Pull Shapes! Sassy Mama’s Guide to Children’s Dance Classes in Hong Kong

Wriggling, jiggling, bopping, popping, jumping and jiving – it’s just the average day in the life of one of our littlies! However, rather than letting all that energy go to waste, how about channelling their moves and grooves into some of the city’s top dance classes instead?

Although enrolment for autumn terms has long been and gone, it’s never too early to start planning – classes fill up faster than a super-speedy pirouette! It’s also worth remembering that after the age of six, many schools start knuckling down to the more serious business of grading and exams, so if you want to keep things a strictly casual affair, it’s best to ask individually. Many schools also run fab summer camps, host dance-themed birthday parties or even offer private lessons, so there are plenty of non course-based options too!

Here’s Sassy Mama’s pick of ten toe-tapping HK dance schools – for every age, every location and every style. Pull Shapes!

Jean M. Wong School Of Ballet
If your littlies want nothing more than to become the next prima ballerina, we suggest you tutu your way over to Jean M. Wong – one of the finest and most prestigious ballet schools in Asia. Having just celebrated their 50^th anniversary (and been the place where yours truly spent her formative years!), you can be certain of expert teaching from a team of highly-qualified and experienced teachers, swanky studios and plenty of opportunities to see your baby ballerinas perform on the big stage throughout the year! They also offer boy ballet, jazz and hip-hop classes too.

Age: From 2.5 years and above; from 5 years and above for jazz and hip-hop
Where: North Point, Happy Valley, Central, Bel-Air, Kowloon Bay, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin; full addresses here
When: Daily, jazz schedule here
How much: $790-1630 per month; Jazzy Kids $520 per month, Teen Hip Hop $1000 for ten lessons
More info: www.jmwballet.org, or email [email protected]

Dance Zing
If your kid’s got the jitterbug from watching too much Dancing With The Stars or Strictly, DanceZing might be the place for them! Teachers Kenny Leung and Winnie Cheung are Latin & Ballroom experts and will have your little ones waltzing, jiving and tango-ing in their weekly group dance class quicker than you can say ‘cha cha cha’!

Types of dance: Latin & Ballroom
Age: 5 to 12 years
Where: 24/F Overseas Trust Bank Building, 160 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
When: Every Saturday, 2-3pm
How much: $500 for 4 lessons
More info: email [email protected], or phone 2662 5890

YWCA Dancercise
For little ones that just want a baby boogie, the YWCA has an hour-long Dancercise class that develops their creativity, mobility and coordination skills in a way so fun they won’t even notice! Classes are kept small and friendly whilst the YWCA is well-known for being great at getting people together – so you’re certain to pick up a few new pals, be it for your babies or fellow mums!

Age: 3 to 6 years
Where: Tennis Centre, Wong Nai Chung Gap Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
When: Friday afternoons, check schedule here
How much: $1550 for 8 classes, YWCA member discount available
More info: [email protected]

Infinity Dance Studio
If your little one loved Step Up or worships at the feet of Ashley Banjo (the rather dishy leader of Diversity, the dance troupe that won Britain’s Got Talent, for the uninitiated!) and wants to bust-a-move with the best of them, street dance and commercial hip-hop might be more their thing… and having seen Infinity Dance Studio’s annual showcase for myself, the moves their kids make are fierce! Their team of cool and funky teachers will prove that age or size is no barrier when it comes to popping and locking!

Age: 2.5 to 11 years
Where: 5F Kimberley Plaza, 45-7 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
When: Saturdays and Sundays
How much: $100-120 per class
More info: www.infinitydance.com.hk, or phone 2369 1632

City Contemporary Dance Company
The CCDC is Hong Kong’s first full-time professional company specialising in contemporary modern dance (think people flinging themselves around with abandon and making the audience cry on So You Think You Can Dance) and their signature course for kids, Creative Modern Dance, teaches them the basic moves of contemporary, simple duo techniques and inspires their creativity to get choreographing! They also offer a host of other courses, including traditional Chinese dance, learning Michael Jackson’s moves in hip-hop, tap, Latin and a mixed course that includes elements of ballet, contemporary and jazz. Start them even earlier with the Creative Movement Class, which gets littlies familiar with their bodies through fun games.

