42 Jenny described Craig
as a “pussycat” behind the scenes, adding: “He’s a panto villain judge, he’s just playing a role.” She has worked with Anton Du Beke in his roles as a professional dancer and a show judge. “You hear Anton before you see him,” Jenny said. “He’s one of the kindest and most welcoming pros to everyone and always gracious with his time to all my friends I’ve introduced him to over the years.” Aſter working with the Strictly stars,
Jenny attends camera rehearsals on Friday and dress rehearsal on Saturday when they perform with the band for the first time. Ten it’s the live show! “My palms are sweaty when the
celebrities I’ve choreographed for go out on set. I feel very nervous and if they do get slated by the judges I feel really sorry for them and want to say “hey, do you know how hard they’ve worked!” Jenny has also helped choreograph TV shows
‘Dancing On Ice’ and ‘So You Tink You Can Dance’ and ‘Dancing with the stars USA’. Her stand-out moment as a performer was at New
York’s Radio City Music Hall for the Tony Awards with the Broadway show ‘Swing’ - nominated for six awards - with a galaxy of movie stars in the audience, and as a choreographer for the BBC’s 75th D-Day commemorations in Southsea in 2019. “Tat was a big moment for me,” she said. “Te Queen and eleven state leaders attended and it was an honour and a privilege to choreograph the celebrations.”
However,
table placements were full of A-List names including Daniel Craig and Kate Moss. We then found out it was Elton John’s private 60th birthday party. “Aſter the performance
we were asked to dance with the guests. I mingled with the audience and chatted to Ozzy
[Osborne] and Sharon for a bit then
someone approached me and said “I’ll dance with you.” “He led me up to the stage, twirled
me around a few times and then sat me on his knee and gave me a kiss on the cheek – it was Sir Paul McCartney. “Te next day I remember dropping
my son to school thinking about paying the electricity bill and it suddenly hit me that last night I had been at Elton John’s birthday bash dancing with a Beatle. It was very surreal!” Six years earlier, Jenny experienced
another surreal moment when she witnessed the horrific scenes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. She was meant to have been on the hijacked
led me up to the stage, twirled me around a few times and then sat me on his knee and gave me a kiss on the cheek - it was Sir Paul McCartney.”
Jenny’s most surreal performance was as a guest dancer at a covert birthday party. She explained: “Me and
my ex-husband were oſten asked to dance at corporate events and we thought this was one such invitation. It wasn’t until we arrived and were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement that we wondered just what was going on. Te
“He
United Airlines plane which was taken down by the passengers in the Pennyslvania countryside instead of reaching its intended target – Washington DC. Teir heroic actions saved countless lives but all on Flight 93 died. “I was meant to be on that plane,”
Jenny said. “I’d flown alot in a short period of time and was five months pregnant with my son and extremely tired so I’d asked the organiser of the event to cancel the flight and book it for the following day instead.
“Ten I was watching the TV and heard on the news the plane I was meant to be on had been
taken down by the passengers. A moment I’ll never forget.” Between choreographic work Jenny returns to her
first love – teaching dance. She teaches regular Lindy Hop classes in Plymouth and has opened several performance dance companies across the country including the Jenny Tomas Jazzettes in Dartmouth and the Jenny Tomas Jammers in Plymouth. Tis summer Jenny is also planning her third year of
‘Hoppin’ In Te Hams!’ A bespoke dance weekender in Stoke Fleming. For more information visit her website
jennytapsthomas.com
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