Man, 88, in ballet debut

An 88-YEAR-OLD man starred in his first ballet production yesterday after learning to dance at the tender age of 79.

Retired teacher John Lowe, of Witchford, Cambridgeshire, has been busy perfecting his pirouettes ahead of his role in Prokofiev’s The Stone Flower.

The pensioner, who has 11 grandchildren, said: “I practise each day and I’ve got a rope at home that I use to pull my leg up higher.

“I’m lucky that I don’t have any problem with the routines but that’s because I exercise.”

Mr Lowe started ballet nine years ago, having watched his daughter Alison become a professional dancer.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing to do and I can’t understand why more men don’t do it,” he said.

“There’s nothing effeminate about it — you have to be incredibly fit to dance. I see these people crawling around, hunched over smoking a cigarette — they should be doing ballet.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. I had always wanted to dance and it’s never too late to learn.”

Mr Lowe, part of the Lantern Dance Theatre Company, appeared at The Maltings, in Ely, yesterday.