This year's glorious, joyous Elixir Festival at Sadler's Wells prompted the thought that we are living through a golden age of older people's dance. There has never been greater excitement around older professional dancers and choreographers, more creative dance initiatives for older people without professional training, or support for health focused dance classes for older people.
Alistair Spalding, CE of Sadler's Wells puts it perfectly: 'Elixir was born out of the desire to address the false perception of dance being the preserve of the young. Irrespective of background and age, everybody can dance ' and whatever an older dancer may lack in physical prowess is more than outweighed by the interpretive nuance of their performance acquired through years of performance'.
