Robbie Walker, Selina Nunn.
Gliding across the dance floor in a foxtrot or waltz, everything else fades away for 79-year-old Beverley De Bont. As she focuses on the music and movement. For the past 60 years, rarely a day has gone by that she hasn’t danced or taught others.
“When I walk into the dance studio, I’ve always left everything else behind,” shares Beverley.
“It’s another world.”
But in 2020, she feared her dancing days were over when, seemingly out of nowhere, she experienced severe pain in her knees while walking to the letterbox.
“There was no warning,” she recalls.
“I was trying to work out what I’d done and why my knees were so sore.”
A trip to the doctor confirmed her worst fears. It was arthritis and would likely require knee replacement surgery. Resigned to her fate and terrified about the prospect of a long recovery time impacting her ability to dance. Beverley put her name down on a surgeon’s waitlist.
“I left feeling awful, thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’”
Then her son Daniel suggested that she look into stem cell therapy. Beverley’s research led her to Auckland regenerative clinic specialist Dr Hassan Mubark. After an X-ray confirmed she was a suitable candidate, she decided, “What have I got to lose?”
The November 2020 procedure involved extracting fat cells from below her belly button, which were then cultivated into stem cells over a six- week period. Then a blood sample was taken and spun at high speed to separate the platelet-rich plasma, which was combined with the stem cells and injected into Beverley’s knees.
“Then I got off the table and walked out,” she smiles.
“It’s the best thing I ever did!”
After three months in supportive braces during recovery, Beverley’s delighted she’s now completely pain- free and dances up to seven times a week, including the classes she teaches. It’s been so successful that several family members and friends have followed in Beverley’s footsteps and undergone the same therapy. When asked about her dreams for the future, she says that at almost 80, she’s very content but wants to dance for as long as possible.
“I’ll drop dead on the dance floor!” she laughs.
“There’s no stopping me until my body stops.”
It’s been a life-long love affair for the Cantabrian, who desperately wanted to take ballet lessons as a child, but wasn’t able to due to family financial restrictions. As soon as she married her sweetheart Frank in 1964, they signed up for dance lessons, often sneaking off during the day while their children, Lisa, now 59, and Daniel, 49, were at school.
She recalls that barely a Saturday went by without her and Frank hitting the dance floor.
“It was a rule in our house,” she says.
“You had to be dead or dying to stay home on a Saturday night!”
For years, Beverley danced in competitions and medal tests, honing her craft and rising through the ranks before turning to teaching. Now one of her favourite things is teaching fellow seniors, proving you’re never too old to dance.
“Nothing is past anyone,” she muses. “It’s lovely when I see older people in my classes who have never danced before, and suddenly they can and have achieved something.”
Perfect partners
Anne Broadbridge once danced alongside Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier on the set of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, and has the stories to show for it. But now the spritely 85-year-old is waltzing her way through her retirement – sharing her love of dance with Gaynor Hand.
“Marilyn looked absolutely beautiful, but she couldn’t remember her lines and she just frustrated Sir Olivier so much that he swore he’d never make a film with the movie star again,” Anne says of her glamorous co-stars.
These days, she’s just as passionate about passing on her skills as she is about performing. When 87-year-old Gaynor asked Anne for a lesson, the pair quickly clicked – and their dance lessons
soon turned into hour-long practices. Now the dynamic duo is preparing a cha-cha recital for their Cambridge retirement village.
“Before when we’ve done a bit of rock ’n’ roll or jive and I’ve taken Gaynor round in the quick step, she wasn’t doing very much,” explains Anne.
“But since she’s had lessons, she can do lock-steps and spins, and she follows me quite nicely.” Gaynor adds, “I’ve always loved dancing. My late husband was a good dancer and that appealed to me. Not only does it keep you fit, but you also have to have coordination.”
Anne agrees, “You have to use your brain to keep your legs and balance. But there’s real joy in dancing and it fills you with delight!”
