172. Claire Munday, Tappy Toes Founder & Franchisor of Children's Dance & Movement Classes

Claire Munday, Mother of 2 and Creator and Founder of Tappy Toes dance, has been dancing since the age of three.

Claire trained at Laine Theatre Arts, Epsom, Surrey, on a three year musical theatre course. She gained Distinctions in Ballet, Modern and Tap ISTD Teaching Associates, and an Anatomy Diploma, and has been teaching dance since she was 16 years old.

A professional dancer from 1998- 2010, she performed with major pop artists including Destiny’s Child, KT Tunstall and Katherine Jenkins. In west end venues, the Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium, and in countless hair and fashion shows for companies including Marks and Spencer, Levis, Clarks, Wella and L’Oreal. She appeared on Top of the Pop’s, MTV, the Brit Awards, a series for ITV1, and a cinema and TV campaign for Lynx.

She is now an accomplished choreographer having worked on adverts for the Olympics 2012, Moshi Monsters and Lumi Jewellery, and on TV shows including CBeebies, Nuzzle and Scratch, ITV1s Wedding Dances and a Teachers TV series.

With over 15 years of teaching experience behind her, Claire created Tappy Toes baby and toddler dance classes in order to develop imagination, build confidence, improve coordination and inspire creativity in your youngsters, and to provide a fun but controlled environment for parent/carer and toddler to bond. The classes became so popular the decision was made to franchise the classes so that more children could enjoy them! During the Coronavirus pandemic, Claire decided to take all Tappy Toes classes live online, so that every child could experience the magic of DANCE even during social distancing and isolation. Classes are now available in studios across the UK. 

Timestamps:

[1:40] What is Tappy Toes?

[3:00] Professional dance career and getting into teaching

[10:05] When did you start your first franchise?

[18:00] Where are you heading with franchising?

[20:50] Are you expanding to the USA?

[22:00] Did you children attend your classes? And how does it help with child development?

[24:00] How did lockdown affect the children in your classes?

[28:30] If your business had a personality or character, what would it be like?

Claire's Facebook page

@tappytoes on Twitter

@tappytoesdance on Instagram

Claire's Website

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