Nerida Jantti would like to teach the world to dance and with the help of her teen Jett, she just might make it happen!
The mum-son duo’s dance videos have been going viral online and what started as an antidote to pandemic-induced boredom has ended up touching the lives of millions of strangers.
Unexpected virality
“During lockdown, we were stuck together in the house and thought we’d give it a go,” recalls the former Dancing With The Stars NZ pro, 50. “We’re a family with neuro-diversity, so we have different communication styles and it was a really good way for us to have some fun together. Dance has helped us form a far stronger bond.”
Now 15, Jett was eight or nine when they made their first video.
“I was in my pyjamas and completely unprepared,” he says. “But Mum’s a really good teacher. She taught me a lot and we learnt fast. We posted that first video and weren’t expecting anything, then we woke the next morning to find there’d been thousands of views.”
Since then, they’ve kept making videos and going viral. Nerida’s 19-year-old son Kees sometimes joins in too. The family’s puppy Alfie often makes an unscheduled appearance – and even the robot vacuum occasionally passes through as mum and son are dancing in front of the camera.
“It’s very real,” says Nerida. “We’re not trying to do things perfectly.
I’ve been a dancer all my life, but ballroom dancing, not hip-hop or shuffle, which is Jett’s natural style. But I thought, ‘Why not give it a go, be a beginner, make mistakes and have a laugh?’”
Scoliosis diagnosis
One of the reasons Nerida will never stop dancing is that, at age 17, she was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where the spine develops an S-shaped curve.
She explains, “I was in serious pain, so I went to a doctor to be told I had two choices – I could either keep dancing or they could surgically implant a metal
rod to keep my spine straight. It was a no-brainer.”
More recently, Nerida has been diagnosed with ADHD and dancing provides a way to manage that too.
“I get this feeling of joy. It’s so good for my mental health. I can just switch off and forget about everything else.”
Whether people are neurodiverse or dealing with setbacks in their lives, Nerida thinks dancing has benefits.
Working for Breast Cancer Cure
A longtime ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Cure (BCC), she’s particularly keen to encourage women in recovery to put their dancing shoes on.
“Don’t wait until you’ve had some lessons – just get up and move,” she advises.
Nerida first became involved with BCC at the height of her DWTS fame. While she’s had friends and colleagues affected by the disease over the years, she hadn’t had to watch anyone close go through it until her pal and fellow dancer Wendy Rosalind Johnson revealed she’d been diagnosed.
Nerida takes heart in seeing how much progress has been made in breast cancer treatment thanks to advances in research. To her surprise, she’s even discovered that she knows one of the researchers being funded by BCC – she trains cancer research fellow Hossein Jahedi in ballroom dancing!
Hossein is involved in trying to find new therapies for triple negative breast cancer, which can be aggressive and harder to treat. He’s been dancing for more than 10 years, specialising in Latin American styles, and teaches a dance-based exercise class for women.
“I’ve seen first-hand how much joy, confidence and connection movement can bring,” says Hossein, 30. “Dance can be particularly powerful for people recovering from breast cancer, not only by helping them gradually build strength and mobility, but also by creating a fun, supportive environment where they can reconnect with their bodies and with each other.”
Family bonding
For Nerida’s family, dance has had big benefits, some of them unexpected.
She shares, “It’s taught us a lot about teamwork, and it’s helped make Jett really fast and agile on the rugby field too. Also, the girls don’t mind it!”
Jett now has the confidence to pursue a career in acting – just like his dad, former Outrageous Fortune star Shane Cortese – and has already appeared opposite Geoffrey Rush and Rima Te Wiata in the Kiwi movie Shearing The Love.
Even Nerida’s partner Steve loves to dance.
It was what they did together on their first date six years ago.
“As we walked out onto the dance floor, everyone moved to make way for us because they recognised me as a professional,” she says.
“It traumatised him for about 30 seconds, but then we started to dance, had fun and enjoyed a really great night.”
As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, BCC’s Tees for a Cure are available now at breastcancercure.org.nz.
