A DANCE craze which should suit most musical tastes has arrived in County Durham.

Modern jive dancing is catching on in discos and on function room dance floors across the region, partly thanks to the efforts of Lynn Smith.

The Darlington dance teacher, who already runs three blitz modern jive classes on Teesside and Tyneside, has opened a fourth to serve the Durham area.

Lynn said the class, at Bowburn Community Centre, should help to relieve pressure on her other classes, as some of her regulars travel weekly from County Durham to either Wallsend, Stockton or Middlesbrough, where other sessions are already well established.

"I get some who go to more than one because they enjoy it so much.

"It's really easy going and relaxed, but people have a great time and it can be danced to anything from Latin, rock, pop, big band or swing, as long as there's an even beat.

"Although we dance in pairs, you do not need to have a partner. We pair everyone up with each other during the course of an evening. We get a fairly even mix of men and women, and across the age range, from students to people in their fifties."

Lynn and several of her 'students' gave a display of modern jive dancing to shoppers at Durham's Millburngate Centre, on Saturday.

The opening night at the Durham Road community centre, on Tuesday was a free taster session.

From next Tuesday, the charge is £6 for every two classes. All sessions run from 7.30pm until 10.30pm.