Qualified dance instructor Sam Parsons will be taking the first steps with her new business when she launches a range of dance classes with a difference next week.

The mum of three has founded Itsy Bitsy Dance and will be holding her first ‘Tots Crew’ boppers class for toddlers aged 18 months to three years on Tuesday May 18.

The 40-minute class will be followed by a coffee club for the parents and play for the children.

Venues for the classes are Bad Hand Coffee (Tuesdays) and also Slades Park Pavilion in Bournemouth (Thursdays) and StreetLight in Wimborne (Wednesdays).

Initially each will host three classes ranging from street to ballet and tap.

Details can be found here.

Sam, 35, said: “As a mum I’ve attended toddler classes but I felt there was something missing for the parents.

“The class would happen and then the parents would just leave. There didn’t seem to be any sense of community.

“Our classes will be different because not only will parents be encouraged to stay after the class but we’ll enjoy great coffee while the children can have fun in a play area.

“It will be much more of a social occasion.”

Sam, pictured left, trained at Stage Door School of Dance and Drama in Bournemouth where she obtained advanced dance qualifications.

For the last decade, she has been teaching dance curriculum in primary and secondary schools.

Alongside this, Sam teaches tots to adults at performing arts & dance schools.​

The idea for Itsy Bitsy Dance came to her at the beginning of 2020 but the pandemic forced Sam to put the plans on hold.

After the introductory classes have bedded in she hopes to expand by offering teaching on several genres of dance from toddlers up to older children.

Sam said: “It’s so important that the first steps you take as a toddler with dance are enjoyable.

“But it should be enjoyable – and sociable –  for parents as well and that’s where we aim to be different.”

Other members of the Itsy Bitsy Dance team are ballet teacher Gina Barnard, Operations Manager Jim Legg and Kate Lawrence, Marketing Manager.

• itsybb.co.uk