I help people over 45 rediscover joy through dance

Back in 2008, I was 32 years old and honestly pretty stuck. A knee injury from a running accident had left me sidelined for months, and I'd spent most of that time convinced my active days were behind me. That's when a friend dragged me to a salsa class in Dublin's Southside — not because I wanted to go, but because she wouldn't stop asking.

That first night was terrible. I couldn't feel the beat. My knee was stiff. I had no rhythm to speak of. But something about it just clicked. Not the dancing itself — that took years — but the idea that movement could feel good again. That I wasn't broken.

I completed my degree in Exercise and Health Sciences at UCD while attending classes religiously. By 2012, I'd qualified as a certified Latin dance instructor through the Royal Academy of Dance in London. But the real turning point came in 2018 when I launched 'Dancing Over 45' in Cork — a monthly meetup that started with just 12 people in a community centre. Two years later, we were hitting 150 participants.

What I learned wasn't complicated. Adults over 45 don't need fancy choreography or pressure to perform. They need patience. Modification. Permission to be beginners again. They need community. At turathsa Limited, that's exactly what we've built — over 1,200 active members across Ireland who've discovered that age isn't a barrier to learning, improving, or having genuine fun.