Cabrini couple aren’t missing a step even after 64 years

A Westmead couple have literally kicked off the New Year on the dance floor, celebrating 64 years of marriage and teaching their fellow aged care residents a few moves for the occasion.

Martha and Michael took centre stage on 2^nd January as they marked over six decades since their wedding in 1961 with family and friends at Bolton Clarke Cabrini residential care. 

Finding each other through family connections, they said their love story was a slow burn but one that was worth the wait.

“My military training finished at 10:30, just in time for me to walk and wait for a bus so I would act surprised when Martha was at the station at 11 o’clock,” Michael said.

“I eventually asked her to see a movie and she said no before I even finished the question but as we walked past a local theatre, I could see her looking at a big poster for the movie ‘White Feather’.

“I asked again and she said yes and that was the start of everything.”

The couple migrated to Australia from Singapore in the early 70s and established a new life in Seven Hills with their three children, discovering a shared passion for ballroom dancing.

“I was a qualified architect and interior designer in Singapore and when I came here I was offered a job as a draftsman but during the architecture slump, I lost my job,” Michael said.

“When I came home to tell Martha, I thought she was going to cry but all she said was ‘hooray, we can go dancing now!’.

“She always wanted to dance but I have two left feet so never wanted to!”

After their first dancing lesson at a local studio, the teacher offered the pair private lessons to further their skills.

“Our teacher taught us for years and we wanted to pay her but she refused and said she was teaching us to be teachers for her in her studio,” Martha said. 

“We were only dancing for about eight months before we started teaching.”

“Martha had to learn how to dance like a man and I had to dance like a woman so we were able to teach others, so that’s what we did for all 18 dances,” Michael said.

After years of dancing competitively and teaching, Martha and Michael took a break due to Michael’s health.

“We were then ready to return to the dancefloor when COVID hit but then Martha said that we are getting old and we aren’t dancing at all.

“She suggested that we make videos of our dancing in case we forget.

“So, we produced 15 dances and now we can watch them and remember all the steps.”

Martha and Michael now enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle from Bolton Clarke Cabrini residential care where they say was the best move they could have made.