By day, Joanna Kingman teaches university students about the finer points of biomechanics.

But when night falls she pulls on a devil's outfit and transforms into a gyrating podium dancer. She said: "They are both so different that they complement one another. It's great to have such a varied life."

Joanna is at the exam stage of a doctorate in sports biomechanics at University College, Chichester, where she is also a research assistant and teacher. But the talented 26-year-old also has her own business called Club Dancer which supplies podium dancers for clubs.

She said: "I've always really loved dancing and being sociable and when I was studying for my first degree at Chichester I used to go to Thursday's nightclub. I noticed they didn't have any dancers and offered to dance for them myself. It was petrifying for the first weeks because everyone would stop and stare as they weren't used to it."

Every Friday and Saturday night for a year Joanna danced at the club to help finance her degree. From there she began dancing in clubs across the South, including Brighton's Paradox and Escape clubs, until she formed her agency four years ago.

Club Dancer now has 50 men and women aged between 18 and 38 on its books and provides dancers for 12 clubs across the UK. They can earn from £40 to £150 a night and Joanna says male dancers are most in demand because there are fewer of them.

Although Joanna, from Bosham, near Chichester, has taken a back seat from the dancing to run the agency and concentrate on her studies, she still loves taking to the podium. Joanna, who was also a roller hockey player for England until she was 21, lives with her boyfriend Graham, 27, who is also involved in the business.

He runs a company which supplies "body armour" style outfits to dancers and clubbers. Joanna said: "He's absolutely fine about me dancing. He comes to watch me and is very laid back about it. The outfits I wear aren't skimpy and raunchy - it's not about that. They're based on different themes, like a devil or cowgirl.

"People get confused with lap dancers, pole dancers and podium dancers. We're more of a show than sleazy or sexy - and we don't take our clothes off. I've never been hassled - I think men are intimidated by us! It's the male dancers who get harassed!"