Short legs, dodgy knees — but ballet makes me dance for joy aged 48
I, TOO, have taken up ballet at 48 (Mail), having never done it as a child. I played competitive league netball for 30 years and the pounding took its toll on my knees: I now have stage three arthritis in my left knee and the right one is catching up fast. I took up anti-gravity yoga (the best thing since sliced bread) almost two years ago and, ten months ago, started participating in an adult ballet class. What a revelation! I’m too small, with short legs, and I’m a bit overweight, so I don’t have the best body for ballet, but my goodness it does feel good for my body to be able to move, bend and stretch in ways it never has before. As we dance across the studio, I don’t look at myself in the mirror but feel light and delicate as I complete and try to perfect some technically difficult steps — and believe I look as good as I feel. I thoroughly recommend anyone to give ballet a go if they can find adult ballet classes nearby. We have a mix of classically trained dancers down to complete novices like myself, we all have such a great time in the classes and there are no boundaries between us. I intend to keep going until my knees give up.
ANDREA NIXON, Allington, Kent. AS A keen follower of ballroom and Latin dancing for decades, having attended a dancing school in Central London for years to become a competent dancer both in the social and amateur competition scene, I, among thousands of other dancers nationwide, am appalled at the suggestion that Claudia Winkleman is favourite to replace Sir Bruce Forsyth in the future Strictly Come Dancing series. This is a woman who, a few years ago, was on a chat show featuring top professional dancer Len Goodman. He decided to show the audience a few simple steps of a popular dance and took Miss Winkleman on stage to demonstrate the relevant steps. To say that we never saw anyone with such two left feet is an understatement. We all agree with Arlene Phillips (Mail) that Miss Winkleman isn’t even a dancer, let alone an entertainer. What relevant talents has she got? She shouldn’t, under any circumstances, be allowed anywhere near the Strictly Come Dancing programme.
ROB PARKER, London SW19.