Samantha Shaw is used to treading the boards.

The former professional dancer sailed ashore from a glitzy life on the cruise ships and theatre to tread floorboards, showing clients round Newmason Properties' swish apartments in Saltaire.

Victoria Mills, the company's latest stylish conversion on the gateway to the World Heritage Site, is where Samantha spends her working days as the company's marketing assistant.

Her role involves supporting the head of sales and marketing, liaising with advertising and PR consultants, and event planning for residents' meetings and apartment launches.

It's two years since she came to work for Newmason as a temp, moving swiftly through the ranks as a meeter and greeter within the sales department to sales negotiator and marketing assistant.

Before that, American-born Samantha spent a decade dancing in regional theatres in the States and entertaining on cruise ships. She also did an off-Broadway Show in New York.

In between her dancing duties, Samantha nannied for a family in Maryland, where she grew up, worked in retail mainly jewellery sales and manufacturing.

She came to England after meeting her husband, a gym and fitness instructor, on the cruise ships.

"When I moved here my career took a major change," says Samantha.

"I will be 30 at the end of this month so as a professional dancer you can keep going but it's a single person's career. You are travelling around going with the jobs so I'm more settled now."

Her current career is in contrast to her dancing days but Samantha says it allows her to make use of her creative flair. "Working in marketing you have to be a creative person. My background lends to that, and you have to have a good eye for picking out design work for billboards or anything that goes with marketing."

However, she admits she misses dancing. "I pretty much came out flipping as my mum says!" laughs Samantha. "I trained since I was four years old and was doing gymnastics at five and competing. I was quite lucky with my professional career so it's hard to do something you trained for and loved for ten or 12 years and suddenly stop. It is quite an adjustment but what I've come into gives me some creative freedom."

  • For more information about marketing courses call Bradford College on (01274) 433333.