I’ve stopped dancing a couple of times. When I was nearly 30 I thought “I’m too old to still be going to ballet class”.  That was my longest break.  But something always calls me back.  You probably know the feeling.  No other type of exercise gives you quite the same buzz, the same exuberance, the sheer joy.  Of course, there is a downside with increasing age – decreased flexibility, lower back pain, sore muscles … name your complaint!  But so what?  Sometimes I visit my physio complaining that I’m a bit stiff.  The first time she asked me to bend forward as far as I could.  When my head nearly touched the floor, she wondered what I was worrying about.  So even though I sometimes have that Danny Glover moment (you know, Lethal Weapon, “I’m getting too old for this ….”), dance slows down the aging process.

But it’s more than the enhanced longevity that has me hooked.  I feel like I belong to something.  I’m lucky on two counts.  One, I have a number of similarly aged classmates.  Two, I’m not too proud to dance in class alongside dancers I once taught.  I’m just glad they’re still doing it too.

Dancing contributes to my sense of self.  As someone who has followed a curly path in dance, I have arrived at my current destination without sacrificing my life to dance.  I have other experience, other qualifications, other creative outlets.  I don’t have to fear the elusiveness of perfection.  Yes, part of me yearns for daily studio time, personal coaching, and time for a broad program of supplementary exercise regimes.  But I recognise that dance doesn’t have to be everything in my life to be a significant part of my life.

Strangely enough, this doesn’t seem to be the common view.  Oh, I know there are lots of people like me out there, but still, we are a minority.  It seems to me that it is much more common for musicians or visual artists to pursue their arts career in tandem with another career and still identify as professional artists.  I believe this is rare for dancers, and it has implications for available support (including funding and training).  I run a dance company for adult, non-professional dancers.  We focus on non-arts funding, because arts funding bodies are more likely to fund professional artists or disadvantaged groups (such as young people, Indigenous

people, or people with disabilities).  While I would contend that adults are disadvantaged regarding participation in dance, we have not yet attracted arts funding.

I wish that when I was still categorised as a “young person” that I had the vision and skills I have now.  I’d grab the opportunities available to young people with two hands (and maybe two feet).  But sadly, like so many people, I was too busy being a young person to know what I was missing.  Yes, it is important to engage young people in the arts, including dance.  But the thing that surprises me is that there appears little, if any, discussion about keeping people engaged in the arts, in dance, throughout their lives.  This astounds me, especially for dance.  Isn’t it even more important to stay active as time withers our muscles and weakens our bones?  Isn’t it important to remain engaged with people and community groups as our social circles shrink?

I think there is a popular perception that adults are somehow less capable dancers.  Many people are surprised when they see my company perform.  They don’t expect us to be vigorous and athletic.  When I watch a class where a 30 or 40 year old dances alongside a 16 year old, it is invariably the former who is more entrancing.  There is a maturity and artistry that develops over time.  In this sense, an older dancer who continues their training is like a well-cellared wine.  Why throw this baby away with the bath water?  Even in technical feats, I believe age enhances the dancer.  They have a longer kinaesthetic memory that centres them, they have learnt how to work through their feet.  Maybe their flexibility is a touch less than it was, but there is often greater strength and control.

I know that much of the time adult dancers aren’t easy to manage.  They have jobs, family and other commitments.  They can’t always make class or rehearsal.  They take breaks when the other parts of their lives demand it.  In a performance, they may be reluctant to wear some costumes because they’re self-conscious about their bodies.  My dream is to find a way to overcome these barriers and identify other disincentives, so we can create an atmosphere and situation that suits adults.

I hope that what I have written speaks to something in you, whether you agree or feel that my summation is inaccurate.  I want to get a discussion started, about lifelong participation in dance.  I hope a dialogue about the issue will generate further encouragement and support for adults to engage in dance, to continue building the skills and artistry they’ve developed over ten plus, twenty plus, years of training.  So many people stop dancing at 18 or 20.  Maybe they just get more interested in their social life.  Maybe they feel they’ve outgrown their classmates - as their previous same-age classmates have progressively dropped like flies.  But often they look back and find it difficult, if not impossible, to find their place again, to pick up (or climb back to) where they left off.  It’s even more difficult for those who never got the chance to dance.  Like my graceful friend Elizabeth, who joined my beginner adult classes.  She has natural ability, beautiful line and sensibility, the right physique.  She told me she always wanted to dance, but when she danced on her back steps as a kid, her dad laughed at her.  So she didn’t take lessons until she was in her mid-thirties.

Let’s change this state of affairs!  Start talking about it, ask questions, motivate others.  If you’re one of those people looking for a doorway back to class, I hope this article will encourage you to take the step.  If you run, or know of any dance opportunities for adult dancers, let us know.  Maybe we can start a network, even a movement.  If you live in Adelaide, visit www.movethroughlife.org.au.  You might like to join us.

Written by Jo McDonald

Jo McDonald is the founder and Director of the Move Through Life Dance Company, a not-for-profit organisation formed to give dancers the opportunity to dance at a challenging and stimulating capacity throughout their lives.  Jo’s technical and teacher training was through the Imperial Society for Teachers of Dance (ISTD) ballet and modern syllabi and she has recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Dance Teaching through the Queensland University of Technology.  She also holds an Honours degree in Psychology, a Certificate IV of Workplace Assessment and Training, and a Certificate IV of Commercial Music.  In addition to teaching and choreographing within contemporary and jazz genres, Jo works as a project officer for Regional Arts Australia.  Jo’s other accomplishments in dance include formation of the Barossa and Lower Mid North Dance Network and coordination of the inaugural Barossa Weekend of Dance