Octogenarian Russian dancers prove age is just a number

With wardrobes full of sparkling costumes and cabinets packed with trophies, dancing has given the pair a new life. "I'm terribly fond of giving performances. I'm terribly happy," 82-year-old Kachina said after one of her many dance shows.

"After the war, when I was roughly around 10 years old, my mother took me to the theater," recalled Kachina, seen here resting after a performance in Moscow. "During the war we were evacuated to Omsk. (Russian ballet dancer) Galina Ulanova was performing. (She was a) swan, in a white tutu, beautiful. The music, it was a new world for me. It entered my soul so much, that I told myself that I wanted to be just like that. But how could I be like that? My dad was in the army, we went where they sent him, how could I dance?"

When they first began to dance as a pair, after meeting on a dance floor in Moscow over 20 years ago, Kachina had much to learn from Kitayev and felt like she had to prove herself. But after years of practice the pair has become one of the most senior dancing couples in Russia. "I saw that he dances, better than me, of course, I latched onto him," said Kachina of their first meeting in Moscow's Sokolniki Park. "Lev didn't acknowledge me because I didn't know how to dance."

Kachina said made her first dancing dress on her own, using old clothes donated by members of the audience after her performances.

To stay in good shape and stay flexible, Kachina exercises every day. She told Reuters other women said they find her strength outstanding, recalling one spectator: "I said, I'm 82. She was sitting in the first row and said, 'I'm 83 but you jumped so easily, and your arms moved so easily that I can't believe how it could be possible.' It was the highest praise for me."

Lev Kitayev shows dance costumes at his home in Moscow. "Several women agreed to dance with me. But I had one main criterion for the women: strong legs, a heart and desire to perform, and discipline," said Kitayev. "If we weren't in the right condition, we wouldn't be doing it."

Maya Kachina applies makeup at her home in Moscow. "I ask Lev if I should get my eyebrows tattooed. Should I have a tattoo?" Kachina said. Kitayev responded: "There's no need." "There you go," she said. "He doesn't need them."

Lev Kitayev prepares for a performance at a social center in Moscow. "We've been performing in social centers together for over 20 years already. Free of charge, before or after lunch, they make announcements about the concert beforehand. Pensioners can eat there for free and come to the concerts," he said.

Maya Kachina's dance shoes are seen before a performance. Over the decades Kachina and Kitayev have developed a close relationship, enabling them to pull some of their most riskiest moves without falling.

The dancing couple, seen here riding the Moscow metro to a performance, said their motivation is driven by the need to share the joy of dancing with their audiences.

Lev Kitayev packs his dance costume after a performance at a social centre in Moscow, Russia.

Russian pensioners Maya Kachina, 82, and Lev Kitayev, 86, enjoy proving that age is just a number as they charm elderly audiences in Moscow with their dance moves, despite being well into their eighties.