Dancing the years away

Well known dance teacher Jenny Sullivan celebrates twenty-five years since she opened her first class at Freshbrook Community Centre.

Thousands have enjoyed her dance school, including children of her first pupils and she now employs Gemma Pixton, who was in one of those very first classes aged two. It was at Gemma's wedding to former Greendown School friend Jamie Thompson in July when Jenny realised that an important anniversary was about to take place.

Jenny, just out of college, first started teaching for the Thames-down Dance outreach programme in social halls around the town in 1979 and recalls the wooden hut that served as Freshbrook Community Centre before the permanent building arrived.

"There were only a handful of houses in Freshbrook and the centre was in the middle of a field, where the shops would be built. We had to walk about three hundred yards from Cottington Close to get to the building because there was no car park. The classes moved into the permanent centre when it opened in 1984, and we're still there."

Jenny launched the Sullivan School of Dance in 1981 and developed classes all over Swindon. She was helped by her mother who will be remembered for collecting the money from parents whilst a scrum of children got changed ready to start their class.

Sharlene Lester joined the business as a partner in 2002 and now teaches the majority of classes with Gemma, whilst Jenny looks after the ever increasing administration from her home in Shaw.

"When I started the choice of activities was limited and school friends would join as a group," said Jenny. "Now the range of things children can do after school is huge. But dance is just as popular as it ever was because of exposure on TV and parents are still keen to introduce their children to it, often because they attended classes and enjoyed taking part."

For details of The Sullivan School of Dance, call 872682.