2019-06-01+Woman+and+Home

DianeHiscocktrainedinballetafter

leavingschoolat 16 andhascontinued

todanceandteacheversince.Four

yearsago,sheopenedherownballet

school,nanfansballet.co.ukinBucks.

now50,Dianeis marriedwithfour

childrenandonegrandchild.

“It’shardtoexplainwhyI loveballet

withoutsoundingtoocringey!It just

bringsmehappinessandmakesmefeel

myself.I lovethemusic,thediscipline,

theetiquette– it definitely

keepsmefeelingyoung.

I startedlearning

whenI wasthreeand

lovedit fromtheoutset.

I trainedlocally– ballet,

tap,modern– thenat

16,I wenttoBirdCollege,thenthe

RoyalAcademyofDance, and took the

teachingroute.

I teach 28 classesa week.I canstill

dopirouettes,lotsofallegroandadage,

butmybodyis differenttowhatit was.

It wouldbeeasytogetfrustratedat the

changesbutwithballet,youcanadapt.

In someways,mydancinghasgot

betterbecauseI’mabletoenjoyit more.

Whenyou’reyoung,youcanhavemore

inhibitions, or be very competitive. As

‘As you get older,

you dance for yourself ’

yougetolder,thosethingsdon’t matter.

Youdanceforyourself.

Balletkeepsmefit andflexible.When

I hadmychildren,mytrainingboosted

myenergylevels– thestaminayoulearn

asa dancerstayswithyouforlife.I teach

allages,includingSilverSwanclasses,

whicharedevisedforolderlearners.

OneofmyfirstSilverSwanpupils

is 85.Shetrainedat theSadler’sWells

BalletSchoolin the1940s,thenleftat

18 whenshedidn’tget

a placein thecompany.

Whenshejoinedmyclass,

shehadhardlydanced

since.Nowshecomes

twicea weekandher

technique,musicalityand

memoryforthestepsarea joytowatch.

Somanyladiescometotheirfirst

classsayingtheydidballetaschildren

butstoppedbecausethey‘weren’t

gracefulenough’,‘hadnocoordination’

or‘werethewrongshape’.It’sincredible

toseetheimprovementin theirposture

andflexibility,aswellashappinessand

confidencefromjusta fewclasses. Ifeel

privilegedtobedoingthisandhopeto

keepgoingaslongaspossible.I couldn’t

imagine my life without ballet.” w&h

Findinga class

✢Forballroomdanceclasses,

trydancenearyou.co.uk

✢ifyouwanttotryoutflamenco,

finda classnearyou

atambienteflamenco.co.uk

✢Findyournearestlicensed

silverswanclassthrough

royalacademyofdance.com

stay i ng F i t

ForliFe

aimfor 150 minutesofmoderate

aerobicexercisea weekby

findinganactivityyoulove,whether

it’sballet,ballroomorbiking.

✢keepwalking.Walkingforatleast

30 minuteseveryday– breaking

it intoshorterstrollsif necessary

• helpsprotectyourheart,control
  yourweight,keepbonesandmuscles
  strong,andboostyourmood.
  ✢Lookafteryourfeet.Problemscan
  leadtoknee,hipandbackproblems,
  sokeepthemmoisturisedandcut
  nailsregularly.Getproblemslike
  cornsandcallusestreatedpromptly.
  PilatesandthealexanderTechnique
  bothbuildfootstrength.
  ✢Watchyourposture!standstraight
  andtallwithyourshoulderspulled
  back– anddon’tlookatyourphone
  whileyouwalk!again,Pilatesand
  the alexander Technique help here.

‘I lovethe music,

the discipline,

and the etiquette’

WorDs

ANNA

MOORe

AND

ShARON

SWeeNeY

PHoToGraPHs

ANgelA

SpAIN

sTyLinG

ShARNA

VAleNtINe

Hair

&Make-uP

SARAh

JANe

gReeN;

KAte

hugheS

cHrisTina

DReSS,

VIRgOS

lOuNge.

ShOeS,

CApezIO.

eARRINgS,

JOhN

leWIS

&pARtNeRS

Juani

DReSS

AND

ShOeS,

JuANI’S

OWN.

eARRINgS, ACCeSSORIze

Diane

tOp AND ShOeS, CApezIO. tOp (uNDeRNeAth), BlOCh. leggINgS, SWeAtY BettY. SKIRt, BAllet SKIRtS BY luCINDA

in our experience

54 woman&home It’S All ABOut YOu!