A couple of weeks ago I tried a course of ballet lessons for Amelia. Being only nine months old I was a little dubious as to what she would actually get out of the classes, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The classes are part of a UK wide franchise and I attended the one at the Methodist Church in Witney Oxfordshire.

babyballet can be found all over the country and seems to be very popular for both little boys and girls, which is lovely to see. I spoke to Charlotte Russell the Baby Ballet Franchise Owner and Manager for Didcot, Witney and Botley and she said the following about the classes:

“Our award-winning pre-school ballet classes are a perfect introduction to dance in a fun, safe and magical environment!  We dance to well-known nursery and TV and film songs, as well as original babyballet songs, and use props and musical instruments to help us understand the music. We love to jump, gallop, spin, plie, dance on our tippy toes and, of course, catch those bubbles!”

We did a load of singing, clapping, waving and of course ‘good toes, naughty toes’. I was actually quite astounded at how all the babies reacted to this and seemed to genuinely understand that naughty toes meant a wagging finger. They seemed mesmerized when we all sang it.. plus it brought back some great memories for me when I used to do ballet as a child.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the class was the how active it was. We all danced around in a circle, skipping, galloping and jumping with our babies. They loved this as it meant they were up and about, rather than sitting. So many baby classes tend to be quite static for both mother and baby so this was a welcome break. The classes are also quite small too, so it’s not too much for the baby. My only issue with this specific class was that it fell right when I needed to give Amelia her lunch. This always seems to happen when you find a class you like! However bubbles and the lovely teacher made up for that and seemed to distract Amelia from her grumbling tummy!

“I started babyballet when looking for a class for my own daughter who was two at the time. When I went to watch a class at babyballet’s Head Office in Halifax, I couldn’t stop smiling and I knew I wanted to bring this amazing opportunity to the families in Oxfordshire. We now offer classes in Witney, Didcot and Botley and are expanding to new areas over the next 12 months. Our 3-5 year olds will be performing in their very first babyballet show at the Cornerstone theatre in Didcot in November – sharing the stage with Flutterstar the ballerina!”

All in all, I think babyballet is a good little class for the bambinos and definitely helps their progression with clapping and waving. I can’t wait to try her out again at ballet in about six months’ time when she is toddling around. I think she will love that even more then.

For more information on babyballet Witney, Didcot and Botley check out the website here:  www.babyballet.co.uk

or check them out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Babyballet-Witney-Didcot-and-Botley-717282175033783/