Teaching ballet at 100 years old - 29th June 2026

Evelyn Cordero has a dance academy in Santiago, in Chile. She started dancing at the age of four. Now, she's 100 years old.

Evelyn still teaches dance. She shares her love of ballet with her students.

These days, Evelyn dances in trainers. Sometimes, she dreams about dancing.

Evelyn Cordero: "I even think I've got out of bed in my sleep and started dancing. And I dream that I'm dancing. I do these beautiful leaps, touching the ceiling, I don't know, I lift off the ground. Then the turns, I do a ton of turns."

Evelyn teaches classes for women from 50 to 80 years old. They practise ballet for 90 minutes. This movement helps people to stay healthy.

Evelyn Cordero: "And I also think about people's health. Because ballet is also good for your health since it works all the muscles, and your whole mind as well. It's a very complete form of exercise."

Chile's population's getting older. The mental health of its older people is getting worse too. Evelyn's work helps older people.

The classes help older people's physical and mental health. Now, Evelyn's one of the '100 Senior Leaders of Chile'.

Evelyn's family love dance too. She's taught her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Two of her daughters are professional dancers.

The daughters help Evelyn at the dance academy. Her body moves slower now. And her hearing's getting worse. But she's not ready to stop teaching or dancing.