00:01It was when I came to the Royal Academy of Dogs for the first time, and somebody said
00:06to me, you're going to see a Silver Swans class. And I thought, oh dear, what on earth
00:12is this going to be? I thought it was going to be a lot of very ancient people like me
00:16sort of wobbling about on one leg. And you were there. I couldn't believe how good everybody
00:23was. I mean, they were so impressive.
00:30Good morning, everybody. How are you actually coping during this lockdown to fill your days?
00:38Well, it's very peculiar. It's suddenly, you look at the diary and everything is scratched
00:44out. I mean, my husband's a workaholic, so he'll work wherever he is. So he's sitting
00:49at his desk now working away. You know, we try and do something for all our charities most
00:55days, you know, to try and give them a bit of encouragement and just try and lend our
01:00support.
01:01Yes. And how about you, Darcy?
01:03Being president of the Royal Academy of Dance, we've just got to keep enforcing that we don't
01:07lose that industry at this time.
01:09Your life has been devoted to dance. And that means that keeping fit has been something you've
01:16had to do every day of your working life.
01:19Wonderful, because the RAD obviously, we know, are doing online classes. I mean, they have
01:269000 teachers across the world. And most of them are delivering online classes.
01:32I think we've all got to keep active. I mean, if we don't, we'll just seize up and, you know,
01:38we won't be able to get out of bed in the morning. Doesn't matter whether it's 10 minutes or 20
01:42minutes.
01:42It just, it's just starts off the day. And I do a combination of a bit of Silver Swans
01:49and a bit of Pilates and a lot of walking, which I love. Being president of the Royal
01:56Office of Proces Society, it's what we try and tell people to do to keep their bones strong.
02:02Of course, that really is what Silver Swans is aimed at. And for those who aren't aware,
02:07we should explain that it's a, it's a program of dance, which is really based on the, if
02:12you like, I suppose Darcy would call them the building blocks for ballet dancers, the
02:17work that they do at the bar, which gives them strength, which gives them core strength,
02:22which gives them balance and flexibility and all of those things, basically for people
02:25over 55, but actually for anybody and for men as well, which is important.
02:30Yeah, it's built perfectly to give you that confidence and that strength to feel that you
02:36can move forward. It's a brilliant tool to have a discipline like that, that you can then
02:42use in every part of your life.
02:44Sarah, the wonderful teacher, she said to me, would you ever consider having a lesson?
02:50So I, I got a group of sort of ancient friends together. The four of us sort of clatter around
02:57and when we're in London, we do it once a week and it makes all the difference.
03:02Well, I mean, the posture and everything for your stability, your centre, your core,
03:08understanding that it is classical ballet is the best tool for that.
03:13I've always loved dancing, but I'd, I'd never, never done ballet.
03:17What were the things you found difficult about the classes? And what were the things
03:21that you find most enjoyable about them?
03:23I think it was a sort of feeling that we were all in it together. And, you know, we thought
03:28at first, I thought it was going to be very funny and I was going to laugh at everybody
03:32toppling over next door to me. But I think we concentrate so hard, we don't even know
03:37what our friend next door is doing. When I stand, I think to myself, drop your shoulders,
03:43breathe deeply, you know, don't hush. You know, it's those sort of things that you have
03:48sort of ingrained in your memory.
03:50It's something you can do in your own space. You don't need a lot of room to do it.
03:55I know you don't have a ballet bar, do you? So what?
03:58A chair or something?
04:00She threw us some at the deep end. We weren't even allowed to have a chair, so...
04:04Oh my gosh!
04:06It's got nothing to do with images, the Silver Swans. It's all just about how you feel when you dance.
04:13And you don't even have to have the special ballet shoes. You can do this in bare feet, can't you?
04:17Yes, exactly.
04:18I certainly, I have never done any ballet before and it doesn't matter whether you've done ballet or not.
04:23It's something that will make you feel better. It gives you a certain amount of confidence in yourself.
04:28There's just a bit of discipline there, which I think we all need in our lives.
04:33And you might grain a bit afterwards and puff and grunt and everything else, but you do feel so much
04:39better.
04:39And it is fun, isn't it?
04:41It's fun. It's really good fun.
04:44We are utterly delighted that the Duchess is going to be Vice Patron of the Royal Academy of Dance.
04:53Well, it's no hardship for me because I love dance. I love dance in any form, so it's a real
05:01honour for me to be asked.
05:02My visit there was so memorable, first of all because of the Silver Swans, but actually meeting everybody.
05:09And it had a wonderful feeling of sort of comradeship and also such a happy place.
05:17I think dancing makes you happy.
05:20It does.
05:21Yep.
05:21I'm very, very much a beginner and probably will always remain a beginner.
05:25But I do feel after a year or 80 months of doing it that maybe I've improved a tiny bit,
05:33but I'm certainly not going to be taken to the stage, let's say.
05:39I should keep it in my own home, very privately.
05:43Keep safe and hope we'll see you again in better times.
05:47Doing Silver Swans.
05:49Bye.
05:50Doing Silver Swans, exactly.
05:52Bye.
05:53Bye.
05:55Bye.
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