News - Music and Dance Academy

MAD Academy...
music & dance and a whole lot of fun!

January/February 2008

GROOVY TOTS!

MAD Academy brings high spirited dance and movement to Hull

by Claire Boynton

As the mother of a little boy who will never sit still, I know first hand how embarrassing it is
trying to ensure that he quietly partakes in toddler classes. All the other children sit there
behaving beautifully, whilst my little monkey is running around playing with the curtains,
shouting or - horror of all horrors - having a tantrum every time I try to get him to join in.
Believe me we've tried them all, from music to craft, gym to baby signing, with varying
degrees of success.

The first thing that struck me about the MAD Academy class is that this sort of behaviour is perfectly OK. Class leader Kirsty Sutcliffe is a vivacious and friendly lady who engages the
kids straight away, whilst making it perfectly clear to us Mums, Dads and Grannies that she
doesn't expect everyone to join in all of the time. "MAD Academy classes are free spirited"
she tells us, warmly "it doesn't matter if they do their own thing, we'll tempt them back with the next activity" and she was right. Some of the children did have their own idea about what
they wanted to do, but without nagging and embarrassment, the children joined in of their
own accord during the next activity and a good time was had by all.

Part of the buzz, I think, was a rapid change of activity. A good proportion of the activities
did include loud music, running around and jumping on the spot as the name (and the
bright yellow t-shirts) suggest. However, it was great fun with carefully chosen music - and it
provided a pretty good workout for the Mums too! This was matched with quieter activities -recognising sounds, listening to various styles of music and counting bean bags onto a mat to name but a few. Because the change of activity is fast, there is little room for boredom
and all the children found something they enjoyed. The appearance of the parachute
was a highlight for most of the children, who experimented with bouncing "snowballs" on
top of it, and standing underneath whilst the grown ups whooshed it up and down.
The class starts and ends with a visit from Ralph the bear, who welcomes each child
(and says goodbye) individually. All the children were delighted by the personal
attention, and they especially liked the sticker they got for attending. Ralph can also
apparently be naughty and hide sometimes, although he was on his best behaviour when I
caught up with him.

MAD Academy classes are run in the Hull, Cottingham and Beverley areas for babies
from 3 months, walkers aged up to 2 and toddlers 2 to 4 years. Call Kirsty on 01482 824143
to book your class.

To find out more about Generation One - The Magazine for Hull and East Yorkshire
Families, click here>>>

To find out more about Kirsty's classes click here>>>

To read more about MAD Academy in the media, click here>>>