Michelle Heyder has seen how ballet helps develop confidence and self-esteem in mature women.
Michelle Heyder has seen how ballet helps develop confidence and self-esteem in mature women.
Dance mums are often in the background watching their offspring plie and pirouette.
They may be bursting with pride, but they also may wish it was them up there perfecting the art form.
Now there’s a chance for mums, grandmas and all women over 50 to learn ballet — or pick up where they left off when they were younger.
Ōmokoroa’s Michelle Heyder is a Senior Swans licensee and owner of Over 50s Ballet Tauranga. She has started classes in Ōmokoroa, Matua, Bethlehem and Mount Maunganui.
Ballet for mature women was becoming more of a worldwide trend, Heyder said.
A common situation for women who joined was those who danced when they were young. There was a tendency to stop after a certain time, Heyder said.
“If you don’t want to be a ballerina or teach ballet as a career, then what else is there to do with it? A lot of people do stop. But you’ve put so much time and energy into it for a decade ... to just stop is a pity. It’s really nice to provide this for people who want to come back and do it again.’’
Students from the Over 50s Ballet class in Ōmokoroa.
Another scenario is mums who took their daughters to ballet and never had the chance to do it themselves.
“They’ve always taken their daughters and sat at the back of the ballet class for 10 or 15 years and now it’s their chance to actually come and learn it.”
More mature women want to dance with their own age group, Heyder said. And women want to be seen, they don’t want to fade into the background.
“I think there comes a stage where a woman may not get told as often that they are beautiful or they look stunning, and so for them to be told that ... it just boosts their confidence. And they do, they look stunning and they’re gorgeous when they’re dancing.”
Michelle thinks part of ballet’s attraction may be its alternative to more traditional exercise.
“It’s not so hard on the body like a hardcore pump class or working out at the gym. You are using a lot of different muscle groups when you are dancing. You are using your abdominals, your leg muscles and all your upper-body muscles.
“You put the work into your body rather than using weights or anything use to push it.”
It was calming, she said, and was something they could do for themselves.
“I think women have been mums and now they’re grandmothers and they may look after grandchildren, they may still be holding down a job and I think a lot of women are always giving to somebody else. This is something they can come and do an hour a week for themselves.”
Over 50s Ballet Tauranga owner Michelle Heyder has started classes in Ōmokoroa, Matua, Bethlehem and Mount Maunganui.
Michelle danced from age 7-16, stopped for a while and returned as an assistant dance teacher. She owned a dance studio in Auckland. Michelle is a qualified dance movement therapist. She has taught in rest homes and witnessed the benefits of movement, especially with dementia clients.
When suggested by her mother, Michelle embraced the idea of running 50-plus ballet sessions for men and women. She started classes last year and her oldest student is 84.
