Ballroom blitz THE DANCERS WHO WON'T QUIT

These twinkle-toed stars are urging others to follow in their footsteps

-  Kasia De Vydt-Jillings

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?”