SINGAPORE: Ms Lydia Lee pulled off her first cheerleading routine at the age of 77.

Decked out in matching blue and white outfits, she and her teammates punched the air with their bright red pom-poms, spun each other around and grooved in sync to the beat.

Rah Rah, as their 60-member squad is known, made its debut performance at the World Ageing Festival on April 8 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre—the culmination of three months of weekly practice.

Their ages range from 59 to 82, making the squad Singapore’s first seniors’ cheerleading team.

Twenty members—Ms Lee included—were on stage, while the others danced offstage around the audience.

Those on stage had a more “complex” routine, and training was “very intensive”, Ms Lee said, but she did not mind.

“I’m retired, and I’m free from family commitments,” the former primary school teacher said.

“I’m single and I live alone, so I have a lot of time.”

She initially struggled to remember the three-minute routine and keep to the rhythm, as she has gradual hearing loss.

But she went through the steps every day, watching a video made by the squad’s instructor Nah Jieying, a dancer and choreographer.

“I forced myself to learn to be good in it,” Ms Lee said.

“When I made mistakes sometimes, I would be very angry with myself. I tried harder to remember what the next step was, so I did (the routine) many times on my own.”

She said everyone was very respectful and patient.

“I think I’m one of the most senior in the group, so they accommodated me. They would help me and remind me,” she said, adding that the instructor was encouraging even when she made mistakes.

“I made many new friends. We had makan sessions after practice, tea, coffee and sometimes dinner,” said Ms Lee.

She was happy with her performance. “I tried my best,” she said coyly.

Mr Vincent Ng, 68, one of the four men in the squad, said group performances take the pressure off individual performers.

“There’s no need to shine. People won’t point you out one by one, but see the overall performance. And if, at your age, you can do this, it’s already appreciated,” he said.

The World Ageing Festival, held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on April 8 and 9, was the 16th edition of the annual event.

Organised by local social enterprise Ageing Asia, the festival featured panel discussions on topics such as brain health, longevity, financial security and age-inclusive workforce policies.

The two-day affair also showcased innovations by various companies in assisted living, eldercare technology and wellness.

It was attended by some 6,000 participants from more than 50 countries.

The cheerleading group was the brainchild of Ageing Asia founder Janice Chia, 46, who extended the invitation to join to members from her network of 10,000 seniors from Ageing Asia and Aspire55, a social health club she founded for those above 50.

Aspire55 and food and beverage company Nestle sponsored three months of dance choreography classes for the seniors.

Ms Chia said she threw in new segments to challenge the seniors, for instance, introducing a runway walk the day before the show.

Joining the squad was a no-brainer for Mr Ng, a freelance fitness trainer at the Energia Fitness Club in Clarke Quay and Aspire55.

“If life is too easy, we turn lazy. You won’t feel like doing anything,” said Mr Ng, who is single.

It was Ms Lee’s second year taking up the challenge.

She had tried activities at the senior activity centre near her home in Eunos but did not find them stimulating enough.

So when her friends from her church’s dance group told her about a drumming performance, she signed up immediately.

That took her to the 2024 World Ageing Festival, where she was among 300 drumstick-wielding performers—all seniors and preschoolers—who energetically thumped out the beats on exercise balls.

They set a world record for the “Largest Swiss Ball Drumming” performance.

Ms Lee is one of around 15 seniors from the group who still keep up with weekly drumming sessions today.

They have gone on to perform at events such as the annual Chingay street parade and the Purple Parade, a ground-up movement promoting disability inclusion.

Ms Chia said: “When I meet seniors, I always ask them what’s their dream. And even if somebody says ‘I don’t know what’s my dream’, now they have drum clubs to try, they have cheerleading.

“We are trying to create ways to find different purposes, different aspirations. I think seniors need to be invited to things.”

She said seniors helped to run the show at the World Ageing Festival, from manning a festival booth to recruiting more senior participants and hosting the festival’s speakers.

They also did ushering and coordinated the cheerleaders and ironed the jerseys.

They were given an allowance of S$50 (RM167) and S$14 in meal vouchers for at least five hours’ work a day.

Other seniors who helped out at the event were paid S$15 an hour.

“What we want to do is to empower seniors with new skills, so they can go out there and teach other seniors,” Ms Chia said.

When they get good enough, they can get “micro jobs”—task-based temporary work—and earn some money, she added.

While her cheerleading teammates headed home or out to lunch after the performance on April 8, Ms Lee went to volunteer at the Aspire55 booth.

“I get myself involved in things, and then time passes very easily and I don’t feel bored,” Ms Lee said, adding that “it can be lonely” at night.

She watches dramas at home when she has no activities.

“Normally, my days are full of events. I will try to get out of the house.

“Now that I’ve got all these places to go and all these places to ‘play’, I enjoy a better life than before.”

Ms Lee wants to delay the onset of dementia.

“No one will look after me if I don’t take care. I don’t wish to burden other people. So as much as I can, I will keep myself fit.”

Nearing her 80s, her goal is simple.

She said: “Stay alive, be active, have fun while ageing. While we are growing old, don’t bury yourself in misery. Go and explore. Fun has no boundaries.”

She laughed and added: “It’s never too late to have fun.”