A new start after 60: ‘I took up ballet at 62 – and it felt like coming home’

As a child, Tina Leverton dreamed of being a ballet dancer, but her parents couldn't afford the lessons. Learning to dance decades later has been joyful - and transformed her life

Tina Leverton was 62 when she bought her first pair of ballet shoes. She says slipping her feet into the soft leather was very emotional. I felt utterly transported. I took a photo of them and sent it to my daughter. I said: I've waited a long time for these.'"

A few weeks earlier, Leverton had taken the first ballet class of her life, after an advert in a freesheet caught her eye. It showed older women at the barre. It really evoked a strong memory from when I was a child. I thought: Let's go for it.'" The class was near Leverton's home in Mumbles, on the Gower peninsula in south Wales. As I came in the door, I twirled around," she says. Big smile on my face. From the minute I started, it was wonderful. It felt like coming home."