Mulgrave resident and mother of three, Catherine Andrews, has discovered an outlet to renew her love of ballet at the Elancé Adult Ballet School in Oakleigh.

Elancé offers classical training for both beginners and those who have studied ballet in the past.

"I was five years old when I first started ballet, but gave it up due to the pressures of my university studies," said Catherine.

"After attending a ballet school reunion in 2001, I realised how much I missed ballet and decided to return to training.

"Elancé provides me with the creative outlet I was craving for as well as a compartment of time to call my own when I am ‘Catherine' and not ‘Mummy'," she said.

Defying the stereotypes, the students at Elancé - whose ages range from 18 to 71 - include
doctors, working and stay at home mothers, lawyers, teachers and university students.

According to school founder and principal, Ms Dianne Harrison, Elancé provides an environment that focuses on the artistic joys of classical ballet while helping students to develop grace, flexibility and fitness.

"I have many people say to me that they can't learn ballet because they do not have the archetypal ballet body. However, at Elancé we believe that as long as you are in good health, the body you have is all you need," she said.

Elancé's teachers work within each individual's physical boundaries and provide a supportive environment without examinations or performances. But make no mistake, they still demand dedication and discipline from their students.

"It is so rewarding to meet students who, for some reason or another, never reached a professional level of ballet in their youth and had given up on ever being able to train again. They have said that it felt like something was missing from their lives until they found Elancé," said Dianne.

Founded in 2002, Elancé, www.adultballet.com.au, is one of Australia's largest adult ballet schools with more than 300 enrolled students taking classes from Monday to Saturday.