From salsa to SOSA

Keen dancer Janine Smith, 38, trained as an instructor last year and now holds classes at Bushmead and Toddington.

The former Putteridge High pupil says: “I’ve been dancing since I was about four, starting with ballet and tap and moving on to ballroom, Latin, disco and formation team, all while I was still at school.

“When Louis ‘Salsaman’ Lettman brought salsa to Luton in the late 1990s I took it up and he asked me to teach but I wasn’t ready for it.”

Janine, who grew up in Wigmore and works at Barnfield College as a data assistant, carried on doing the salsa and ran several clubs over the years. Then she decided to look at improving what she did – and came across SOSA.

It empowers and inspires women with its fun-packed workouts which adapt traditonal dance styles so they’re suitable to do solo with no need for a partner.

Janine explains: “I contacted founder Katy Burrow and attended a course which led me to qualify as a SOSA dance fitness instructor last year.

“I was the first to do so in Bedfordshire and ideally I’d like to run more classes but I also have a full time job at the moment.”

She styles herself Lady J, a name she adopted while working for local radio station Tropical FM TV where she ran the office and had her own show.

SOSA classes are suitable for everyone, including those who’ve had previous impact injuries and GP referrals.

Janine says: “No two classes are the same – we introduce four new routines every month, enabling participants to learn beautiful new dance steps and keep fit at the same time.”

> For more information visit www.iamladyj.co.uk