Italian senior couple dancing in Rome piazza become internet sensation

Retired dance teacher Pasquale Iannotta, 70, and his dancing partner Elisa Fava, 79, have won praise from Rome’s mayor and twisted and twirled on national TV since one of their street performances was shared online by a social media savvy tour operator last week.

“No one ever thought we could go viral like this,” Fava told AFP on Wednesday, as the pair returned to Testaccio square, in the namesake historic working-class district of the Italian capital, for another spin.

Their moves have struck a chord with many in Italy – whose population is the oldest in the European Union.

The original clip posted by The Tour Guy gathered almost more than 370,000 likes and thousands of comments on Instagram, including from mayor Roberto Gualtieri who complimented the “excellent dancers”, writing: “There’s so much beauty in this simple video”.

Iannotta and Fava have since been invited to perform on the flagship morning TV show of national broadcaster Rai Uno and other television programmes.

The two met at dancing class, where Fava was one of Iannotta’s pupils, and started performing outdoors regularly in the summer since, as Iannotta puts it, they both “hate sitting around at home”.

Now they hope their sudden popularity will push others off the sofa and onto the dance floor, they said.

“I have many friends who, unfortunately, when they retire, like many others end up sitting on the sofa watching television. I’d like to see them get a bit more active,” Iannotta, who wore a floral short-sleeve shirt and sunglasses, said after the duo showed off their skills to the tune of Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock”.

With a median age of 49.1, Italy is the EU’s oldest country, according to the bloc’s data agency.

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Births fell last year by nearly four percent, plunging the fertility rate to an 80-year low, national statistics show.

As the country ages, putting pressure on care among other challenges, doctors say physical activity is vital for older people, helping with brain and heart health among other benefits.

“Don’t be idle: if you can, move,” Fava, who recently became a great-grandmother, said in a message to fellow seniors. “Particularly dancing is good for you”.