A new start after 60: I started to dance at 63 – and was scouted to perform at Sadler’s Wells

Rachel Thompson: ‘I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that I’d be dancing on the stage at Sadler’s Wells.’ Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

When Rachel Thompson was 63, she went to a dance workshop at her local activity centre in Islington, north London. The session was organised by Sadler’s Wells, and Thompson jumped at the chance to go – she knew the dance company was a big deal and she had been to see its shows. “I’m the sort of person who will do anything that looks interesting. I have an open mind about trying things,” she says.

Having enjoyed the workshop, she did another one. What Thompson didn’t know was that this is how the Company of Elders, Sadler’s Wells’ dance company for non-professional dancers over 60, scouts out new members, to avoid the pressure of an audition. The company whittled it down to a few people, including Thompson, and they were invited to dance at Sadler’s Wells. “I was phenomenally excited and very nervous,” she says.