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Dancers 'still get kick' after years of performing

BalletLORENT Two dancers wearing light-coloured clothing with the woman sitting down with her hand held by a man who is standing up and leaning down towards her and both are wearing crownsBalletLORENT
As well as performing, Mrs Reece and Mr Hopson also teach students

Two dancers in their 50s and 60s have told how performing still brings them joy.

Caroline Reece, 60 and Geoff Hopson, 53, are performing in BalletLORENT's production of Snow White: The Sacrifice at Northern Stage, in Newcastle.

For Mr Hopson it is his first performance in 20 years following a back injury and he said he "absolutely loved" being involved in the dance world while Mrs Reece said she "still got a kick" from it.

Director Liv Lorent said: "Dance just isn't the shape you are, it's how you move."

Geoff Hopson smiling in the foreground wearing a black jumper while rehearsals for Snow White: The Sacrifice go on behind him at the Northern Stage in Newcastle
Mr Hopson has been involved in the dance industry for 38 years.

Mr Hopson, from Stockton, went to drama school in London and plays the king and a miner in the production, which runs from 31 October until 4 November.

"I've been involved in the dance world for about 38 years now, but I absolutely love it," he said.

Caroline Reece standing in the foreground wearing a brown jumper while rehearsals go on behind her at Northern Stage
Caroline Reece said she had been very lucky to work so much

Mrs Reece, who is originally from Devon, has been performing since she was 18.

“There’s more to performing than just a costume and the lights going up, it’s what you bring to a piece, and I still get a kick out of it," she said.

"I certainly thought I would have stopped dancing before now, and of course you do get injuries throughout your career.

"As I have been offered work and I've been been able to continue to work and I've been continued to be employed by our director. Liv is extraordinary.

"Not all choreographers want to work with a range of ages. I'm very lucky that I've been able to work a lot".

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