Olympic gold medalist tries ballet dancing, gym chain launches classes – just for dads

A gym chain has started ballet classes specifically for fathers.

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford was one of the fathers who visited the David Lloyd Clubs, which offers fathers the chance to lace up their ballet shoes and master the pirouette, fouetté and penché, while also spending time with their children.

The London 2012 long jump gold medallist, who took part in the class with his daughter Daphne, said: “I’m no stranger to dancing but the opportunity to be involved with my daughter by my side is really special.

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“There is no better time than now: we are both not experts and we can learn together.

“It’s important to me to show genuine interest in my children’s hobbies and David Lloyd Clubs makes this possible with their Daddy Ballet classes.

“I encourage dads all over the country to dust off their dancing shoes with me!”

The classes were launched after 73 percent of fathers said they want to take their children to more classes and activities, but there isn’t enough time in the day.

Working late (36 percent), a tight family budget (27 percent) and distractions from social media on the phone (20 percent) were some of the top factors that prevented fathers from spending more time with their children.

Martin Evans, Chief Commercial Officer at David Lloyd Clubs, which offers the classes to children and their fathers, said: “There is a huge need for fathers to be more involved in their children’s day-to-day activities from an earlier age.

“But there are still barriers that prevent them from doing so and a lack of information about how they can become more involved.”

“It’s so important to spend time together during activities, especially when the kids go back to school, and that’s something we prioritise at David Lloyd Clubs.

During a normal week, the average father spends just over six hours of quality time with his children.

Sadly, for one in five fathers, the amount of time they spend with their children has decreased over the past year.

Research by OnePoll found that a whopping 63 percent of fathers took their children to activities or classes weekly or daily.

As many as 36 percent of fathers regularly actively participate in their child’s lessons or activities.

For fathers, the best part about their children going to school was seeing them learn new skills (52 percent), how excited they were (48 percent) and how accomplished they felt (35 percent).

Martin Evans added: “Ballet isn’t something you normally associate with dads and their children, but we want to show them how playful the possibilities are, so we’re launching these light-hearted, fun classes that dads and kids can enjoy.

“The classes were originally inspired by heartwarming viral videos of dads dancing with their kids, and we saw this as a great opportunity to add this to our family activity program.

“We want to ensure that parents and children are active together in a positive and energetic environment. Daddy Ballet classes do just that, and we can’t wait to give them a ‘twirl’!”

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