'We're dancing queens'

These Physie ladies are rocking leotards - six decades on!

- By Maisy Rae

They've been dancing for more than 60 years but for the ladies at the Sylvania Physie Club, nothing can stop them from attending their weekly rehearsal night - not even torrential rain!

When Woman's Day joins the ladies on a wet and windy Thursday at their community hall in Sydney's south, the over60s group are already limbering up, raring to hit the dancefloor.

"When you see a Physie girl you can just tell... it's the way she carries herself," says Sharon Barry, 67.

Since the 1920s, the uniquely Australian form of dance has garnered a following across the nation from women and girls who want to increase their fitness and flexibility.

This tight-knit group have been donning leotards and dancing since they were children, with some starting at just three years old. They've had periods away from one another while competing in different Physie groups, but have largely danced together since the '90s.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Sharon says she performed up until her two daughters were born and has carried on the family Physie tradition by recently enrolling her three grandchildren in the sport.