Megan inspires Her Mum To Start New Dance Business

Like most little girls Megan Wingate couldn t wait to start ballet lessons.  But from day one the 12-year-old found it difficult to keep up because she suffers from mild Hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.

Determined that other children wouldn t miss out on the chance to dance, her mum, Claire Wingate set about finding a dance academy that was fun and inclusive, and stumbled across national award-winning babyballet.

Now 41 year-old Claire is starting her own babyballet dance academy in Bradley Stoke, Bristol. It will be Bristol s first babyballet branch and is something of a bold move for the single mum, who has two other children, Josh, nine and River, five.  Claire, who lives in Bradley Stoke, trained in ballet at the Westbury School of Dance to a high level but was unable to continue to become a professional dancer owing to knee injuries. She worked as a finance manager for BMW before having her children and since then has been a full-time mum.  She is a former chair of the governors at Meadowbrook Primary School, Bradley Stoke, which her children attend, and is still a governor.

“I always wanted to be a dancer when I was young but was unable to make it. It s strange that Megan s experience has inspired me to follow my dream in a different way. I think every little girl should experience ballet no matter what her capabilities are. That is the ethos of babyballet and I can t wait to get started, ” says Claire.

Babyballet is the UK s leading pre-school dance academy. It was set up in Yorkshire in 2005 by mum-of-four Claire O Connor and has 65 franchisees (all women) across the country with over 10,000 youngsters attending more than 1,000 classes every week.  Claire O Connor set up the business because of her own painful experiences. She attended classes ran by her mum but discovered she and ballet didn t fit together. She felt she was the wrong shape and because of this it left her with a lack of confidence and poor body image.  She spotted a gap in the market for non-competitive dance classes that not only accept the best and turned her attention to teaching and spreading the word that ballet can be enjoyed by everyone. She has won numerous awards including ITV s Mumpreneur.

Claire Wingate starts her classes – for boys and girls from six months to five years – next month at Baileys Court Activity Centre and Olveston Parish Hall.  She is also organising  a babyballet Teddy Bear s Picnic for preschool children next week to enjoy some dancing with babyballet s character Flutterby Fairy.

Anyone interested in finding out more about baby ballet is welcome to come along to the Teddy Bear’s Picnic next week, or contact Claire on 07764819318 or [email protected] or you can visit www.babyballet.co.uk

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