Couple’s global jiving quest raises thousands for charity
Sometimes the most noble causes are sparked by innocent dares from friends.
British nationals Diane and Steve Gee, now Cyprus residents, started jiving simply to meet new people and shake up their island life. What began as a fun hobby turned into a global adventure: within one year, they danced in more than 60 locations worldwide, raising over £4,500 for charities including Cyprus’s Forget Me Not Alzheimer’s foundation, the UK’s Macmillan Cancer Support, honouring loved ones lost to both diseases.
The passion wasn’t entirely out of the blue. “When we came to Cyprus, we joined Paphos Jivers in Chloraka to meet people,” Diane tells the Cyprus Mail. “The club was so friendly and the instructors so patient, it quickly became a weekly highlight.”
Friends fuelled the momentum. On Diane’s 60th birthday in January 2025, one dared her to jive in 60 spots over the year. Months later in June, another suggested turning it into a charity drive.
“We initially had no plans to raise money,” Diane says. “It was just a personal challenge until friends pushed us to make it humanitarian.”
The couple has jived with sea lions on Peru’s San Palomino islands, inside a submarine, on a padel court (wearing actual padels), before Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer, atop iconic Machu Picchu -Diane’s favourite jiving backdrop, and in a 3,000-year-old wine cave in Kathikas, Cyprus.
Locations rarely come planned, as Diane recalls cycling in France and spontaneously dancing on a hay bale. “The only planned ones were in Singapore [courtesy of a touring company who supported their cause, but more on that later] and Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower,” she says.
The couple had originally hoped to hit the £6,000 mark, but deemed it unrealistic, given they had just six months to raise the amount. By year’s end, they had raised £4,473. Now in 2026, £6,000 feels within reach.
They hope that the publicity will urge readers to give what they can. The couple anticipates a donation of £200 from two English magazines after being featured, while their GoFundMe is receiving growing traction. “Including the link in articles may perhaps increase the total,” Diane hopes.
All donations the couple received have been memorable in their own way, but one stands out from the rest: a tour company they have long supported, gave £1,000, and more. The two had already booked a tour around southeast Asia through that same company.
“They not only donated money but also a driver and a tour guide in Singapore to take us to iconic places to jive in,” Diane says adding that the company had facilitated access to places such as the helipad on the cruise ship.
With the initial challenge now finished, the jiving couple are already planning their next adventure. Having already book a jiving cruise around the Caribbean in March. They have booked a jiving cruise around the Caribbean in March. “Whenever we travel, we’ll be looking at places thinking, can we jive there? It’s now part of the fun.” Diane says.
Donations at GoFundMe.