Swan pension: grandmother from the UK became a ballerina at the age of 71
71-year-old Briton Doreen Peachey dreamed of becoming a ballerina as a child, but in the end, as it usually happens, she chose a more practical path and became an engineer. However, after retiring, Doreen decided that she was wrong to admit that her childhood dream was once hopeless. Well, the main thing is desire. Now Doreen has a reason to be happy: her efforts were not in vain and she became the oldest ballerina in the UK.
(6 photos in total)
Doreen started taking dance lessons 10 years ago, after visiting her niece in Canada, who works as a ballet teacher. Since then, Doreen has lost weight from a size 48 to a size 40 and now says she feels more flexible than ever, despite the fact that she underwent knee replacement surgery two years ago.
"I am very happy that I passed the exam. I worked hard for this and was even a little surprised when they told me that I was the oldest of those who had reached this level of the exam," Doreen said.
Mrs. Peachey grew up in the British city of Southend-on-Sea (Essex county) in the 1950s. She recalls how, as a child, she saved up money to get to the ballet when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra troupe came on tour to the local theater.
But she did not dare to ask her father, who worked as a decorator, to pay for her ballet lessons, because she understood that he could not afford it. "In elementary school, we were engaged in folk dances. From an early age, I knew that ballet lessons were not for people of our level. In the 50s, our family didn't have the money for this. I understood that you don't even need to ask for this. And in addition to money for classes, we also need costumes and accessories," Doreen said.
In July, Mrs. Peachey passed the level 6 exam at the Royal Academy of Dance: she had to prove that she was able to perform a certain number of necessary steps.
The Royal Academy of Dance recognized her achievement: "Congratulations to Doreen Peachey, a newly minted member of the Royal Academy of Dance!" they wrote on Facebook.
Keywords: Academy | Grandma | Ballet | Uk | Age | Dream | Pensioners | Pension | Dancing