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Jenny Thomas
S
By Ginny Farrell
TRICTLY choreographer Jenny Thomas began dancing in Plymouth aged four and went on to perform all over the world – living in the USA for 7 years - before recently settling in Stoke Fleming.
Jenny has been choreographing Charleston, Salsa and Pro Group routines on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing since 2006 and has created many of the show’s most memorable routines such as Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice’s ‘The Lonely Goat- herd,’ Ed Ball’s and Katya Jones’ ‘Gangnam Style’ Salsa which was nominated for BAFTA’s ‘Must See TV moments,’ and Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice’s salsa routine which won the National Reality TV Awards ‘Best Performance in a Reality Show 2018’.
She also had the pleasure of choreographing the opening group routine for Strictly’s Christmas Day Special 2021 and the group closing routines for 2022 and 2023.
Ginny Farrell chatted with Jenny over a coffee to find out more about her role on the nation’s favourite dance show.
Since buying a bungalow in Stoke Fleming with her fiance Darryl, a BBC sound engineer, Jenny has fully embraced village life. “I met my fiance at a Strictly aſtershow party. He
lived in Stoke Fleming and I would travel down to be with him when I wasn’t working,” Jenny said. “I used to say “Don’t
expect me to move here” because I thought it would be the end of my career if I did as it is so far away from everywhere. But now that I do I absolutely love it. I have a great work/life balance, I’ve made loads of friends and really enjoy being part of the community. “I do work hard but I
pencil out time when I won’t work, such as Tunes on the
Sands and Dart Music Festival because I really enjoy those events.” Jenny has more than 35 years of professional dance
experience under her belt and is recognised as one of the world’s top choreographers in Swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston and Authentic Jazz dances. At the beginning of
her career Jenny secured several All England Championship titles in Tap, Ballet and Modern Dance before going on to win the US Open, American Swing Dance
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