Linda Simms
“Let’s Mess It Up”
It would sound so interesting to tell all of you that Lets Mess It Up Soul Line
Dancing all started with an eight count, a shuffle and a quarter turn to the right, but
the history, the story is a little bit more fascinating. It all started with a vision;
dream, a revelation of one woman – Ms. Linda Simms, the now celebrated “Who
Dat Teacher of New Orleans, Louisiana”. Returning to New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina was challenging for Linda, a renowned aerobics teacher, and
Private Personal Trainer, but she knew once she returned she wanted to do
something that would involve health and physical fitness.
In 2008, Linda created a Cardio Program which encompassed aerobic workouts set
to music. In the early stages, these cardio workouts took on the forms of cardio
step, aerobic calisthenics routines, weight training and yoga. Is wasn’t until the
summer of 2008, Linda found her groove in the form of cardio line dancing.
Linda would spend hours reviewing dances from legends, like Dave Bush,
The Bula Master-Twins, and Ray Boyd, to teach to her cardio classes, which were
held twice a day, five times a week. The process was to teach each dance step by
step, counting and calling every step until the class almost had it. Then we would