Dancer returns to stage
BY ANGELA CROMPTON
Relevant offers
Geoff Simmons has come full circle by starring in Eurobeat, Almost Eurovision, the Blenheim Musical Theatre's restaurant production.
The show opens tomorrow night at the Lakings Rd theatre and will be Simmons' first appearance in front of an audience since he entered a tap dancing competition and boys from his primary school – there to see their sisters perform – made fun of him on stage.
The humiliation made the young Simmons throw away his dancing shoes and settle for being part of the audience at future live shows.
Simmons says he always yearned to get back into performance, however.
Encouraged by friends to give it a go, he'd snuck off to the Eurobeat auditions.
"I didn't tell anybody, including my partner and kids."
He will sing an Irish song and do a Grease-style dance with three other performers in the show.
Eurobeat, Almost Eurovision is a revue-style musical comedy set in war-torn Sarajevo.
It is being hosted by "Bosnian Celebrity TV presenters" Sergei Pukkolisto (Robert McArthur), and Boyka (Kerie Smith).
Production manager Alison Bond said the show was a spoof of the long-running, "love it or hate it" spectacle that is Eurovision.
Simmons says he has always been a big music fan but "never had the balls to do anything about it".
Wife Michelle Roberts, daughter Lara and sons Charlie and Joshua have been supportive of his new-found love. Charlie, 10, even went along to one of the early rehearsals and came away with a small role as a leprechaun in the show.
Simmons is grateful for the support shown by his co-performers, especially considering the people he dances with have been performing all their lives.
"I started two months ago."
Chances to polish his steps, however, are plentiful, with rehearsals being held six times a week.
He says that the commitment required by the stage performers is comparable to that shown by gym junkies.
"But this is way better," he adds, remembering his own attempts at gym fitness.
"If you want to tone up and lose weight, I would combine this [musical theatre], maybe with some yoga."
Eurobeat, Almost Eurovision, opens tomorrow and runs until November 17.
Performances begin at 7pm. Patrons can choose between three-course dinner nights or dessert nights.
- The Marlborough Express
