Julie Yeoman
I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to perform in this year’s Dancing for Life Education showcase. Special thanks to Tall Poppy Real Estate and all other fundraising partners for ensuring the show happens.
Having grown up in Taupō and returning 20 years ago, I love to give back to my wonderful community. Having spent 12 years in education governance board roles, quite a serious task, I am excited to give back to our tamariki though the vital work that the Life Education Trust performs in our schools.
My 3 teenage children each benefited from their lessons at primary school. I look forward to getting to know the other contestants and our dance teachers, with the goal of having a lot of fun learning and polishing a dance routine, I imagine it being equal parts terrifying and exciting, I think remembering the steps will be the biggest challenge!
Neil Dempsey
My name is Neil Dempsey originally from Palmerston North. I moved to Taupō in 2016 before finally settling down in beautiful Kinloch 4 years ago. I am the Sales Manager for Ingham Suzuki and proudly worked for the Ingham Motor Group since they took over the Suzuki Franchise in early 2020. Though I am no stranger to being front of stage as I MC for a Freestyle Motocross team and MC some large scale extreme sports events, I have been apprehensive about this event, as this will truly take me out of my comfort zone and I won’t be able to talk my way out of this situation - instead I will be relying on my 2 left feet.
I’ve taken on this challenge because we have a major problem in this country with mental health and the wellbeing of our youth. New Zealand has the highest teen suicide rates in the world and is something I have been very passionate about fixing for a number of years. The youth of today are having to deal with so much more pressure from the likes of social media, cyber bullying, comparing themselves on the way they look or what they have, to someone that may live on other side of the world. We need to give them as many tools & support as we can to navigate this new world we are living in.
My five year old daughter has just started school and as already meet Harold the Giraffe and I want to show her how important it is to give back to the community and support good causes, even if that means getting on stage and making a fool out of myself trying to dance to keep amazing programmes like this going, then count me in!!
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Teachers: Julian & Connie
Julian Bishop started partner dancing at age 11. He is experienced in Latin and Argentine Tango among other forms of partner dancing. Julian has a real passion for teaching others. Today here in Taupo he runs classes in Basestep Modern Jive, Rock and Roll, and coaches couples for their Wedding Dance. Additionally, he conducts private classes and coaches performance teams as they prepare for upcoming events and public performances. He is excited to, once again, be coaching couples for the Dancing for Life Ed, in what should be an absolutely fantastic event.Connie Takarangi started dancing from a young age, it was in her blood. At the age of five it was Ballet for a few years, then as a young adult she discovered Ballroom and Latin and never looked back. A whole new world opened up and with a passion for Latin she competed around New Zealand in Amateur comps, also gaining a Gold Star Latin grade in exams. The stage and the dance floor being her happy place, involved in shows, choreography, and demo dances. She spent time living in London, but still always found time to dance. Returning to Aotearoa Connie found other genres of dance: Belly dancing, Salsa, and more recently Rock n Roll and Basestep, joining Julian Bishop's Basestep Taupo dance studio about two years ago.
