Jenny Murray

(by Tess Robeson August 2026) 

“I love to dance!” 

Many an IWP member’s initial impressions of Jenny Murray are that she is quiet and reserved. But observe Jenny when she leads the ladies in her line dancing group on Fridays, and she’s transformed! You’ll see a vibrant, upbeat, and spirited individual whose passion for dancing exudes in her every step. 

“I love to dance!” said Jenny. She has been line dancing for more than 20 years now. Her friends at IWP who knew of her background in dance entreated her to give line dancing lessons. She started IWP’s line dancing activity in October 2025. “In line dancing there are wonderful dances you can do,” noted Jenny. “While in country dancing you hear only country music, in line dancing you can dance to music like the cha-cha, rumba, mambo, waltz, and others.”

Born Jennifer Sammons in Krugersdorp, South Africa, Jenny is an only child. Her father has Irish roots and her mother has Dutch ancestry. Her family moved to Zambia when she was young on account of her father’s job. Jenny lived there for the first 12 years of her life. The family returned to South Africa, lived in Krugersdorp, then in East London (now KuGompo City), after which her parents retired to the South Coast of KZN or KwaZulu-Natal.

After taking a secretarial course in Johannesburg, Jenny got married and moved to Durban. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Psychology there. While raising three kids – two girls and a boy – she taught them as well as other children to swim. “There’s a huge chain of gyms in South Africa called Virgin Active,” said Jenny. She worked there and later became “a franchise holder of the big swimming pool in one of the gyms. Teaching children to swim and coaching swimmers were such pleasures for me.”  

An employee at the gym introduced Jenny to line dancing. She took lessons from “a gifted choreographer.” Said Jenny, “Learning to dance was a big change in my life. I enjoyed it then and am still enjoying it.” Jenny took part in line dancing competitions in Cape Town. She talked effusively about entering an international line dancing competition in Nashville, Tennessee. “We were in this grand hotel with two ballrooms. The music, the crowd, the challenge of dancing competitively … it was a wonderful experience!”

When COVID hit, Jenny’s swimming pool in Virgin Active closed down. By then she had been operating a swimming pool and teaching swimming for 30 years. “Teaching children to swim is one of the things I am proud of in life,” said Jenny. “The kids enjoyed it as well. They did better in school as a result. My own kids have done well in water sports and have enjoyed life.”

In 2022 Jenny moved to Portugal where one of her daughters had been living. Jenny is based in Cascais. She joined IWP shortly after moving here. “IWP has been a nice part of my new life.”

Nowadays Jenny’s typical week looks like this: “A walk on Monday, coffee morning on Tuesday, tai chi on Thursday, and line dancing on Friday.” Prior to Friday Jenny makes a list of the dances she will teach at her line dancing session and prepares “step sheets” for the participants. She also meditates. “I took meditation classes for five years,” shared Jenny. “Meditation helped me during the time of my divorce to attain peace and happiness. Now I meditate and send ‘waves of love’ to everybody. It keeps me happy.”

Looking ahead, Jenny said she would still be living in Portugal and hopes she’d be “not too old to dance.”