Heart 2 Heart Concepts Magazine 12/2017-Exploring Your #HIDDENFIGURESSPIRIT | Page 16

add the music. The line dances were taught at an increased tempo, the benefits of which resulted in a full aerobic cardio workout. Many felt they weren't yet ready, almost certain to miss steps, but were willing to try, thus the cry "LET'S MESS IT UP". This phrase took on a life of its own and soon became the rallying cry. Linda, with her own quirky sense of humor, decided to name the group "Let's Mess It Up". The trademark shows 5 members dancing, each of whom had a distinct identifying characteristic. They are surrounded by musical notes, a caution sign and group name. As the group started to go out and dance in different clubs as our social night, Linda had the vision to incorporate LMIU in 2009. Linda has seen her vision expand beyond the boundaries of New Orleans, La. Our expansive group now travels all throughout the year to various line dance functions all over the country. The group has visited such states as MS, GA, TX, TN, CA, NV, PA and IL, just to name a few. She has expanded her networks with the inclusion of the internet including social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and our very own website. And for those of you who can’t get to New Orleans to experience the “Who Dat”, teacher in person – no worries Linda Simms has her very own teaching channel, teaching her more than 14,500 YouTube subscribers and 20,000 Facebook followers. Her subscribers are national as well as international as far as Japan, Brazil, Korea and Germany. Ironically, she started the YouTube channel to teach someone the wobble but after additional instructional videos, she has reached over 3.9 million views. On her channel, you