GETTING children to exercise can be a difficult task but Women's Editor Christen Pears talks to a woman who wants to turn couch potatoes into popstars.

KYLIE Minogue's latest hit blasts out of the speakers and a group of youngsters strut their stuff on the dancefloor. They move with the beat, losing themselves in the music and singing along to the lyrics.

This is Dance Like A Popstar - a new fitness class for children. It was started at Fitness First in Stockton a couple of months ago by freelance dance teacher Dawn Robinson.

"I noticed that there were a lot of overweight children around. When we were children, we all used to be in dance school, and I had some friends who used to go ice skating. Now everyone spends all their time in front of the TV or playing on the computers," she says.

"It's not surprising that so many are unhealthy. This is a way of getting them to exercise while they're having fun. Often, they don't even realise it's exercise because they enjoy it so much."

Britain has the fastest growing obesity rate in Europe. Unhealthy diets, combined with sedentary lifestyles mean more and more youngsters are becoming overweight and putting themselves at risk of early death due to diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.

"It is becoming a serious problem and if people don't start doing something soon there will be a whole generation of really unhealthy adults," says Dawn, who looks the picture of good health in her bright red tracksuit and bandana. She exudes the kind of energy that would inspire children, even those unused to exercise.

The class begins with a 15-minute warm-up, followed by a longer section with routines the children already know. The last 15 minutes are spent learning new steps.

Children between six and 15 attend but so far, all of them have been girls.

"It's a shame we don't get any boys but I suppose they think dancing is a bit of a girls' thing. They don't really think about all the boy bands out there like Westlife who dance as well as sing."

Some of the children can dance already but others have never danced a step in their lives.

"There's no pressure. It's not like a dancing school where you have to do exams or enter competitions. Everyone just gets on with it. We've been dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller for Halloween but usually it's whatever is in the charts that week - Britney or Kylie. The kids know all the songs so it's great fun for them and with Pop Idol and Fame Academy on the television, they all want to be the next Zoe Birkett."

Dawn, who works part time at Orange, also teaches for Stagecoach theatre school in Newcastle and Sunderland. She has been dancing since she was six and has known she wanted to teach since she was a teenager.

"By the time I was about 14 I was helping the teacher out and I loved it. I've been teaching properly since I was 17 and I still love it. In fact I've always wanted to have my own dancing school but there are so many round here already, I decided to do something different. I'm a lot stricter at Stagecoach than here because this is just about having fun."

Dawn's particular passion is tap dancing but there are very few venues where she can teach classes.

"Everyone is worried about their floors so they won't let you do tap," she explains. "It's such a shame because I absolutely love tap and I would hate to see it die out."

Another factor behind its decline in popularity, she believes, is the expense. Many are put off by having to buy shoes and special clothing before they know whether it's something they're going to enjoy.

"My mum had three girls and we all went dancing. It cost her a fortune to put us through classes but with this, there isn't any of that expense. All you need is a pair of trainers and some jogging suit bottoms or jeans and it means children who might not be able to afford to go to a dancing school can come and enjoy the experience."

* Dance Like A Popstar classes take place at Fitness First in Stockton every Sunday from 4pm to 5pm and cost £2. For more information, call (01642) 617773.