ABT did not reveal the circumstances around the injury, though Kirkland's role, Carabosse, involves fireworks, reports
The New York Times. She was brought to the emergency room at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital as a precaution after treatment by doctors from the company and the Met; upon her discharge, she went back to work. Kristi Boone stepped in for the remainder of the evening.
The performance, the last in ABT's current run of Sleeping Beauty, marked Kirkland's return to the stage after 23 years. Born in 1952, the American ballerina spent a decade beginning in 1974 with ABT, dancing frequently with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolf Nureyev.