Dot's strictly passionate about dancing

ENERGETIC septuagenarian Dot Bremner can put her feet up on Christmas Day and enjoy a festive treat.

That’s when she will celebrate her 75th birthday and if anybody deserves to take it easy for one day then it is Dot.

Age has done nothing to dim Dot’s passion for dance and exercise; and helping other older people remain fit, active and independent in their own homes.

Dot travels all over Moray to deliver dancercise routines to Be Active Life Long (BALL) members and other community groups whose members are generally younger than she is.

Her passion saw her nominated by New Elgin BALL secretary Kath Marshall for one of 'The Northern Scot' senior citizen festive hampers.

Dot said: "I really love what I do and have been dancing since I was two years old."

Her sessions have been so in demand that she has recently undertaken an instructor’s course so she can teach others to deliver the classes.

"I couldn’t keep up with all the bookings and thought the next best thing was to show people themselves how to do it with their own groups."

That saw Dot, of Burnside Court, Buckie attend a course in Edinburgh and she plans to undertake another national qualification in 2014 to become a chair-based fitness instructor, which will allow her to deliver sessions to people who have mobility problems but can exercise from a chair.

Despite being registered partially sighted and being blind in one eye, Dot has no plans to stop dancing any time soon.

"I have an advanced cataract in my seeing eye so I will eventually go blind and it is at that point I may need an operation. I also have no peripheral vision in my seeing eye," she said.

She is currently undergoing long cane training with the North East Sensory Services to cope with her worsening eyesight.

However, none of her own health problems will deter her from delivering her dance classes.

"If they put the music on and stick me in the middle of the floor I can still dance," she declared.

Husband Jim (85) is Dot’s chauffeur to events across Moray.

Dot, a former contracts administrator with BP, was the oldest participant on her instructor’s course and the New Elgin BALL group helped her sit her final exam by video link.

Aberdeen-born Dot was brought up in Carlisle and lived in Drummuir, near Keith for many years before moving to Buckie in 2008.

She founded the Hip Bumpers group in Keith which was for "mature ladies of varying shapes and sizes" and met every Monday. They performed all over Moray and also danced on the back of a lorry in an Edinburgh Cavalcade a number of years ago.

"We were just ordinary women but people are more inclined to join in if they see somebody ordinary doing it," she said.

Dot, who has two grand-daughters aged ten and two, believes her dance classes have given people more confidence and helped improve their fitness levels, a key factor in helping older people remain at home.

She has tried every kind of dancing over the years, including pole dancing and South African Gumboot dancing.

A great fan of Strictly Come Dancing on BBC, Dot hopes more people will get involved in the dance classes in 2014.

She has also been nominated to carry the Commonwealth Games baton when it comes to Scotland next year and is in the process of helping set up a group in Buckie for people in their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Kath said Dot was an inspiration to many people and thoroughly deserved her Christmas treat as she gives up her time to attend BALL groups and sheltered housing with her dance routines.

"She is always cheerful and positive. Her 75th birthday is on Christmas Day so it would be lovely for her to have a treat," added Kath.