Age: 3 to 12 years
Where: G/F, 110 Shatin Pass Road, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong
When: Saturdays
How much: $960 for 12 sessions
More info: www.ccdc.com.hk, email [email protected] or phone 2328 9205

Kids Gallery Creative Arts
Kids Gallery aims to tickle those creative buds and get children of all ages interested in and have fun with the arts – and they’ve got all manner of dance courses to help them on their way! The earliest option is Musical Movement, an energetic class that helps children develop an awareness of music and rhythm, but there’s also Ballet (and Junior Ballet for those as young as 14 months!), Modern Dance (including rock n roll and disco), Stage Dance and Musical Theatre.

Age: Junior Ballet 14 months to 2 years, the rest anything 2 years and above
Where: Central, Kowloon Tong, Bel-Air; full addresses here
When: Daily, check schedule here
How much: $1920-2080 per term; ballet classes up to $4615 per term depending on grade
More info: www.kidsgallery.com

Twinkle Dance Company
Twinkle Dance Company was founded by dance professional Twinkle Lam to provide quality yet fun dance education and encourage everyone to experience the joy of dance! Many of their classes are geared more towards younger learners – Twinkle Tots is a parent-baby class that marks their first steps to becoming a little dancer and there is a great Ballet With Mommy class for budding ballerinas (that perhaps gives mama a chance to flex her toes too!). There are also further ballet, jazz and funky dance (commercial jazz and hip-hop) courses, plus the option of private classes too.

Age: 2 years old to adult
Where: Central, Aberdeen, Kowloon Tong, Repulse Bay, Causeway Bay; full addresses here
When: Mondays-Saturdays
How much: $1260-2340 per term, trial class $220
More info: www.twinkledance.com, email [email protected], or phone 6608 6689

Island Dance School
If your youngster has stars in their eyes and is dying to get out on the big stage, then Island Dance School might be the one for them. Performing at over 20 events annually and with over 1000 students learning their steps at 10 locations, your little one could be soaking up the limelight in no time! They offer dozens of types for dance (including creative dance for littlies, ballet, jazz tap and musical theatre) for every level of tiny – and not so tiny! – dancer, but their speciality is Disco Freestyle, where your mini superstars perfect informal MTV-style moves to the hotttest chart beats

Age: 18 months to 18 years
Where: Central, Wan Chai, Discovery Bay, The Peak, Happy Valley, Repulse Bay, Tai Tam; full addresses here
When: Daily, see schedules here
How much: From $110 per class
More info: www.islanddance.com.hk, email [email protected], or phone 2987 1571

Red Shoe Dance Company
Red Shoe Dance has a huge variety of different classes, so your kids can strut their stuff in whatever style they like! Take your pick from ballet, jazz, hip-hop, street dance, break dance (as if they need encouragement to do headstands!), contemporary, lyrical and musical theatre, with special Kindi ballet and jazz options for 3-5 year olds. In addition to their own dance showcases, students are also encouraged to take part in HK’s many community arts projects.

Age: 3 to 18 years
Where: Central, Sheung Wan, Jordan, Pok Fu Lam, Tung Chung; full addresses here
When: Daily, see full schedules here
How much: $2400-3520 per term (around 15 sessions)
More info: www.redshoedance.com, email [email protected], or phone 2117 9295

Fusion Academy
Get those jazz hands waggling with Fusion Academy’s musical theatre courses, and show your little dancer that there’s no business like show business! Their classes will give your child a strong grounding in core flexibility, stability and musicality whilst covering all kinds of dance styles, including jazz, tap, classical, Latin, character dancing and street dance, plus also giving them a chance to exercise their creativity by choreographing their own numbers. Step aside Gene Kelly and Judy Garland – your superstars-in-the-making will soon be teaching you a thing or two about dance legends Bob Fosse, Fred Astaire and Rudolph Nureyev!

Age: 2 to 13 years and above
Where: Central, Clearwater Bay, Pok Fu Lam, Aberdeen
When: Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays; full schedule here
How much: $1600-4600 per term
More info: www.fusionacademyhongkong.com, email [email protected] or phone 2812 0007