Introducing LadyC!

When you are told to take an early maternity from teaching anything high impact and your world implodes!

So back in May I approached Charlotte (who I have since renamed LadyC) and asked her if she was still interested in becoming an Exercise to music instructor.

Heres the background...

Charlotte joined my Clubbercise classes a little over a year ago. This formed a massive part of what started as a weight loss journey and fast became more about improving her mental health, kicking depression and anxiety in the face!!

Charlotte walked in and stumbled my way a quivering wreck and introduced herself, shortly followed by running and hiding in the back row. Following class, she came and thanked me for a fun packed class and explained how she was really nervous and found dancing in the dark so much more comforting. Three weeks later she appears in the front row and starts appearing at my Zumba classes too (albeit in the back row). Naturally I gave her a little nudge and again a couple of weeks later there she was upfront right in front of me, giggling all the way through Zumba and Clubbercise and loving every second of being in classes.

Go Charlotte! The bumbling wreck now well and truly addicted to anything dance based.

A love for dance based fitness.....tick!

So coming on to a year later, a blossoming friendship and learning we are very similar in our battles with mental health and our fitness journeys to combat them!

We still learn each day how we have so much we share in terms of our battles, families, love for dance and a real desire to help other people! Dancing for 25 years or for one year, the passion is the same and we really are "girls who just wanna have fun!"

Back to May, as I said, Charlotte had mentioned an interest in completing her Exercise to music qualification and then perhaps getting her Clubbercise licence...

I messaged her one day and asked if she wanted to get qualified and cover my classes at the end of the year because I was going to be away from classes for a few months. After some reassurance, Charlotte booked her course with the trainer I recommended and with hard work and support not just from me but everyone at classes, she passed.

Next stop Clubbercise!

So after convincing Charlotte that she wont get lost in London when she goes to her Clubbercise course and letting slip that I wasn't off travelling for a few months and that I was in fact having another baby, she overcome her anxiety and went and got trained!

She also told me I had either gained weight, was really bloated or must be preggas! Thanks mate, no flies on you!

So next stop, stand in front of an actual, real life class! I remember how scary this is. Even though I had experience in front of Dance classes, after many years away from the dance scene I was petrified when I became an instructor and knew all too well how Charlotte was feeling. You feel sick, spend more time in the bathroom before class than actually teaching one and the thought of forgetting your moves and making a total muppet of yourself is daunting and embarrassing! Turns out it actually makes for a much more relaxed class and endless laughter!

After weeks of Charlotte teaching a couple of routines at each of my classes, getting to know the participants and allowing me to support and offer advice, the Doctor signs me off from all classes with immediate effect!

Nothing like being dropped in at the deep end! So with only a matter of weeks practice teaching a few tracks at classes, expecting a good two months more to build her confidence, that was it...LadyC was born (I can't really remember how that slipped out my mouth one class but hey, its not the craziest thing I've said in a class and it stuck).

So from back row to covering all of my classes in just over a year, smashing her anxiety along the way. Overcoming various obstacles, including way too much self doubt and even making me a tadge nervous at times, LadyC is not only covering my classes, but absolutely smashing them. She is like a different person from the one I met, her transformation as an instructor since the end of September has astounded me!

The best part is the support we give each other. She lets me be a bossy pants and come and gate crash at classes as and when bump allows me to do some jumping around, she never says no to anything I ask her to do at classes and drives forward my vision on my behalf.

Charlotte says how thankful she is to me, but what she doesn't realise is how thankful I am to her, not only because she has covered all my classes, she has allowed me to fulfill what I wanted to achieve, I wanted to help people. I promised up to my mum in heaven that if I gave up everything for this it would be to help others and I would make her proud. I've helped Charlotte overcome her battles, she's helped me keep the dream alive and together we are helping every person we can that attends a class with one or both of us.

I could waffle on forever as most of you well know, but for now, thanks LadyC, welcome to the team!

Team T&C - A Clubbercise match made in Neon x