Dance graduate is in demand after win on reality TV show

MOST mortals never get the chance to groove next to Lady Gaga or jive with Janet Jackson.

• Pamela has performed with many big stars including Katy Perry on the Today Show

But peek to the side of your TV screen and there's a good chance you'll see Pamela Jean Smith.

The diverse backing dancer, who lived on Queensferry Road before moving to London and LA, is working with some of the biggest names in the business after winning a reality TV contest in the United States.

Over the past two years the Telford College graduate has performed with Katy Perry, Cheryl Cole and Vanilla Ice, plus she was a prominent dancer in Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and Usher's OMG videos.

This weekend the 23-year-old begins the X Factor tour, doing lots of the legwork to make sure the last series' stars shine.

Pamela, who now shares her time between England and the US, said she had always wanted to be a backing dancer rather than take centre stage. She said: "I'd watch performances by Madonna and Michael Jackson when I was little, but I'd always be copying the dance moves. I'm not sure why, but I would look at the dancers rather than the stars. When I first got on stage, I felt entirely in my element. It didn't bother me that I wasn't the centre of attention.

Pamela got into dancing much later than average. She said: "My mum and dad wanted me to get qualifications first. They said I should get my highers then go into dancing. I started out professionally when I was 17, but I went to a community group from the age of 14. Then I went to Telford to do a BA in dance."

After the course she was invited to star in a US reality TV show Dirty Dancing: The Time of Your Life, on Living TV. After 12 weeks of shows in Virginia, she won, scooping a lucrative contract with LA-based dance agency bloc and a three-year American visa.

She said: "My first job was in 2008 with choreographer Brian Friedman on the X Factor. My first ever backing dance was for Leon Jackson."

Pamela went on to dance for Katy Perry on the Today Show and Cheryl Cole at the Brit Awards. Her favourite performance, however, was with Vanilla Ice at the National TV Awards. She said: "I used to dance around to him in my room, so it was brilliant."

Winifred Jamieson, manager of Performing Arts at Telford College, said Pamela was an excellent role model for current students. She said: "She was very hard-working, but Pamela was talented before she started."