Like Camilla, I'm dancing through my 70s – there's no better way to stay fit
When I was four-years-old, my mother took me to the family doctor to sort out my knock knees. His suggestion was either wearing built-up shoes, or dance lessons. Fortunately, my mother chose the latter. Just one class, tottering around Miss Delva’s School of Dance in Plymouth, and I was hooked for life.
But, if anything, dance is even more important now that I am in my mid-seventies - helping me to stay fit, strong and supple. And that’s where Silver Swans comes in.
The ballet-based exercise regime has been developed by the Royal Academy of Dance, specifically for people over 55. But in fact, anyone can join in – men and women – of all ages, and enjoy exercises that will strengthen the core, improve your balance and flexibility - and give your brain a workout. Best of all? No Lycra necessary.
The Duchess of Cornwall is the newly appointed Vice-Patron of the RAD - and a Silver Swan. She has been having regular lessons for the past 18 months.
She has admitted that her initial reaction to ballet-based exercise was typical of many - “I’m not sure if that’s for me” - and was that “it was going to be a lot of very ancient people like me sort of wobbling about on one leg”.
But now, like me, Camilla is an enthusiastic ambassador of the classes as a joyful and effective way of getting fit, saying it has worked wonders for her posture, confidence and discipline, as well as making her “very happy”.
So, let’s be clear. No, you are not expected to go flying across a room leaping and pirouetting like Carlos Acosta or Darcey Bussell.
These are exercises based on the work done by every professional dancer every day of their working lives. They must be done while holding on to a barre (or back of a kitchen chair) and work every joint and muscle from the feet, through the knees; the hips up to the shoulders, arms, head and neck.
Anyone can do them. Whether you have never had a dancing lesson in your life and are a total beginner with two left feet. Or if perhaps you did ballet as a child, but haven’t so much as attempted first position in decades.
There are more than a thousand qualified Silver Swan teachers throughout the country, holding classes where no one judges you. But everyone joins in the celebration when you can, at last, gracefully touch your toes, balance on one leg without falling over, and do a series of plies without your knees creaking like old door hinges.
The Duchess has been doing her workouts with a group of “ancient friends”, who she says “clatter around” together. But, in my experience, new friendships can be forged, too. A coffee after a class, or a lunch, has become the norm. And I know that, even in our current lockdown, many Silver Swans are sipping from mugs in their own kitchens, via video calls, after doing a virtual class.
Yes, you have to work hard - as the Duchess of Cornwall will have discovered. And believe me your body tells you when you’ve stretched your muscles and joints for an hour. But it makes you feel good about yourself like nothing else. And, right now, we could all use that.
Visit royalacademyofdance.org to access RAD@Home and find out how to take part in a Silver Swans class
