We’re always hearing about how great dancing is for us as we get older – now we’ve found a Melbourne couple who are living proof thanks to the ABC.
92-year-old Wilhelmina Kortleven and her 87-year-old husband Frans have been cutting a rug since they met at a club in the Netherlands when Frans was 22 and Wilhelmina was 27.
While Wilhelmina was a champion dancer, Frans needed some work to raise him up to her standards.
“He couldn’t dance when I met him, but I used to teach beginners, so it was easy,” she said.
A lifetime of dance
Since they moved to Australia in 1953, the couple has kicked up their heels at an array of suburban dances but have been weekly attendees at The Cuckoo in the Dandenong Ranges for the past six years – and Mrs Kortleven credits the regular dancing with keeping her young.
“It keeps you mentally alert and I’m still very good in figures too. Nobody tricks me. They call me the bargain hunter in Coles.”
So, is dancing the secret to their long-lasting marriage too?
Mr Kortleven said it was having “tolerance of each other” – Mrs Kortleven however puts it down to “no nagging and know when to shut up”.
“I get up at six o’clock and get my husband breakfast in bed, but later on he does all the floors and the windows, so I’ve got the better deal, don’t I?”
Indeed.
