The Ageless Art of Ballet: Embracing the Dance at Fifty
Nguyen Kieu Trinh’s journey to ballet was an unconventional one. With a fine arts background, she had a diverse career as a painter and journalist before becoming a writer for an English-language newspaper. Yet, dancing was always a dream. For most of her life, it remained a fleeting pastime, a stress reliever she dared not pursue seriously. It was only in middle age that Trinh truly embraced dance as a path of self-discovery and a way to challenge herself. She found her place at Kinergie Studio in Hanoi, where a diverse group of dancers of all ages shared a meditative and joyful approach to dance, focusing on personal growth rather than competition. Trinh faced unique challenges as an older learner, including reduced flexibility, limited range of motion, and diminished strength and stability. Even the smallest progress required immense effort and persistence. She recalls the foundational stage as the hardest, with endless repetitions at the barre that felt monotonous at times. How...