Some time ago I was walking down Upper Street in Islington with a friend and her new baby. We were approached by a friendly salsa instructor who told us about a new class she was starting, a postnatal latin dance class where mums bopped away carrying their babies in slings (who apparently loved it). At the time we just giggled. My friend has two left feet and although it sounded like fun to me (I've always done dance classes as a way of keeping fit whilst avoiding scary gym machines) I was miles from maternity.
Not so now! Here I am, a couple of years later, 5 weeks post-caesarean, looking around for practical ways to gently resume exercise with a baby in tow. I would love to do a class like this: dance-based, with no need for creche/babysitting facilities. However, my desperate search for baby-sling dance classes in London has so far drawn a blank. All I get from Google is articles from the Daily Mail telling me that baby-sling dancing is the latest craze in Japan. Which is all well and good, but I wish there was somewhere closer to home where I could join in. It doesn't have to be just latin dance: the Tokyo mums waltz etc. which I'm just as up for!
Does anybody out there know where classes like these are happening? Has anybody tried it, or know of any current or potential instructors? Failing that, do you have any suggestions of how I can further my investigations? I'm based in central London, but information about any UK baby-sling dance activity would give me a starting point. Thanks everybody.