First session in 10 years. First dilemma: what to wear. Leotards which were unflattering even then are not suitable now. In the end I settled for an oldish pair of dancing leggings, a sports bra and a t-shirt. Next session I must wear something without sleeves I think. Second dilemma: fitness. Should I try and get fit first or should I just get on with it. I opted for the latter.

Started the warm-up. Everyone seemed very fit. I ended up at the front of the line, struggling. In the end I had to admit defeat and return to the end of the queue. My fitness was appalling – I was unable to keep running even for 15 minutes. I was starting to wonder what I had let myself in for but there was nothing I could do about it. We moved onto stretching where I realised I could no longer touch the floor. Or sit in a proper straddle position. Or manage anything resembling splits. Or form a bridge. In short, it was awful, it was embarrassing. And I was at the front.

Next up – line work, where everyone takes it in turns to do sets of basic moves up and down the mats. Having put up such an awful show in the stretching section I was concerned how I would fare here. I needn’t have worried though – my body may not be fit or supple but it still remembered the basic moves. Forward rolls, backwards rolls, handstands, cartwheels, dive forward rolls. I may have been rusty but I could still (just about) hold my own.