Barbara Peters: UK's oldest ballerina receives standing ovation for The Greatest Dancer
The 81-year-old has been dancing since the age of two
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain’s oldest ballerina received a standing ovation after her performance on BBC One's show The Greatest Dancer.
Barbara Peters, an 81-year-old dancer, amazed viewers during her audition on the show, which sees hopefuls perform routines in front of a mirror.
The mirror, which separates the dancer from the judges, is opened if the audience decide to vote for them.
In Peters’ case, the ballerina earned more than 75 per cent of votes from the audience, meaning the mirror opened to reveal judges Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Oti Mabuse, who were all on their feet applauding.
The grandmother-of-eight's routine was so impressive that Cheryl said it inspired her to get back into ballet.
The singer went to the Royal Ballet School for a two-week summer course when she was nine but gave it up.
“I used to do ballet when I was young. You've inspired me to want to get back into it,” Cheryl said.
”Because if I can get back into ballet and end up looking like you at 80 years old, job done.“
Dance captain Matthew was so taken back by Peters’ performance that he even joined her on stage to perform a waltz.
It came after Matthew had earlier told the crowd that they had to put her through, telling them: “This is ridiculous. She’s 80 years old. This is awesome.”
Peters, from Halifax, West Yorks, said of the experience: “To me it’s just what I do.
“I was pleased with it, I knew how it felt but I didn’t know how it looked. It was a very strange experience to see yourself dancing on TV.
“You are a bit nervous at first but once I got going it was fine.
“As a started to dance I really forgot about the window and when the wall started to divide and you begin hearing the screams and cheering it was quite a shock.
“I had almost forgotten about the situation, only momentarily.”
When Barbara was awarded her Grade seven last year the Royal Academy of Dance told her she was the oldest ballet dancer in the UK.
Peters recently received the top Grade eight award from the Royal Academy of Dance with a pass rate of 73 per cent, with no concession made for her age.
The 81-year-old said her passion for ballet meant all her three children - two boys and one girl - and eight grandchildren, also boys and girls, have all danced.
She even did her exam on the same day that her granddaughter, Mia, 11, was awarded her Grade two.
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