babyballet® Is Having A Party

babyballet® are really excited to be celebrating an important milestone at babyballet® HQ. Their very special ballet dance school and franchise has grown from a seedling of an idea back in the early Nineties, and this year they are 17 years old. Before the celebrations really start, they’re going to take a moment to look back at how it all began, and the highlights of their journey…

But first, they can’t talk about babyballet® without saying a huge thank you to Claire. Founder Claire O’Connor is the creative talent that drives babyballet® forward. Without Claire’s vision, determination and her very special blend of inspirational motivation, quite simply babyballet® would not be here.

Under Claire’s watchful guidance, over the years the dance school has captured the hearts and imaginations of thousands of children, parents and teachers. babyballet® became a national franchise in 2007 with classes in beginning to open in other areas of the UK. And 10 years later in 2017, babyballet® celebrated international success as licenses in Australia, Singapore and later, New Zealand, launched.

Throughout the 17 years as the babyballet® family has grown, a very special story has taken shape. At home away from the babyballet® spotlight Claire’s family grew and today she is a proud mum of four. But family has always been at the heart of everything Claire does, and that ethos shines through into her staff at Head Office and network of franchisees.

babyballet® are as passionate about the benefits of dance and all the wonderful opportunities that their classes give to their children as they were in 2005. And having navigated a global pandemic, several lockdowns and witnessed all the changes to their children’s education of recent years through the eyes of their own children, they know that their classes are about far more than movement and dance steps.

As children grow and thrive with them, they see the benefit of developing soft skills such as sharing or self-confidence first-hand. And they know from the stories they hear that parent friendships flourish along with the childhood friendships that are formed.  When their children walk through their doors they share very special time with one another and often life-long friendships begin at babyballet®.

No-one understands the importance of family more than Claire, so the ethos of ‘family first’ runs through every seam and stitch at babyballet®. Claire has worked tirelessly to make sure that, together, the bababyballet® family gives something back.

In 2016 they joined forces with Tommy’s the national baby charity and are proud to have raised over £800,000 for the charity over the years. And earlier in 2022, babyballet® was a hero partner of Children’s Activities Week, which raises money to improve the lives of autistic and disabled children across the UK.

At babyballet® they’re always growing and that means sometimes they do things differently. So, this year, they’re proud to be partnering with Tommy’s once again and bringing a ‘Danceathon’ to class this October; but they’ve invited Peppa Pig into their fundraising family with their very special dance downloads.

What a wonderful 17 years it has been. Can you believe babyballet® are celebrating such a milestone? They really can’t!

Happy Birthday to everyone who is part of the babyballet® family. Here’s to many more wonderful celebrations together.

Click below to find out more about the babyballet® franchise and to see why they are more than just a dance class!

Building babyballet® step by step

Hear from entrepreneur and founder,Claire O’Connor who established babyballet® by herself in 2005 with no capital investment. Over the past 13 years, she has grown the business to become one of the UK’s leading pre-school dance concepts.