Imagine what a good time Kelly had during ceremony

Thursday, 16 August 2012

AMAZING: Kelly Reeve (right) and her fellow performers limber up ahead of the closing ceremony.

ATMOSPHERE: Kelly Reeve (right) outside the Olympic Stadium.

CLOSE UP: Kelly (left) and her fellow performers get set.

WHEN Kelly Reeve was at school working on an Olympic project, she had no idea years later she would be part of the London 2012 closing ceremony – watched by millions on TV across the world.
She will never forget being part of the stunning show created – a Festival of modern British music – by Kim Gavin, which has received glowing praise from many quarters.
Here the 34-year-old Yellow Advertiser receptionist – always a keen dancer – who lives in Burnt Mills and has a three-year-old son Rhys – talks about one of the most exciting times of her life.

“I was in the set, which performed to Imagine, as a tribute to John Lennon. While a local school choir sang and a video of the Beatle was screened, I was in the team that created a giant jigsaw puzzle of his face.
I sashayed up one of a number of ramps with 160 other performers, each of us had a piece of the puzzle, on a pole ready to put in place.
“It was a fantastic piece of choreography. Each piece was numbered and we had to make our way to a spot on the stage with the corresponding number on the floor below. and put the piece in place.
“Mine was part of his hair.”
“It was a night I will never forget. The atmosphere was unbelievable.
“During the performance and at rehearsals we bumped into various stars like the Spice Girls and David Beckham, who was there to support his wife Victoria. I also saw Emeli Sande, Brian May and Jessie J. Kate Moss gave us the thumbs up as we started our performance.
“After it finished a group of us who had become friends during rehearsals went off to relax with a drink in the Olympic Park.
“We met a few of the athletes and I got the chance to hold a gold medal, which was crazy.
“We had so much fun and in the end I missed the last train home and had to wait until morning!’
“The whole experience has been something I will never forget.”

• Kelly’s adventure started in February when she spotted an online advert for volunteer performers for the closing show.
She applied and was chosen after two auditions.
Then the hard work started with three full-day and five half-day rehearsals – on the giant car park at Ford in Dagenham – where a complete replica of the stadium set was built, including Big Ben, the London Eye and so on.
Her part in Imagine was more movement than dance.
Absolute accuracy was essential to get the Lennon puzzle just right – all the performers had radio earpieces to make sure they were on target.
There was no dress rehearsal – costumes were ready at the stadium on the day.
And on the night it was perfect.

Email: basildon@yellowad.co.uk

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