In short, he had everything to live for.

To everyone who knew them, the news seemed too cruel for words

Paul d’Auria shouldn’t be around. But he didn’t look ill: in fact, he looked one of the healthiest people on the street He didn’t look, or sound, like a “cancer victim”, either. Paul d’Auria was a man who was dying of a disease that didn’t frighten him. In fact, his attitude has always been the same: he sticks up a metaphorical two fingers at the condition which has ravaged his body.