Instructor
Geof Connolly is an experienced dance teacher and has been teaching dance for over 10
years. His dance career began teaching Jive through the 1990's and his passion now
lies with Balboa and Lindy
Hop, where he has been teaching this style since 1999.
Geof developed the Lindy Hop scene in Northampton throughout the 'noughties',
extending his reach to Leicester and Bedford during this decade before handing over
to Ian, Fran, Christobel and others in Leicester and to Mike & Mel in
Bedford.
As part of his development of the Lindy Hop 'scene' Geof attracted national and
international-standard teachers to take occasional charge of his classes in
Northampton and organised two main one-day Workshop & dance events: 'Swing's the
Thing' - held in January in Leicester and 'Bring it to Bedford' - held in August in
that town.
'Swing's the Thing' and 'Bring it to Bedford' were well-received and enjoyed by all
who attended; Mike & Mel have continued the tradition by continuing to host a
'Bring it to Bedford' event.
These days Geof only runs the ocassional event, the most notable of which was the
10th anniversary celebration of the Northampton Swing Dance Society, on 7th November,
2009.
The 10th anniversary celebration ecompassed an afternoon of Workshops - 20's
Charleston, Balboa, the Dean
Collins Shim-sham, and Lindy Hop classes hosted by Ryan and Jenny and an evening
dance with music selected by Gary 'The Duke'
Boon, Jazzy Geof and 'Pinball Paul',
and a fabulous cabaret performance by Ryan and Jenny.
Geof's enthusiasm for dance is matched with his love of music (especially 'Northern
Soul') and this twin passion is complemented by just a little bit of madness. Would
you believe that he once lead a peformance routine using the Pussy Cat Dolls' chart
hit 'Don't Cha' that he had originally choreographed to Andy Kirk's 'Wednesday Night
Hop', or that he has now choreographed the Shim-sham to Michael Jackson's
'Thriller'?!!
Geof's classes are certainly never dull, and if you have never tried Lindy Hop, now's
the time to come and experience the dance that started the world jiving!!!
Geof is assisted by Janet Atkinson (Lindy Hop, 20's Charleston), Linda Bilton-Cart
(Lindy Hop) and Sue Skinner (Lindy Hop, Balboa). Ray & Ali Carver have also joined
the teaching 'staff' (Lindy Hop, Balboa, Bal-Swing, & Collegiate Shag), and 'Big'-Dave Coles has 'stepped up to the plate' to work with Janet.
Portrait Gallery
|
Geof |
Janet Atkinson |
Linda Bilton-Cart |
 (Head Teacher)
|
 (Assistant Teacher)
|
 (Assistant Teacher)
|
| Sue Skinner | Francis | Swing Herald |
 (Assistant Teacher)
|
 (Door Man)
|
(WebMaster)
|