AFTER years of dancing professionally Joanne Dougan realised she loved teaching and wanted to set up her own business. She was 19.

Now marking 25 years of her Step by Step School of Dance, she has taught hundreds of youngsters across Copeland. 

She recently held a silver jubilee ball at Copeland Bowls and Sports Centre and among those attending were some of her first pupils -- along with their dancing daughters.

Joanne said: "It was lovely to see everyone. It has been very emotional. I am now on the next generation; I taught their mothers and I now teach their kids. It is like a second family.''

She began dancing "relatively late'' at around 10 years, but then realised she just "lived to dance''. 

At 16, she became a professional dancer, joined an agency, and worked in shows and cabaret across Greece and Cyprus.

"It was a fantastic experience,'' Joanne said. "I also worked at Burnham-on-Sea as a green coat children's entertainer which helped my skills dealing with children and parents.''

She was then offered a dancing contract in Japan, but decided to help her friend who ran a dancing school. Realising she loved teaching she took the momentous step of applying for a grant from the Prince's Youth Trust to set up her own school.

She said: "My mentor knew nothing about dancing, and I knew nothing about business! I had recognised a gap in the market; a lot of children who wanted to to dance  lived in rural areas, and they couldn't always get to Whitehaven.''

So she checked out hall and venues in Seascale, Egremont, St Bees and Cleator Moor, and her uncle, who was a graphic designer helped her made the logo.

"At that time I couldn't drive so my parents had to run my everywhere, and I was doing my teaching exams,'' she said. With her youth and determination spurring her on, Joanne opened her school on April 23 1990.

"I remember waiting to see who would come through the door,'' she said. "I do remember my first pupil, it was Kirsty Kilpatrick, who is still with me!''

From her initial six pupils, the school now has around 240 pupils, with hundreds more having attended the school down the decades.

Joanne said: "The pupils take out of dancing what they want. Most of them do take exams, but it is up to them.'' Having fun is obviously the main aim, but attending dance sessions also improves fitness (Joanne is keen on keeping up suppleness) as well as developing with discipline and commitment, encouraging hard work and good manners.  

"Running a dance school does spill into your life,'' Joanne said. "I can be up at midnight rattling out ideas for choreography or labelling costumes.'' Mum to Nat, 12, and Connie, 10, she has been She has been supported by husband, Carl, her parents Ann and Allan Pickering and her in-laws, Phyllis and Billy Dougan.   

As well as the day-to-day running of the business, the school also holds a main show in May, summer schools and takes part in competitions at Blackpool Opera House.

"It is lovely to see the children's confidence blossom,'' Joanne said. "They come in when they are little and they won't leave their mother's side. Then they are doing solos on stage.''

While most of the school's young pupils are happy to see dancing as an enjoyable hobby, some of them have gone on to do performing arts degrees at university, performing on cruise liners or take their own dancing qualifications.

Last month, Step by Step had the highest number of distinctions for medals test in the country from the American Association of Dancing.

And over the years, they have won nine national junior titles, six babes titles and six senior titles. One of her pupils, Aoibhinn McCool, a pupil, won an inter-scholarship (ballet and tap) winner in 2012, beating off competition from 200 pupils that year for a dance bursary.

"This is testimony,'' Joanne said, "to the hard work put in by the kids.''   She is also supported by Kayleigh Amor, who was one of her first pupils and is now an assistant teacher, as well as her sister, Alison Lavery. 

After all those years teaching and running her business, Joanne continues to love dancing. "I can still do the splits at 44,'' she laughed.