Local dance studio amasses millions of views and ‘Good Morning America’ feature for baby-parent dance videos
When Russell Lepley and Fili Pelacchi–owners of the Clintonville dance studio Flux + Flow were new parents to their son, they were searching for a solution to an everyday inconvenience. Little did they know, though, that the answer to their problem would thrust them into internet vitality.
“For the first three months, there weren’t a lot of activities that were friendly for children that young,” Lepley said. “The library had a lap-time story hour, which was great, but it didn’t feel like it was for us yet.”
A dance instructor by trade, Lepley said he and Pelacchi would often dance with their little one while at home, which worked to soothe the baby, and also sparked an idea: A parent-baby dance class at Flux+Flow.
And thus, Baby Dance Club–and international acclaim for Flux + Flow–was born.
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As you may have inferred from its name, Baby Dance Club involves, well, parents dancing with babies. More than that, though, it also affords comfort for infants and helps parent and child develop a unique bond through physical activity.
“It’s such a nice way to bond with your baby,” said Lepley. “We’ve been doing this April, and we haven’t cryer yet during a class.”
It isn’t just Lepley, and it isn’t just Columbus, that has also latched onto the idea, though. It’s also the rest of the world. Baby Dance has became a viral sensation, garnering features on Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal and more. A quick scroll through the dance studio’s Instagram shows videos with up to 25 million views.
According to Lepley, he did “absolutely not” expect the Baby Dance Center classes to go viral.
“All of the attention has been wild,” he said with a laugh. “I wanted to do something for myself because I had that need. I didn’t even realize I was inventing something. It’s apparently global now, it’s being shared in so many different languages.”
Even though it has exploded on the internet, the classes are still easy enough to book, and they aren’t all filled to capacity. They’re offered once a week in-studio, with virtual and on demand sessions available here.
The classes typically include a warm-up, and then a short time spent learning baby-friendly dance moves for a specific choreography, before the class–and their little ones–enjoys the full dance together. As the studio is focused on interconnectivity and community-building, there’s allotted time for parents to simply interact and share tips with each other. But ultimately, it’s about everyone enjoying themselves.
“It’s just about that teenage energy. That’s kind of the vibe of the studio, incorporating playfulness and joy for adults,” Lepley said.
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