Returning to Ballet at 61
In the past 6 months I’ve had the privilege to meet some amazing people on our Daily Drive Radio Show, sponsored by the FiftyUp Club. Here's one of those stories: 
As a child, Vicki Wilson dreamed about one day becoming a professional ballerina.
Vicki was 4 years old when a teacher suggested to her mother that she try ballet as a way of seperating from her mum who she was very close to. Growing up in Wollongong, Vicki loved balet but hated school. Every spare minute was spent practising dancing. At 5 she won her firt Eisteddfod and she kept on winning. Her idols were Robert Helpmann and Margot Fontane and as far as Vicki was concerned, her life would be in ballet.
And that dreamed continued into her teenage years until a serious knee injury ended Vicki’s ballet career before it really began. Her knee collapsed in practice in day and she was rushed to hospital for an operation. Vicki's father was a POW in Japan so emotions were not freely expressed in the house, you just got on with it. Her ballet dreams weren't mentioned again
40 years later, Vicki is driving in her car when she changes the channel to Brisbane's classic radio station, 4MBS. Chopin plays and Vicki's world falls apart. She recalls howling in tears as her dreams of a life in ballet came flooding back.
And so at 61 years of age, and more than 40 years after hanging up her ballet shoes, Vicki decided she would step back up to the barre, adopt first position, and dance once again with the help of Queensland Ballet’s Ballet for Seniors program.
“In the first class I was nervous as a kitten, wondering what on earth am I doing. But it felt like home. I put my hand on that barre, the teacher said ‘Plie please, first position’ and I was home, I was in heaven, and I’ve been back every week since.”
Vicki also does Tai Chi, Yoga and Zumba and encourages everyone to do something with your mind and body as you age.
HEAR THE INTERVIEW WITH VICKI HERE
