Boomers raise the barre

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You don’t have to be young, わずかな／ほっそりした and supple to learn to dance. The Silver Swans programme is helping over-55s spread their wings, says Jan Masters.

When Angela Rippon 成し遂げるd those standing 分裂（する）s on the first live show of this year’s 厳密に, a sofa-seated nation gasped. How does anyone do that so gracefully and effortlessly…特に when they’re 79??

Angela Rippon with a flock of silver swan ダンサーs

The answer lies partly in the 星／主役にする’s lifelong devotion to ballet. So when Rippon watched 200 Silver Swans from all over Europe flock to the 王室の 学院 of Dance (RAD) in London this October, she 述べるd the celebrati on as a ‘joy to behold’. The Silver Swans programme 申し込む／申し出s ballet classes to a 全世界の community of over-55s, 関わりなく their ability or experience, and Rippon is its 外交官／大使.?

Don’t panic! Silver Swans (or Boomer Ballet, as some like to call it) aren’t 推定する／予想するd to 遂行する／発効させる anything so 前進するd. In fact, you won’t be 推定する／予想するd to have any dance background at all, although if you’ve had some training, even if you were ten at the time, that’s 罰金, too. It was my childhood experience of ballet that 説得するd me to 下落する a pointed toe 支援する into the water later in life.?

Recently, ballet’s 人気 has 殺到するd の中で older adults. In 2017 the RAD, one of the world’s most 影響力のある ballet-education and teacher-training 団体／死体s, created Silver Swans to 安全に teach students 老年の 55-加える. There are now over 1,000 certified teachers, operating in more than 50 countries.?

From the age of six to 16, I …に出席するd classes above the Co-op in the 郊外の village of New Haw, Surrey, run by the formidable Mrs Gray, with Mrs Bungard on the piano. Each year an examiner from the RAD would descend from London, sit at a felt-topped （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and （犯罪の）一味 a little bell to beckon me into the hall, scribbling 公式文書，認めるs as she scrutinised my pli?s and pirouettes.?

I did 井戸／弁護士席 but threw in the legwarmers when the fifth-form boys peered through the window and sniggered. I was silly to pack it in and later I regretted it. Which is why one Christmas, when I was in my 40s, living 単独の in Sutton and touched by the 霜d fabulousness of Nutcracker season, I pulled on my ballet slippers and gave it another go.?

Now I’m 61, and I’ve taken さまざまな classes ever since. For me, they tick many b oxes. First, as the gym leaves me 冷淡な, dance keeps me in 形態／調整. I’m nowhere 近づく as supple as Ms Rippon, but the 演習s help build muscle strength and 柔軟性 whatever your level. Teachers also 申し込む／申し出 workarounds if you have a dodgy 膝 or a stiff shoulder.?

Second, I find ballet 安心させるing, maybe because its 創立／基礎s are built on a 一連の 根底となる steps ? the same steps I learned as a kid above the Co-op. They form a 全世界の／万国共通の language, so while they can 連合させる in any number of simple or 複雑にするd ways, you could go to a basic ballet class anywhere in the world and pretty much follow it. And even if nobody knew each other, you’d all have that in ありふれた.?

Angela with Kai Widdrington on 厳密に Come Dancing

It’s meditative, too, as it 要求するs 焦点（を合わせる）. You must watch and listen to the teacher intently, so you’re 軍隊d to leave your worries at the studio door. And after enjoying the freedom of moving across the 床に打ち倒す to such uplifting piano music, whether it’s Tchaikovsky or a classical rendition of ‘注目する，もくろむ of the Tiger’ (信用 me, it happens), you might clean forget to 選ぶ them up on your way out.?

Then there are the people. 明確に 非，不，無 of us is of an age or 基準 to be cast as Odette at the 王室の オペラ House, which makes room for fun. It 事柄s not a 手早く書き留める what you do ? or did ? for a living. Your gender is irrelevant. Your 形態／調整 is, too. As for age, it’s immaterial, if you love to dance. Which is why there have been many times in my life that ballet has kept me fit, sane and connected.?

One of the schools I’ve been to most is Ballet4Life in Chiswick, which celebrates its 20th 周年記念日 next year. The 創立者 is Donna Schoenherr, who trained in New York and 成し遂げるd professionally with companies such as the Cleveland Ballet, before moving to the UK. In 2004, after the birth of her son, she had a dream to 申し込む／申し出 ballet to all ages: proper tuition in proper studios.?

By 2011, older community members were 開始 up to her. ‘Many told me they’d love to try it but felt they’d be too embarrassed standing と一緒に reed-わずかな／ほっそりした youngsters. Or wearing tights,’ says Schoenherr. She 工夫するd a 50-加える class, no special hosiery 要求するd. It was, and still is, a big success.?

Likewise, RAD’s 率先 was a 返答 to 需要・要求する, 同様に as 研究 from its Dance for Lifelong Wellbeing 事業／計画（する）. ‘Ballet organisations have 供給するd classes for older learners for many years,’ says Gia Gray, 長，率いる of dance school at the RAD. ‘What is changing is the perception of ballet. It is seen as more accessible to 円熟した beginners. This, with the growing 焦点（を合わせる） on health and wellbeing, is why it’s becoming popular.’?

Schoenherr agrees. ‘There are so many 利益s: 改善するd balance, 調整, strength. It also sharpens mental acuity as you have to remember the steps. And it gets the endorphins going. My ダンサーs also feel more 権力を与えるd as they’re embracing their physicality and realising they can expre ss themselves without judgment. It’s lovely.’??

研究 shows dancing is associated with greater longevity and 質 of life. One 熟考する／考慮する showed that people over 40 who took part in 正規の／正選手 dancing for over a １０年間 (any dance that gets you sweaty and out of breath) almost halved their 危険 of dying from cardiovascular 病気, compared to 非，不，無-ダンサーs. In another 熟考する／考慮する, dancing a few times a week bestowed a 76 per cent lower 危険 of dementia.??

Ballet goes to the 最高の，を越す. Queen Camilla is a Silver Swan and sent a message to Rippon and the ダンサーs. ‘As a 充てるd, if わずかに creaky, Silver Swan myself, I very much 手配中の，お尋ね者 to send you my warmest wishes for a wonderful day of fellowship and fun, celebrating the 抱擁する 利益s that ballet has brought to our lives. To borrow a 引用する… Keep Dancing!” Or, if you’ve never tried ballet before, I’d 追加する, ‘Enter 行う／開催する／段階 権利 and give it a try.’

?得る，とらえる your slippers and get started

★ Silver Swans is a trademark of the RAD and its classes are 配達するd 排他的に by Silver Swans Licensees who have trained to adapt ballet techniques 安全に for older adults. These operate in over 50 countries (and growing) around the world.

★ Classes are for both novice and experienced ダンサーs, with the age of 55-加える a guide, not a rigid 支配する.

★ Silver Swans teachers do not follow a syllabus; their training means they not only understand 安全な practice but can adapt lessons for a diverse class.

★ You will need a pair of ballet slippers (flats). There’s no need to sew on 略章s as they come with elastic.

★ There is no 始める，決める ‘uniform’, although you must be able to move 自由に. The RAD has dancewear on its website specifi cally designed for Silver Swans.

★ Find a Silver Swans class 近づく you or online at atroyalacademyofdance.org/ dance-with-us

★ Many ballet schools and professional companies 申し込む／申し出 classes for older and/or inexperienced ダンサーs within their communities, so it’s always 価値（がある） doing your own 研究.