Tina Leverton was 62 when she bought her first pair of ballet shoes. She said putting her feet into the soft leather was very emotional. She said: "I've waited a long time for it. "

A few days later, Leverton took her first ballet class after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. It showed older women dancing in a class near Leverton's house. "As I came in the door, I found a big smile on my face. From the minute I started, I felt like coming home. "

Leverton had longed to dance as a child. Sadly, her parents couldn't afford ballet classes, for they were first-generation Indian immigrants, struggling to make a living in the UK. Her father was a train driver on the underground in London and her mother held two cleaning jobs. Nonetheless, she harboured her dream of being a ballerina(芭蕾舞女演员). 

At her present age, a grand p lie-lowering(俯卧撑) to the floor with bent knees-seemed to be out of the question. It took her three months to master the move: leaping and landing on one foot. "I love the struggle and the challenge of learning something new. People in their 60s have a lot of self-limiting beliefs: ‘I can't do it,' ‘I'm not good enough. ' And maybe they're not good enough. But it doesn't matter," she said.

Ballet has been transformative. At a medical appointment a few months after Leverton's first class, a nurse measured her at 163cm, half an inch taller than she had thought. She attributes(归因) the difference to improved posture. Her muscle tone has improved and her lower back pain has stopped. Dancing has also brought new friends. She met a group of older, more independent women and worked together towards a team award with the Royal Academy of Dance. And then, of course, there is the joyful feeling. "Ballet is all the therapy(治疗) I'll ever need," said Leverton.