Ballet is an artistic dance form performed with music, using precise set steps and gestures.

Classical ballet originated in renaissance Italy in 1500 and became established in its present form during the 19th Century. The word ‘ballet’ stems from the Italian word ‘ballare’, meaning to dance. Ballet is the gateway to other forms of dance and is known for its grace and lightness.

At Minnie’s we offer ballet classes to all ages and abilities. And we pride ourselves on our success rate with our BBO ballet examinations. Ballet sets the foundation for many of our other taught dance styles and so we are meticulous in the teaching of correct foot position, alignment and technique.

Contemporary dance is a style of expressive movement and dance technique combining several different dance genres into one, including modern, lyrical jazz and classical ballet. These all form an expressive improvised style, breaking boundaries of dance whilst pushing the body to new levels of movement. Connecting both mind and body through fluid dance, contemporary dance utilises floor work counterbalanced with gravitational pull, all of which create expressional movement reflecting the emotions found within the music.

At Minnie’s we teach a combination of contemporary styles including lyrical dance which is a combination of classical ballet technique with the fluidity of jazz dance. The unique trait of lyrical dance is using the body for storytelling, brought to life by the emotional connection between the dancer and dance choreography, using the lyrics of songs as well as the music to inspire, entertain and emotionally move the audience

Tap dancing uses small metal plates attached to the sole of shoes to make rhythmic sounds, often set to music. It originated in Africa and has since been blended with styles from Ireland, America and England to give us what it is today. This ‘Broadway’ style was made famous by the likes of Fred Astere, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly in musicals such as 42nd Street and Singin’ in the Rain.

At Minnie’s we offer tap classes for all ages and abilities. The majority of our children and young adult classes follow the BBO tap syllabus; from pre-syllabus right through to Advanced 2. Progression through these grades is usually via accredited examinations or teacher assessment with lots of smiles and laughter along the way!

We also offer adult tap classes at beginner, intermediate and advanced level, where the focus is on having fun and learning new routines - some members have been with us for 35 years and counting.

Jazz dance originated from African ritual dance and can be traced back as early as the 17th century. Like many other dance forms it has transformed in style and technique influenced by music and iconic choreographers such as Bob Fosse to become the popular form it is today.

Jazz dance combines modern and classical ballet dance techniques with current forms of popular dance and music. It has its own movement vocabulary ranging from the isolation of certain body parts to the movement of the entire body with the accents of musical rhythms.

At Minnie’s we offer jazz technique classes in the BBO syllabus as well as combining taught technique alongside our other classes, commercial, cheerleading and freestyle.

We are proud to offer a variety of classes for younger students aged from 18 months and up.

We offer Minnie Movers covering a basic introduction to dance of Ballet and Tap. Minnie Pops, a fun friendly disco class and Minnie Jazz which follows the BBO pre-primary syllabus with some fun routines to current music.

All our Minnie Classes are taught by professional, qualified teachers who have an extensive back ground working with little ones!

Freestyle is a creative, imaginative and original style of dance.

Freestyle dance takes its roots from co-ordinating accented body movements together with a number of basic movements and steps incorporating arm, head and hand positions. There is a strong element of jazz technique in both freestyle and commercial, incorporating corner and centre exercises such as kicks, leaps, pirouettes and varied movement sequences. Each individual dancer has the freedom to express themselves using the taught technique and sequences to create powerful freestyle dance.

At Minnie’s, freestyle and commercial classes are controlled and developed by each individual teacher and their take on the style. Technique is at the core of our freestyle and commercial dance classes, the correct use of posture, foot positions and clarity in movement is crucial to our teaching before moving onto routines and sequences.