Inside the Hong Kong Ballet’s new programme for seniors
The Hong Kong Ballet’s workshops for novice dancers aged 55 and over are making childhood dreams come true for troupes of young-at-heart Hongkongers
It all started with a music box. When Mary Chan was a young girl, she was enthralled with a delicate ballerina figurine atop it that would twirl to the tune every time the box was wound.
“I loved that toy and would spin it all day, admiring the little doll,” says Chan, who, in 2024, finally got the chance to fulfil a childhood dream – to learn ballet herself.
Instructors teach standard poses, moves and choreography at a gentle pace, the goal being not to train pirouetting soloists but make ballet a fun, healthy exercise, to improve posture, flexibility and balance for dancers of any age.
“I really like dance and enjoy going to see dance performances,” says Chan. “I never thought I would get to learn ballet, so I never even dreamed of being a dancer. Things were very different when I was young. My mum and dad wanted us to focus on our studies. If a friend had a party, I would have to go chaperoned by my older brother.”
Chan may be the oldest Silver Ballet participant, but the soft-spoken senior is possibly also the most enthusiastic. She might not have the flexibility or strength to do pointe work or maintain an Arabesque pose but she seems as limber as a woman 20 years her junior.
“Growing up, I remember seeing a movie with a performance by the British ballerina Margot Fonteyn,” she says. “Then later, in the 1970s, I saw performances by Russian ballet troupes. I loved how beautiful they looked and how fluid the movements were.