Octogenarian inspires others to discover ballet dancing

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Most professional ballet dancers retire around the age of 35 but not this Queensland octogenarian who is proving it's never too late to rediscover your rhythm.

Transcript

00:00With his perfect poise and impeccable style, Leon Dahleney's dazzles.

00:10Leon has a spark which is very vital. It's infectious.

00:14Three days a week, the 83-year-old swans into this studio at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, gets limber, then gets low.

00:21The training with ballet has actually kept my physique still in good order.

00:27He began ballet as a teenager, but pivoted in his late twenties.

00:31In those days, dancers had a fairly short career. It wasn't well paid, and I decided that I needed to have a future for myself.

00:40So he became a hairdresser, a stylist to the stars.

00:44From a Sydney salon, he worked his magic on celebrities including Vivien Leigh, Jane Powell and Sarah Vaughan.

00:50There are many more that I could name, but memory forgets a lot of things now.

00:55He finally found his feet again in his seventies, and there's been no turning back.

01:00Ballet to me is joy. It's poetry in motion.

01:03While Leon Dahleney's has been dancing for decades, that doesn't mean others can't learn how to in their later years.

01:10It's all about taking things one step at a time.

01:13Anna Payne is a similar age, and only took to the bar two years ago.

01:17Oh, if he can do it, I'm going to try exactly.

01:21He's a living inspiration to me. I love him, and he's so tenacious.

01:24He's an example that you can do anything at any stage of your life, particularly ballet.

01:29There are no plans to hang up the slippers any time soon.

01:32I will dance till I drop.

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