LOSING her job in December gave Heidi Almonte all the motivation she needed to pursue the full-time career she had always dreamt of.

Before being made redundant from her plumbing job early last month, Ms Almonte (pictured) had taught dancing part-time, but with her employment and other commitments, she never had the opportunity to dedicate herself to the art in the way she wanted.

‘I’d been thinking about doing this for a long time. I’ve been teaching salsa for 10 years and everybody loves it, so when I was made redundant in early December that finally made me decide to do something I really loved doing.

‘A lot of my students were saying that I should be doing more classes, but I just never had the time. But now I have, and I’m really excited about it.’

In addition to salsa, Ms Almonte will be teaching a variety of styles, including ballroom and Latin, to people of all ages and abilities, as well as holding gentler keep-fit sessions that would be ideal for the older generation.

And by concentrating on teaching full-time, she hopes that many of those in the island who usually work evenings will be able to take advantage of her afternoon sessions.

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