Pirouetting pensioners – some aged in their 90s – have signed up to the new six-week ballet course to keep both their bodies and brains active.
The Silver Swans course is run by City of Bath College’s Adult Community Learning to promote active lifestyles among those over 65.
Traditional ballet moves help pensioners focus on flexibility, strength and balance.
Ballet teacher Kim Jones has modified many of the moves so that pensioners can remain seated or standing while using the backs of chairs for balance.
Weekly classes started this week at St. John’s Hospital sites in the city centre and at Combe Park, Weston.
At the age of 93, Dorothy Rotas is showing no signs of slowing down as she has returned for her second ballet course in just four months.
She said: “I’ve got a fractured femur and have a pin in my leg but that hasn’t stopped me.
“I just work my way through the moves very slowly and I’m always extra careful.
“It’s a fantastic course from the college. It’s fun and good exercise; I’d say it improves life in general.”
Ms Rotas admitted that pensioners doing ballet “did seem a bit weird at first” but she’s now hooked on learning more moves.
She said: “It’s quite addictive to learn new moves each week and then to put all the moves together in a sequence to music.
“Best of all learning ballet has made me stop and think about the way I move. I’m now more aware of whether I’m sitting or standing up straight. My movements have become more graceful and I’ve improved my posture.”
Maria Gees, 86, said she enjoyed re-living her childhood memories as she can recall going to ballet lessons when she was a little girl.
“It was more curiosity than anything else at first,” she said, “I wanted to see if ballet was as good as I remembered it.
“Now I’ve got the bug all over again. I practice the moves at home and I want to keep on doing it for as long as I can.
“I just love everything about it. I’d say people who don’t take up ballet are missing something in their lives. It makes me feel younger!”
Teacher Kim Jones, who runs K4Kim Dance, said: “It’s lovely to see older people doing ballet; they are a pleasure to teach.
“These classes prove that anyone can do ballet, whatever their age. I’d say older people are actually more determined than the younger ones. They are so enthusiastic and put so much effort into each move.
“You can really see how it improves their posture, strength and balance. They also really concentrate on what they are doing so it keeps both the body and brain active.”
Anna Ferguson, Activities and Volunteer Co-ordinator at St John’s Hospital, said: “St John’s Hospital is delighted to be working in partnership with City of Bath College to enable older people to take part in learning opportunities and connect with their local community.”
City of Bath College is a further education college in the heart of Bath, offering courses in many academic and vocational subjects across different ability levels.
Its Adult Community Learning programme is provision-led, putting on courses in response to the needs of the community. It covers a broad range of learning that brings together adults to pursue an interest, address a need or acquire a new skill.
