Ever since seeing his mother and father doing the jitterbug when he was eight years old, James Hannaway has wanted to be a dancer. But it was not until he teamed up with his wife Lisa 50 years later that he made it reality. By Liz Weafer JAMES, 58, of Highfield Road, Whiteshill, teaches 1920s jive and lindy hop at venues in and around Stroud.

He and his wife Lisa. 35, have been dancing for 11 years and teach three levels of dance - beginners and intermediate one and two - to men and women of all ages.

Just after Christmas, when people had over indulged on turkey and mince pies, classes swelled to 160 people.

"After Strictly Come Dancing came on TV we've noticed a huge increase in numbers," said James, who was a paratrooper in the British Army for three years.

"We used to have women coming out of our ears but when Darren Gough starred in the programme more men started coming - it made dance more acceptable to them.

"They could still be hard and dance and rather than looking like they're having a fit on the dance floor or doing dad dancing they looked cool."

When they met on bonfire night in 1994 Lisa was a hairdresser and James worked at a Dyson call centre - a job he hated.

James, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, had always been a good mover but until then had never considered pursuing dance as a career.

"I taught Lisa to dance and every Saturday our friends would come to our bungalow in Nailsworth and we would practice at teaching them," said James, who was a physical training instructor for British Motocross Champion Brian Wade.

"The best part of the job is seeing the transformation from staggering to dancing.

"We have had a couple of people we've never been able to teach - one guy kept stepping forwards during the backstep and no matter how many times we told him he just kept doing it.

"You always get some woman going down on her bum - you hear a thud, turn around and some woman's got her legs in the air."

James still recalls seeing his father, who was in the Army, dancing with his mother just before a ball.

"My dad was wearing his army uniform, holding my mums hand and twisted in a Shorty George," he said.

"I thought, God, that looks so cool, they were good jivers and I wanted to be like them."

Lisa's parents were also dancers, and won many medals for ballroom dancing.

"My dad couldn't believe it when I told him James was teaching me to dance," said Lisa.

"He had tried to teach me ball room dancing when I was young and I was awful - he nearly fell off his chair when he saw me performing."

The couple also hold dance nights at the Sub Rooms in Stroud and teach short classes at weddings.

"Dance is a great way of bringing people together because it is so intimate," said James.

"We taught at a wedding with Italian and English guests who were not really talking much, but as soon as they were on that floor they laughing and chatting away.

"Dancers have to help each other and work as a team, they have to communicate in some way."

Classes are at King's Stanley Village Hall every Monday, Whiteshill Village Hall every Tuesday, and the Sub Rooms every Wednesday.

There is no set path to become a dance teacher, but here are just a few ways.

Professional dance generally falls into three principle styles - ballet, contemporary dance and musical theatre.

Other dance forms like salsa, hip hop and kathak are growing rapidly in popularity.

Most dance schools offer a three year full-time training programme, and many offer degree programmes that have an academic element.

There are many higher education institutions offering dance courses or courses with dance elements.

For further information on these institutions and course content, please refer to the publication Directory of UK Dance Qualifications and Careers available from the University of Surrey.