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Mini Movers is a danced based session introducing toddlers to the world of movement and dance. The classes take place on Friday mornings at Pavilion Dance South West in central Bournemouth.

How to get to Pavilion Dance South West

Pavilion Dance South West is located to the rear (overlooking Bournemouth Gardens) of Bournemouth Pavilion. The Pavilion itself is sandwiched between the centre of town, the Gardens and the beach.

By Bus

All buses to Bournemouth stop nearby. According to your route, the best stop may be Bath Hotel (cross the road and walk down the hill) or Westover Road (walk along Terrace Walk and take the lift).

Parking

The Pavilion has its own car park, but as it’s opposite the beach, parking here isn’t cheap. Parking costs £3.60 for an hour, dropping slightly between November and March. Further details can be found here.

Note: The Pavilion Car Park is divided by a wall from Bath Road North Car Park. Ensure you know which part you’re in before paying or risk a £50 fine – easily done (by me!)

Access

Pavilion Dance South West has its own entrance, to the rear of the Pavilion building. There are several ways to reach this entrance, but most involve stairs, making it tricky if you have a pushchair or a toddler with little legs. You can either go around the southern end of the building, where a service road will bring you to the terrace which leads to the entrance. Alternatively, from the front of the building, walk along Terrace Walk (basically an alleyway) where you will find a lift to take you down to the terrace which leads to the entrance.

Times

There are two sessions on a Friday morning (term time only), the earlier session is aimed at babies/toddlers, while the later session is for pre-school children. Sessions are 45 minutes long, although first one consists of 15 minutes free play to help the children settle in, before 30 minutes of dance class.

• Session 1 runs from 10 am – 10.45 am
• Session 2 runs from 10.45 am – 11.30 am

Price

Sessions cost £5.50 per child. You can book online, which is particularly advisable for the second session. More details can be found here. For the earlier class, we pay on arrival, as the class runs into Orla’s usual nap time and she sometimes fall asleep on the way there.

Suitable for age

• Session 1 is for children age 0 to 2 years
• Session 2 is for children age 3 to 5 years

Details

Each week has a different theme to help stimulate children’s imagination. For Orla’s first session, the theme was Christmas Elves and for her second class it was Butterflies. As mentioned above, this starts with 15 minutes of free play time to help the children get used to the environment.

There are plenty of toys to choose from, although to be honest, many are have pieces missing or are battery operated without batteries. Orla particularly enjoyed the hoola hoops.

Then, the dancing begins. After a bang of the gong and an introduction to the week’s theme, we started with a round of the Hokey Cokey. Some of the songs and rhymes were familiar from my own childhood, while others required copying the teacher. The parents and carers joined in with the dancing, so I felt like I got quite a workout too!

The session ends with some group activities, such as a parachute. Orla hates this sort of thing, says “too many people” and points to the exit.

Stay & Play Sessions

In addition to the actual class, there is an optional free Stay & Play area in the PDSW foyer throughout the morning. This also has a different weekly theme and includes toys, musical instruments, colouring and craft activities.

Food & Drink

The Terrace Bistro is adjacent to PDSW. It offers drinks and snacks, including Orla’s favourite, a Babyccino. You can sit in the cafe or outdoors on the terrace overlooking Bournemouth Gardens.

There may also be food trucks on the terrace, it depends on the time of year.

Toilets/Changing Facilities

There are toilets and baby changing facilities right next to the dance studio.

• Updated: June 2025

For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth with young children, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth with Babies and Toddlers here.