A new addition to this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival is all about inclusion, celebration and valuing mature Australians – 60 dancers over 60 defy traditional ageist stereotypes.
FreeSteps – Swinging Years, is an international dance performance utilising local and international talent – some with experience, others without – and all are over the age of 60.
It was a no-brainer for Melbourne Fringe Festival creative director Simon Abrahams to include the performance because “art and culture is a human right”.
“So much of our world is focused on young people,” he said.
“I really felt there was an invisibility to older people that I really wanted to remedy and celebrate the older body with this incredible dance work.”
The creative director knew the work, which he spotted in Taiwan and created by famed choreographer Wei-Chia Su, would fit in well with the festival as it is an “incredible kind of storytelling using the human body”.
Performer Debra Batton, who is in her mid-sixties, said the dance highlights “the value” of coming together as a group.
“What I find really special is getting to dance with people that are my age or older,” she said.
Dancers – 30 experienced, 30 with no experience – from Australia and New Zealand have come together for a show led by a Taiwanese choreographer. Pictured left to right are dancers HongHong Guo (Elena), Marylla Powell, Lee Klein and Debra Batton. Picture supplied.
Ms Batton said the experience all the performers bring into the room, combined with shared conversations on their lunch break has made her feel “enriched”.
“Watching people learn and transform across the process under wise direction has just been the most exciting thing,” she said.
One of the oldest dancers, Marylla Powell, 90, thinks it’s a “great privilege” to be asked to participate.
“I didn’t know anything about the show, but it’s proved very interesting,” she said.
“I’ve always loved movement … any kind of movement is wonderful.”
Former paramedic, Lee Klein, 66, is one of the youngest in the group and has found the experience helped him after his abdominal surgery two months ago.
“It’s four to five hours a day of dancing,” he said.
“It’s like a Pilates class on steroids and it’s helped with my poise, my balance, whole attitude and outlook.”
Ms Batton, one of the dancers in the group with dancing experience, said people can expect to see a contemporary dance that is “demanding”.
“And [it] expresses the value of a collective of people as opposed to the exceptional single person,” she said.
“We are one incredible community of people. There’s no one standing out as a star.”
Mr Abrahams, in his eleventh year working at the festival, said the participants in the show have come up to him saying the performance needs to “keep going” because they have enjoyed it so much.
“For some of them, [it’s been] a truly life changing experience,” he said.
Marylla Powell, 90, second from left, said the rehearsals have been rewarding because people are working together as a group. Picture supplied.
Marylla Powell, 90, second from left, said the rehearsals have been rewarding because people are working together as a group. Picture supplied.
Care Connect CEO Lynda Chalmers, said the home care provider was “proud” to support the show at this year’s festival as they like to highlight the “power of movement and connection” in later life.
“Ageing well means more than just staying healthy. It’s about staying connected, active, and living a life you love,” she said.
“Swinging Years beautifully encapsulates and celebrates this.”
Mr Abrahams said mature people bring wisdom which people can learn from.
“Older people can do anything, and older people’s bodies can be stretched to their extreme as well,” he said.
“And those combinations, the kind of wisdom and the uniqueness of the older body, can come together to create something extraordinary.”
Ms Powell, 90, said the most rewarding part of the experience was learning “synchronicity and focus”.
“Knowing there are 59 other performers … aiming for the same thing: self-expression.”
FreeSteps – Swinging Years will be performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival from October 14 – 18, 2025 at Meat Market’s Blackwood Box. Tickets are available at: https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/freesteps-swinging-years
Source: The Senior by Lisa Edser
Published: October 17 2025
Here is a link to the original article: Melbourne Fringe Festival celebrates older dancers and bodies | The Senior | Senior