John Lowe， a war veteran， is about to perform on stage as the world’s oldest ballet dancer.

At the 1)grand old age of 90， John Lowe will join dancers from the 2)Lantern Dance Theatre Company—who are more than half his age for a performance of 3)Strauss’s An Artist’s Life.

The Grandfather to 11， John Lowe， of 4)Witchford， only 5)took up ballet having watched his daughter， Alison， become a professional dancer when he was 79. And at the age of 88， he 6)starred in his first ballet production—performing as the woodcutter in 7)Prokofiev’s The Stone Flower.

John Lowe， who fought in Malaysia and India in the Second World War before being captured by the Japanese， said he loves performing on stage.

“Dancing is the most amazing feeling and you come home mentally uplifted after listening to all this brilliant music. It’s fantastic exercise too，” the retired art teacher said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to do and I can’t understand why more men don’t do it. There’s nothing 8)effeminate about it—you have to be incredibly fit to dance. I see these people crawling around，9)hunched over smoking a cigarette—they should be doing ballet.”

To maintain his fitness， Mr Lowe has even installed a 10)trapeze on his living room ceiling and hangs from it each morning to increase his muscle power. He also practices three times a week in 11)Ely’s Chequer Studio， as well as perfecting his 12)pirouettes and 13)pliés each day at his home. His home also 14)boasts a ballet15)bar where he 16)hones his knee-bends and arm movements so he can 17)prime his body for the demands of dancing.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. I had always wanted to dance and it’s never too late to learn，” he said. “I practise each day. I’m lucky that I don’t have any problem with the 18)routines but that’s because I exercise.”

Always a lover of dance， he had used his love of the 19)theater to help him through his three years as a prisoner of the Japanese during the Second World War.

“I remember being in the prisoner of war camp， starving and doing hard labour， and thinking I might not make it. But look at me now. I love dance，” Mr. Lowe said.

One of his dance teachers， Helen Pettitt， of the Chequer Studio， where Mr. Lowe has been training， said: “I am sure if things had been different he could have been a dancer. I have been amazed at his flexibility， and how strong he is. He doesn’t jump how he would like to but he dances in his own way and he is quite amazing.”

退伍老兵約翰·羅伊就要上臺表演了，他將成為世界上年齡最大的芭蕾舞演員。

在90歲高齡之際，約翰·羅伊將與“燈之舞劇團”的舞者們一起演出小約翰·施特勞斯的作品《藝術(shù)家的生 涯》——其他那些舞者的年齡是他的一半有余。

作為11個孩子的祖父，家住威奇福德市的約翰·羅伊是在看到女兒艾莉森成為職業(yè)舞者后才開始學(xué)習(xí)芭蕾舞的，當時他已經(jīng)79歲。88歲時，他主演了自己的第一部芭蕾舞作品——在普羅科菲耶夫的作品《寶石花》中扮演一名木雕師。

約翰·羅伊在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間曾在馬來西亞和印度作戰(zhàn)，后被日本人俘虜。他說他熱愛在舞臺上演出。

“舞動給人最神奇的感覺，而且聽過所有這些精彩的音樂后再回家，你的心情也開朗多了。它還是一項很棒的運動，”這位已退休的藝術(shù)教師說，“我認為跳芭蕾舞是件美妙的事情，我不明白為什么大多數(shù)男人都不愿意學(xué)。跳芭蕾舞并不顯得女人氣——你得有相當健康的體魄才能跳?？粗切┤嗽诘教幓问?，彎著腰駝著背在抽煙，我會想，他們都應(yīng)該去學(xué)跳芭蕾?！?/p>

為了保持身材健美，羅伊先生甚至在自家客廳的天花板上裝了一副吊架，每天早上練習(xí)懸吊來增強自己的肌肉力量。他不僅每周三次到伊利方格舞室練習(xí)，還每天在家練習(xí)完善他的皮魯埃特旋轉(zhuǎn)和屈膝動作。他家里還裝了一個練習(xí)芭蕾舞用的靠墻扶手，用來練習(xí)屈膝和手臂動作，方便他強身塑形為舞蹈表演做好準備。

“這種感覺真是太妙了。我一直想要跳舞，而學(xué)習(xí)是永遠都不會嫌遲的?！彼f，“我每天都在練習(xí)。我很慶幸自己在把握舞蹈動作上沒有任何問題，不過那是因為我有鍛煉?！?/p>

羅伊一直熱愛舞蹈，二戰(zhàn)期間他被日本人俘虜后，就是憑借著對舞臺的熱愛熬過了三年的艱難時光。

“我還記得在戰(zhàn)俘營里的那段日子，不僅要忍饑挨餓，還要從事苦力勞作，我以為自己熬不過去了，但看看現(xiàn)在的我。我熱愛舞蹈?！绷_伊先生說。

海倫·佩蒂特是方格舞室的舞蹈老師之一，羅伊先生就在那里練舞。她說:“我相信如果當初情況不同的話，他很可能會成為一名舞者。我驚訝于他身體的柔韌性和他的強壯。雖然他在跳躍動作上顯得力有不逮，但他有自己的一套舞蹈方式，真的非常令人驚嘆。”