Sammy Murray's dance students tend to leave her class walking that little bit taller than when they went in.

Sammy teaches fitness based on basic ballet techniques, which sculpt, tone and strengthen the body as well providing an energising, cardio-vascular workout.

A professional dancer and choreographer, she was keen to combine the disciplines of ballet with exercise and, after discovering BalletbeFit last summer, she now teaches weekly classes.

BalletbeFit was started by Rachel Withers, a classically-trained dancer and fitness enthusiast who combined her two passions to create an exercise programme that anyone can do.

Like Rachel, Sammy trained at the Royal Ballet School. "I joined at 12 and after two years was told I was too tall. They measure your hands so they can tell how tall you're going to be," says Sammy. "I went on to theatre school then started learning jazz, tap and modern dance. My first audition was for 42nd Street in the West End when I was 17 and that was that."

Also in 42nd Street was a young Catherine Zeta Jones, hoofing it on the stage before the TV break that led to her movie stardom, and she and Sammy became friends. Sammy enjoyed a busy West End career for 15 years, performing in shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Me and My Girl and Singin' In The Rain, as well as TV commercials, then went into choreography.

"I wasn't particularly interested in choreography but when I was dancing in shows I was given the responsibility of dance captain, then assistant and resident choreographer, looking after an entire show," she says.

While working in the West End Sammy met Victoria Wood, who was working on a stage musical version of her TV soap spoof, Acorn Antiques. Sammy choreographed the show then directed it for the tour. She taught Victoria to tap dance - for the role of Mrs Overall which Victoria initially shared on stage with Julie Walters - and the pair remain good friends.

Sammy has since choreographed Eric and Ernie, Victoria's drama about the early career of Morecambe and Wise, and other TV productions including

The Hour, Mr Selfridge and Ballet Shoes, starring Emma Watson. More recently she choreographed and appeared in That Day We Sang, a warm-hearted musical written and directed by Victoria Wood, starring Imelda Staunton and Michael Ball as two former members of the Manchester Children's Choir who meet again at a reunion in middle-age, which was a TV highlight last Christmas.

"You meet a lot well-known people in this business then you move on once the job is finished, but Victoria and I just clicked. She knows exactly what she wants, but she's great fun," says Sammy, who also worked on recently-screened ITV drama George and Arthur, starring Martin Clunes.

"It can be tough, filming long hours then going straight out on the school run, but I love it," says the mother-of-two. "Racing around after six-year-old twins in my mid-forties, and juggling it with a career in choreography, I realised I wasn't on top of my fitness. When I was in the West End I was doing eight shows a week and I missed dancing, so I started looking for a class and came across Ballet Be Fit last summer. I fell in love with it, it was just what I was looking for."

After meeting Rachel, Sammy did a training course and became an instructor. She says the classes are particularly good for posture and body alignment, as well as general fitness. "It's not a ballet class - that could be very intimidating to some people - but it's based on simple ballet techniques and can be done to any music; pop as well as classical," she says.

"We do a warm-up then barre and floor work. It's great for toning, muscle strength and core stability, as well as other benefits of regular exercise, such as weight loss and increased stamina and energy levels. It's lots of fun, there are no tutus or ballet shoes and you don't need dance experience.

"People often say how much better it makes them feel. It's not as heavy as some work-outs, and it's good for wellbeing as well as fitness. It has people walking taller and more gracefully."

Sammy's pupils range in age from 21 to 70. "They work at their own pace. We use chairs as a barre and I can see them become more poised during the class," she says. "When I naturally follow my hand movements with my head, and I see the class try to do that, I know they're feeling the music."

She says the classes make dance more accessible to people who may not normally give it a go. "There's a lot more interest in dance now, thanks largely to TV shows. Darcey Bussell being on Strictly has done a lot for ballet too," says Sammy, who now trains Ballet Be Fit instructors too.

"The principles of dance stay with you for life. It's great for children to get into dance too; it helps with motivation and discipline as well as fitness, and gets them away from the computer screens. My boys always get up and dance to the radio."

Sammy teaches Ballet Be Fit at Victoria Hall, Saltaire, and Chatsworth Dance Studios, Harrogate. For more information call 07831 847627, email sammy.murray@balletbefit.com or visit balletbefit.com.