Embracing the Chaos - Hilarious Tales From The World of diddi dance

Get ready to embrace your inner child with this lively episode of the Moving Mission podcast! Join Anne-Marie Martin and Jack Wells as they dive into the world of diddi dance and toddler dance classes. 

Anne-Marie, the founder of diddi dance, shares hilarious and heartwarming tales from her 20 years of teaching dance to the littlest movers and shakers. From the brutally honest comments of toddlers to the unexpected joys and challenges of teaching them, this episode is a journey through the unfiltered minds of children.

Discover the impact of dance on young minds, the importance of inclusivity in classes, and how toddlers' unapologetic honesty can teach us all a lesson in being more open and accepting. 

Whether you're a parent, a dance enthusiast, or just someone who loves a good laugh, this episode is sure to entertain and inspire. Tune in for an episode filled with laughter, learning, and the reminder to be more toddler – open, curious, and unafraid to ask the big questions. 

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Transcript

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai - Go Unlimited to remove this message) Hello and welcome to the Moving Mission podcast with me, Anne-Marie Martin from Diddy Dance. And me, Jack Wells, the Wonder Dancer. Join us as we discuss the importance of moving. Its impact, inclusion and benefits for both physical and mental health. Welcome to another episode of the Moving Mission podcast, where today we'll be discussing Diddy Dance. Thanks, Jack. So, yeah, we want to find out a little bit more about what you do. Obviously, you've got your business Diddy Dance, where you are. Why don't you explain a bit more about Diddy Dance? Well, we run preschool dance classes. We've been going 20 years. I started it back in 2003. But it's about kids getting a first introduction, moving to music in a really fun, informal way, which I could talk about all day, but it wouldn't be very entertaining. What ages exactly do you...? Well, we focused on walkers, so toddlers, for such a long time. We have now introduced baby classes, just literally in the past few weeks. But I thought I'd tell you a few stories about toddlers, really, because they are savage. They are savage. And actually, we've only been going with babies a few weeks, but don't you say a lot? No. Is that a better experience? I don't know. Not so many laughs, maybe. Yeah, not so many laughs. I tend to find... But then your ego's a bit better with it. Yeah. You don't get cut down. They're just so speechless. It's just like, they must be loving this. But you must find, though, because with my experiences of friends, kids or nieces and nephews that I've got, they don't really have a filter, do they? Oh, that's the main thing. You hit the nail on the head. Zero filter. And you've got to love them for that as well because they just come in and say it how it is. The amount of times, and I did write a little short, not really blog post because I didn't put it anywhere, but a short thing about some of the things that they've said to me. Now, I have a shaved head, short hair. Our Diddy Dance colours are blue. And kids, you know, nature, a bit of nurture. But they come in, they look me up and down, and they'd be like, are you a boy? No, I'm not, actually. I'm a 40-something-year-old woman, mother of two. But, you know, you just laugh it off. In fact, I think a nursery I went to not long ago, one of the toddlers there did ask me that again. So it's like, okay, great. It's still a thing, yeah. Still a thing. Still look male. And that's fine. But they just come in with no preconceived ideas. They're learning. They're figuring out the world around them. And so they will just ask honest questions. And half the time, you're in the firing line. Yeah, so do you find it sometimes a little bit stuck of what you're meant to respond with? Just half the time, you have to just laugh and smile it off. But there are certain times as well where it's not even said to you, so they might be, not kicking off, but having a bit of a tantrum and preparing. Or they've said something a little bit cheeky or a little bit rude. Or they have said something to me, and the parent's being like, the panic on their face. And I should really be supporting the parent because they're saying, no, you don't say that. But I'm actually like, I'm sniggering, and I'm trying to stop my shoulders moving because I want to support the parent in that moment and not encourage that sort of behaviour. But it's just so hard sometimes. So have you got any sort of examples of stuff you've encountered other than being told that you look like a man? Yeah, that's always the best one, isn't it? But I think it's just a harsh reality sometimes of engagement or random comments. You'll be in a class, and you're giving it your all, and the energy's there, and you're really trying to get them all engaged. And then someone in the corner will just be sitting there staring at you with a look of disdain. Or they're picking the nose, or they're rolling round the floor. I've gone to birthday parties before where I'm giving it my all, and there's two or three wrestling in the corner. Yeah, yeah. So there's a... There's an unpredictability with it. Yeah, there's a subconscious, I don't even need to say anything, and you know that I just don't actually give a **** about you. Or there's, I'm going to come up and actually physically tell you. Do you find that they're like that from day one, or is it more once they get to know the class and you? Every child is so different. And I think over the years I've definitely understood that not one size fits all for children. Same in society. But you, every child is so different. And just when you figure out, oh, okay, so this child might come in and they don't want to join in straight away, which is actually really natural, especially a lot more since lockdown. And they just want to come and sit and watch, and you think, right, I know I'm going to do this. I'm just going to give them the odd smile. Then I'm going to say, well done, and then name, but I'm not going to look at them. I'm not going to give them eye contact that makes them feel self-conscious. Then I'm going to start warming up. Then I'm going to be a bit slapstick, and I'm going to do something a bit silly that will get them laughing. And you've tried, you've literally opened up your box of tricks. You've tried everything, and they're still just sat there like that. Not amused. Nothing, nothing. So you're like, okay, great. So I've run out of ideas. But it usually, over time, they, you know, they do everything with it. I suppose with encouragement from the parents and stuff as well, then they'll feel more at ease. Grown-up involvement makes such a massive difference. If they feel the grown-up feels comfortable and they're joining in, that really helps the child join in massively. But then, you