Retirees discover a new world through dance

At 71, former solicitor Suzanne Tarlin found herself saying, “I need to move,” and joined senior ballet and contemporary classes at a community centre. She recalls the first session as “Terrifying,” but praises teachers as “incredibly patient and good-humoured,” and notes many people attend week after week.

Tarlin went on to take classes at Rambert, the Place and Morley College, joined creative workshops and intergenerational projects, and even performed in a large-scale event at the Southbank Centre — commandeering an industrial road cleaner and sliding off the roof of a beat-up limousine — explaining she never aimed to grow old by “wafting.” Diego Robirosa, now 72, began classes a decade ago and calls the experience “one of the best decades in my life.” A former merchant banker who once faced stereotypes about men and dance, he tried ballet and floor work but prefers contemporary forms.

retirees, senior ballet, contemporary dance, suzanne tarlin, diego robirosa, community centre, southbank centre, rambert, morley college, intergenerational projects