Coronavirus: Eastbourne toddlers can keep dancing at home thanks to firm

babyballet Hastings and Eastbourne has this week moved its classes that are usually held face-to-face to a private and secure online platform.

Jade Wilkinson, owner of babyballet Hastings and Eastbourne, said, “It’s a worrying time as the UK deals with the outbreak of the coronavirus but we are remaining very positive.

“As more and more families self-isolate and limit the amount of social contact they have, our primary focus is to ensure children and families in and around Hastings and Eastbourne can still enjoy babyballet, even if they can’t physically come to classes.

“Our babyballet pupils are aged from 18 months to 4-and-a-half-years-old and most have no idea about the coronavirus and the effect it’s having in the world around them.

“It’s our responsibility to keep the babyballet world as normal as possible for them. We will be delivering our online classes with as much passion and energy as ever, it’s just that instead of being in a dance studio, we’ll be on a screen in children’s living rooms.”

babyballet is headquartered in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and has 83 franchises across the UK.

Founder and CEO Claire O’Connor said, “There are going to be a lot of families trying to keep their children entertained over the coming weeks. We hope that by providing babyballet online children can still enjoy the fun and laughter of classes and continue to keep active.

“As a company, we have had to adapt quickly to ensure business continuity and have worked closely with our entire network who have all been fantastically supportive over the past 48 hours to help take babyballet online.

“The response we’ve had from parents and carers has also been really positive; they’re pleased that the children can keep attending classes and that, in addition, they can continue to support our franchisees, who are all small businesses.”