If you are a mum to young children who lives in or near Bedminster or Southville and would like to do a regular dance and fitness class where you can bring your little one/s with you, Dance Mums may well be of interest.

Dance Mums classes are weekly dance and fitness classes held on Thursday mornings at The Elephant House in Southville and on Friday mornings at St Oswald’s Church in Bedminster Down. They are run by the very friendly Svetlana Ovsyannikova whose 17 month old daughter also attends (see picture below)!

As well as helping you to get fit and toned, the aim of the 45 minute classes is to also combine the fun of a night out, a playdate for your toddler and to meet other local mums.

Bristol mums, Carolyn Van Staden and Rebecca Wootten have both been attending Dance Mums for some time. Here they share their thoughts about the classes in this Bristol Mum review.

Is Dance Mums a friendly group?

Caroline: Dance Mums is a very friendly group and Svetlana encourages all the mums to mix and have a coffee afterwards which is really nice.

Rebecca: Dance Mums is full of lots friendly faces and a great way to meet other mums.

Do you need to have had previous experience of dancing before coming to Dance Mums?

Caroline: No, all levels come to this group. I myself have no dance experience (the only experience I have is Zumba!). The classes don’t focus on ability, they focus on moving and stretching and trying to tone up bodies after childbirth.

Rebecca: No previous experience is necessary as Svetlana takes you through all the moves gradually. Even if you have danced before it’s still a really fun class, dancing with a baby is completely different to dancing solo and you get shown how to do it without injuring yourself or the baby!

Do you need to be in good shape to come to dance Mums?

Caroline: No, I have a hip problem and Svetlana worked around this. The women in my class all have different levels of health and one woman is pregnant.

Rebecca: Definitely not, the warm up exercises are a good starting point to getting back into fitness after having your little one.

What do the babies and toddlers do at Dance Mum sessions?

Caroline: The toddlers all run around the room, either playing with each other, or trying to join in with dancing and we also dance with them as well and use them for doing toning exercises, like squats.

Rebecca: When I started Dance Mums my little one couldn’t even sit up so she just laid on the floor watching. Now she sits up and plays with toys, she loves watching us dancing and the toddlers running around. She also loves joining in and laughs uncontrollably when we dance together.

What do you enjoy most about Dance Mums?

Caroline: That it’s fun and very friendly and we all have a laugh whilst toning up our bodies. It’s great that children are allowed to accompany us while we exercise because hardly any other classes in Bristol accommodate that. I would definitely recommend doing Dance Mums – you won’t regret it!

Rebecca: As I’ve previously danced before I love how Dance Mums has got me back into dancing. It’s even given me the confidence to go back to dance class! Svetlana is a great teacher, she has lots of energy and makes it a fun class

To find out more about Dance Mums please visit http://www.ovsyannikovadance.com/dance-mums