Annie O'Keeffe

STAR - ANNIE O’KEEFFE
PARTNER – LUKE O’SULLIVAN

PROGRESS REPORT - 1 WEEK TO GO!!! BRING IT ON

WOW!!! Its nearly upon us!!

This huge event that is being so beautifully supported by so many is now just over a week away!

Luke and I are ready to do our thing - dance our socks off and hopefully entertain you!

We are seeing a few late minute donations come through which is wonderful - the support that has been shown to us and our other stars and dancers is a great thing to see - and I can not wait to see how MCCR spends your donations!

We had our first rehersal last night at the Cooma Multifunction Centre which was great fun and allowed us to see what improvements we can make to our props and staging ideas - lets just say - it looks fabo!!

Well this will probably be my last post on this page - so I wish all of my fellow dancers and their stars the very best of luck for their performances and to YOU - our guests and families - I hope that you enjoy our performance - its been a rewarding moment in my life to do this for you and for MCCR.

Who would have known living in a dance studio would one day come in handy!!!

I was born in the beautiful town of Bega and spent many holidays at my grandparents farm “Keno” on the Adaminaby Road.  

I lived in WA for a couple of years before spending 10 years in the world’s best city of Melbourne before moving to Berridale with husband and Berridale boy, Andrew (Mop) O’Keeffe in late 2009.

Andrew and I are the posties for Berridale - We’ve loved every minute of our new life - it sure beats the 20 hours a week I was spending in my car just getting to work in Melbourne.  Nothing beats being your own boss, and we’ve loved meeting all of the locals and getting to be close to family and friends.

I’m the proud mum of three Jack Russell terriers, Matilda, Charlie & Bowie – most visitors to the Post Office know them.

Both Andrew’s and my families are living close by now, which is nice for us.  Andrew & I have been married for 3 years and together for nearly 10 but have known each other for about 17 years.

For the past 30 years of my life (where has the time gone to say that!!) I have loved music icon Madonna. I am over the moon that she will be touring here in early 2013.  I will probably pass out at her show and miss the entire thing.

So Why Am I Dancing......??

My dad Geoff has been battling cancer now for nearly four years and therefore I am determined to raise as much money as I can to find a cure for him and others that suffer from this hideous disease. Since arriving in the area I have had the pleasure of being able to organise and participate in many different fundraisers for the means of raising funds to assist in the cause.

I also want to participate to assist in the further publicising the magnificent work that MCCR does for our local community. We are so lucky to live in such a nurturing and caring community and I am so glad that Dad has been able to use the services that MCCR offer.

My greatest challenge in accepting the invitation to dance will be getting light enough for Luke to lift me up in the air.  Don’t worry I’ve started the weight loss and tone up challenge.  It will be interesting to learn some dance moves beyond my standard wiggling of bottom and raising hands above my head...

LUKE O’SULLIVAN DANCER PROFILE

I was born in England and migrated to Australia with my family as a teenager. We lived in Sydney  for eight years before finding our way to the Snowy Mountains twenty three (wow!) years ago.  I have lived and worked in Berridale for twenty years and love being there (and here)

I started work at the Snowy River Shire Council in 2003 and am part of the Human Resources Team. I am proud to provide service to the community through my work with a great bunch of people.

I met my wife Rosie , who is a Berridale girl, in Cooma and we will celebrate twenty years of marriage next year.  My parents David and Barbara and brother Matthew live in the Snowies too so I am very fortunate to have family close by.

When I met Rosie she introduced me to the folk at the Cooma Little Theatre and I found a love of the stage, was involved in some really fun shows and met great people.  I joined dance classes (if your wife is a dance teacher what else are you going to do….!) and have enjoyed performing ever since.  I have gone on to help Rosie with her end of year productions making props and backdrops (and she keeps letting me on stage) so I get to keep fit and have a creative outlet that I can share with her.  

 I had so much fun at the 2010 Dancing with the Cooma Stars, and like everyone else involved was overwhelmed by the community response. When I was asked if I would be part of this year’s event there was no question – any excuse to be part of it was fine by me.

 The biggest challenge is keeping up with my partner Annie.  To suggest she is a live wire is a serious understatement.  The same goes for this community and how amazing it is that such a small group can do so much.