Petal Ashmole Winstanley was just a teenager when she left Perth on her own to sail to London. There, in the swinging 1960s, she began her wild adventure of dance, love and heartbreak.

Petal got her first big dancing break in a Christmas pantomime, and then she had a spin as a Go-Go dancer in a Parisian nightclub, before eventually working her way into some of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world.

Along the way, Petal fell in love with three great men, and she lost them all under brutal circumstances.

Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up: Lessons in Love and Surmounting Grief is published by Grosvenor House.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores ballet, dancing, United Kingdom, Dancing with the Stars, love, relationships, marriage, career women, death, grief, loss of a spouse, sexuality, lavender marriages, 1960s, hippies, free love, Western Australia, South Africa, apartheid, genocide, Canada, couples who work together, dating in later life, how to date in later life, online dating after 70, bravery, courage, HIV AIDS, STI, divorce, memoir, writing, books, origin story.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.