What a day! On Saturday 11th July we spent the afternoon at Over Carnival, and I came home with glitter in my hair and the happiest heart. A whole crowd of little dancers that I’d never met before came and joined in with the Stardust family ❤️ I wanted to share how it went and, if you’re in Over and wondering where your little one can dance point - how to find us!
At 2:15pm we ran an free open taster dance class where some our own Stardust dancers came along, and we invited any child at the Over carnival to jump in -whether they’d danced a hundred times or not at all. We danced to song catchy song, brought out some of our favorite props like ribbons and one of the kid's favourites: the parachute! My favourite bit? We went round and every dancer showed us their own way of travelling across the floor. So, we saw some ballet leaps, some acro gymnastics cartwheels, flexible bridges, and plenty of creative moves! Every child had their go in front of their grown-ups, and the cheering was lovely. The Over Carnival 2026 community event was something special and having the priviledge to run a free taster was just the sort of thing we love doing for local families.
We had our Stardust Dance Academy stall providing some much needed shade too. We use the Stardust stall to raise money for our Sparkle Fund - this is a pot we created to help give the gift of children dance to those who otherwise do not get the chance to - which has really helped brings down barriers to access the benefits of dance. The stall is full of handmade jewellery made by our dancers and by me: necklaces, bracelets, keyrings, cards, bookmarks, all sorts. There were free glitter sparkles for anyone who wanted to add a little sparkle, as well as a few fun outdoor games to play, and DIY bracelet-making for the little ones.
A few families asked me on the day, “so where can we come and dance?" 😅 So here it is. Our weekly classes run primarily a 5 minute drive away at our Northstowe venues, an easy trip from Over, for children from 18 months right up through the teens. There’s Fairytale Ballet® for the littlest ones, then Ballet & Jazz, Street, Acro, Lyrical, Tap and Musical Theatre as they grow. Classes are small, every teacher’s DBS-checked, and every new child gets a proper friendly welcome from their very first class. You’re welcome to have a look at our timetable, or see the classes we run for Over families.
If your little one had a go at the carnival and wants more (or you just fancy trying) we’d love to have them. You can book a trial whenever you’re ready, or find a class in a couple of taps.
Thank you, Over, for having us. We had the best day. 💜
Miss Hannah x
Over Carnival is put on by the lovely team at Over Community Festivals - do please support the next event they're running!