The stars think nothing of showing off their toned tums in figure hugging outfits. Think Beyonce, Kylie and Pink - all very different shapes but they have one thing in common: they've banished the tummy bulge

More often than not, women wanting to shape up look to their abdominal muscles as a priority area to work on. Unfortunately, they're one of the most difficult body parts to tone. Stars like Shakira use dance moves to tone their abs rather than doing the traditional ab-crunching sit-ups. As well as helping you to shape up, dancing also improves your balance, co-ordination and flexibility.

Anna Snook, director of the Degrees of Fitness Exercise Physiology company, says: 'Dancing is a wonderful and fun cardiovascular workout and, depending on the style of dance, can burn anything up to 400-500 calories per hour. This is a rough estimate as it is highly dependent upon intensity, dance type and the participant'.

Muscles work together in pairs so you need to strengthen both muscles to prevent an imbalance. Anna advises against focusing too much on one area as it can put too much pressure on the joints. The abdominal muscles are at the front of your back, which means you also need to strengthen the muscles at the rear of your back.

Whereas crunches mainly strengthen the upper abdomen, dancing tones the whole of the abdomen with lots of twisting movements around the waist. For increased strength and strength endurance, Anna suggests combining core stability training such as crunches with dancing, as dancing alone is unlikely to give you a 'six-pack'.

Dance is a good all-round workout, but it requires great flexibility and some hyper mobility of the joints and when joints are flexible they tend to be weaker, so too much flexibility is actually a weakness.

Dance often forces the spine into movements such as bending too far back (hyperextension), which can cause back pain through pressure on one of the many joints of the spine, most often in the lower back. This is a particular risk to anyone taking up dance who has not been a dancer or gymnast from a young age or to those with underlying back problems.

There have been lots of fitness videos focusing on dance in recent years which can give you a good dance workout in the comfort of your own living room. Martine McCutcheon's Dance Body DVD is a workout video that is suitable for those of us who aren't experts at dancing. It does help to have a little knowledge and experience of dance before you start so you don't injure yourself, but you certainly don't need to be a professional dancer to join in the fun.

For someone with a bit more dancing experience, Angela Griffin's Dance Mix Workout is good for a more intensive workout. The level of intensity and relative complexity of some of the dance moves means it might take a while to get the hang of things, but at the same time it isn't so challenging that you want to throw in the towel after the first session.

A Dirty Dancing Workout is loosely based on the hit film, and you can tackle either the beginners' workout or the advanced version. For the super-fit, you can do both for a more intensive fitness session. The dance routines gradually get more difficult as the video progresses, giving a good all-over workout by the time you've finished. The dance moves are quite complex, so this is not the best option for anyone who has never danced before.

The Hotpants Workout will really show you how dance can be both fun and rewarding. It's presented by Dan Karaty, who has choreographed dance routines for many celebrities, including Jessica Simpson and Kylie Minogue.

Toned abs have to start with an already flat stomach, but don't despair! If there is a layer of fat covering your abs at the moment it is just a case of working hard to remove this first.

Denise Van Outen lost around a stone while treading the boards in Chicago, but Anna warns that this had a lot to do with the intensive dance training she was undergoing during the musical, and was also combined with a healthy diet.

Nutrition expert Dr Sarah Brewer suggests that the usual healthy eating guidelines apply here.

Sarah says: 'That means a sensible intake of low to moderate glycemic index carbohydrates, a protein source with each meal, and at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Fluid intake is also important'.

Dancing can be a fun way to tone your abs, but like any other exercise it requires patience and dedication to achieve the best results.