Fusku in Koijärvi

Anyone who knows me will tell you that dancing is one of the things that I love most in life. Whenever I need cheering up, I know that I am guaranteed to feel better if I go out dancing for a few hours.

I have danced pretty much all my adult life. It started off with dancing in the clubs where I worked as a DJ, and then progressed to salsa, which I still love now. A year ago I was challenged by members of the Somero English Club to try going to the Finnish "lavatanssit." I had resisted going for the first four years I was in Finland, on the basis that I would be the only person there who didn't know the steps.

Then last Easter there was a dancing camp in Somero over four days, where I had my first introduction to dances such as the waltz, foxtrot, tango, fusku, bugg and rumba.

This gave me the courage to start going to dances. Of course as soon as I started, I realised that you certainly don't need to be an expert to go dancing in Finland. The vast majority of men use pretty much the same steps no matter what the music is, and have never been to a single lesson, so my fear of not knowing what to do had been completely misplaced.

Today I joined my friend Juha Juhola in Koijärvi (near Forssa) who was giving a fusku lesson. Fusku is a Finnish invention which you can dance to anything with a foxtrot rhythm. Salsa will always be my first love when it comes to dancing, but it's been fun over the past year to get to know several new dances and join in with the Finnish Lavatanssi tradition.

If you've ever thought of dancing, but never had the courage to try, my advice to you is to go out and get started... you will find dance classes wherever you are in the world. Once you have been a few times you will realise just how much fun it can be. And of course that's the most important thing about dancing, it should be all about enjoying the music - and feeling free from everything that might be getting you down.

These days I dance almost every day. Sometimes at dance venues, but usually simply in my kitchen. My neighbours probably things I'm totally nuts, but dancing is when I feel happiest. So if you're feeling less than perfect this Saturday afternoon, turn up the music and get your dancing shoes on. I guarantee you will be glad you did. Wishing you all a happy weekend!