The poet William Stafford wrote, “Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.”  

Now thanks to Eryn Dace Trudell, founder of Mama Dances, mothers and babies can share in the experience of dancing together from a very early age. In fact, the class is ideal for babies 2 to 12 months, before they start walking. 

No previous dance experience is necessary. Ms. Trudell draws on her considerable experience with choreography and dance to create a remarkable, easygoing vibe that infuses the class.

The dancers form a circle. Class begins with playful movement, both soothing and invigorating. The babies lie on a mat. The mothers take on an energy, rolling from side to side like a happy puppy or gently padding like cats, arching their spines up and down gently to the rhythm of the music. Then they might sit back on their haunches and play with their hands like flamenco dancers with invisible castanets. The babies watch, following the movements, cooing with delight.

Around the circle, the dance builds gradually. First, just undulations of the hands, then maybe stepping side to side next to the mat.  The music picks up tempo. Then the mothers start swaying, holding their babies in their arms, smiling, bringing them face to face, turning, switching partners, like a game to the music, back and forth, dancing.

The atmosphere is playful. Anything goes.

A hungry infant gets fed and then rejoins the circle. A ten-month-old who prefers to sit in the center watches the ring of dancers around him. Ms. Trudell offers to hold a squirmy baby to give her mother a rest.

Moms learn free form dancing, which can later provide a creative alternative to pacing the living room with a crying baby. Moms also learn sequences of movements, which can be repeated at home to favorite songs.

Mama Dances will be offered at eight locations this winter. Classes are taught in a combination of French and English, depending on the group's preference.  The weekly dance class provides an indoor activity for moms and babies, gives an outlet for self-expression through creative movement, and offers a forum to meet other mothers with babies in the local community.