Dance fitness classes are Strictly for fun

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Kristina Rihanoff was swept off her feet yesterday when she met a group of older people at a dance class in Edinburgh.

The Russian-born dancer was in the city as part of a Strictly… nationwide theatre tour. But she made time to visit a dance class in Newhaven to support Active Nation – a campaign to get Scots active in the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She said: "It is really great that people are dancing. It's something that anyone can do of any age or any level of fitness.

"It is wonderful when you move to the music – you don't feel like you are exercising but you are."

Rihanoff famously partnered broadcaster John Sergeant, who, despite his lack of dancing flair, became the unlikely star of the 2008 Strictly… series. "John Sergeant was 64 years old and quite a big man," she said. "But he lost 30lb when he trained with me and he has kept it off.

"I don't think he dances any more, but he has learned to take care of himself a lot better."

The dance class in Newhaven is part of Get Up and Go, which creates opportunities for the over-fifties to lead an active lifestyle.