Proof That Age Is Just A Number!

In the dance world when most ballet dancers hang up their dancing shoes around or

before the age of 40, Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita is proving otherwise.

She began studying ballet at the age of three and now at 77, Yoko is the world’s

oldest ballerina and has been dancing with the Japan’s Matsuyama Ballet Company

for 55 years.

Yoko was the first Japanese ballerina to dance at the famous Palais Garnier in

France and has performed with renowned ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.

You might think she just dances in the ensemble but actually the opposite; she is a

prima ballerina, dancing in lead roles. Earlier this year, she starred as both Odette

(the white swan), and Odile (the black swan) in “Swan Lake.”

For the past 45 years she has played the role of Clara in “The Nutcracker” and this

November she will again star in that famous role. Dancing in these demanding roles would be hard enough for a ballerina in their mid to late thirties, but Yoko still has what it takes, practising a minimum of six hours each day, six days a week; a routine that would be gruelling for most ballerinas half her age.

An icon and a perfect example that age is just a number!