know, you also understand that parents have got a lot on, a lot that they're juggling. Sometimes they don't want to jump around for 45 minutes. They're knackered. Or they might not feel as confident in a group environment. So you just try and welcome them all in at a different level. Do you find that, though, with the parents? Because obviously it's predominantly a class for the children. But do you find you see them grow as people sometimes in how much more they've come out of their shell maybe in some of your classes? Yeah, that's a really good point. I've never really thought about it as much because it's always been such a focus on the children. But actually, yes, some of the friendships that have been formed between the grown-ups and they go off to play dates but they're gone sitting up coffee. I think you get that a lot with, like, kids' clubs and stuff. Yeah, I've always known about it more in the baby classes because they're new parents a lot of the time and so they're finding others that they can relate to. You've never found it as much in toddler classes because the kids are two or three years old. They've gone off or back to work more or found people already. But actually, yeah, I think the more relaxed the grown-ups can be in the class the more of a laugh we can have as well. So a lot of the time I talk about how savage the toddlers are to me but they'll say something random in class and actually I can be a bit cut in. I'm like, oh, really? That's great. Thanks for telling me that. Shut them down straight away. I do it in the most loving, funny way but just some of the stories they'll tell you and they'll suddenly come up to you in the middle of class in the middle of warm-up and you're trying to explain a new dance and they're going, Anne-Marie, can I tell you because what I'm doing later is I'm going to Lily's house and then we're going to make this and we're going to do this and her mum is like, it's great and I love that you're telling me. They're sort of trying to dance at the moment and I was like, I have no idea who you're talking about. They tell me all about family members, all about their friends. Yeah, but you've obviously become a big figure in their life I'd imagine. Something they look forward to coming to. It is a lovely place. Because the strange thing I've always found because Anne-Marie's always expressed how not confident she is in the sense of going out and doing dances in public and stuff like this yet put her in front of one of her diddy dance classes she becomes this highly animated... It's almost like a different persona. Oh right, so you're like a bit of Beyonce, are you? I compare myself to Beyonce now. I'm always more sweet. Yeah, you know me too well. I've got regular Anne-Marie and then I've got diddy Anne-Marie. Yeah, but I think it's good. Yeah, and I think that's what I say to all the franchises. But do you find it's kind of being able to sort of delve into that if you like if that brings a side out of you that you would like to be more like that anyway? I'm not saying like walking up to people and going, Hi, how are you tonight? No, but I mean in a sense... People find me annoying enough already. In the right setting I like still being able to be quite childish in the sense of not taking life too seriously. So do you find, because we've been in a business and there's a lot of serious sides that you have to do it must be quite nice to be able to then actually just kind of... Yeah, no, that's a good point. One, I love dancing still. Two, I love working with this age group. I think they're hilarious and no two classes are ever the same. But three, like we've touched on before, physically dancing still at my age it's so good for me. Not always physically. Twist your little knee or your hips not quite feeling it today. But mentally, I think one, it's great for my mental health but two, it does keep you young at heart. I love being silly and stupid. That's kind of more where I was going with it. In that kind of sense of still having just fun being able to just do whatever, you know. But also I think in class you've got to not worry about what anybody thinks and I think it's something to get over because you've got grown-ups in the class. You're being all slapstick and silly. I suppose you've got that side of it. Well, you feel a bit conscious then that you're going to be judged by the grown-ups but actually they don't care because you're entertaining their child. So there's getting over that. Well, there's an expectation that that's how they're expecting you to be, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. They want to be paying for something that they don't feel they could necessarily do themselves at home. So a lot of the time they're like, I don't know where you get the energy from. I can do that. So that's great. But that's what I say to the franchisees. You've almost got to give yourself a Diddy persona. This is me in real life. I am still a bit over the top but quite normal. And then I've got class me where I'm being over the top because it's for the children. Yeah, because that's how they're going to engage and get more out of it. There's no good you just turn up going, right, we're going to do a dance. Okay, well, let's do this. No, you can't. But I tell you something else about toddlers as well. They're liars. Oh, some of the lies I've been told. Or some of the too many truths. Some lies, it's hilarious. They reveal too much. Have you ever had any stories where a toddler said anything about their parents that's made them embarrassed? Come on, we need some of these. I mean, some of the lies first. So some of the lies. We bring props out in classes and silly things like with the pom-poms. We do a little shake thing and they go, oh, they're on our head. They look like pink and blue hair. Or we'll go, oh, we've got a big hairy beard. I had one girl every single week. She'd go, like my daddy. I look like my daddy. And I'd be like, oh, great. We'd carry on. After a couple of weeks, the mum came up to me. She went, can I just tell you? Husband's clean shaven, bald head, no hair on his head whatsoever. Where she's convinced that daddy's got a beard. And I was like, look, I'm not here to joke. She's talking about someone else. I don't want to know. But she just, to be fair, it's probably harsh saying that's a lie. But in her head somewhere, her dad had a beard. Maybe that's just what she dreamt of her dad having blue hair. Yeah, maybe that's what she wished her dad would be like. Yeah, exactly. I know, that's horrible. She doesn't like the blue and clean shaven look. But there would be, oh, there'd be times, oh, bless, one of my teachers told me this. She's moved away now. But there'd be, she'd go into class. They'd be doing something. And the little girl shouted out one day, oh, by the way, my mummy doesn't like you. Yeah, that is a good one. And she'd just laugh it off. And apparently the parent just went white. She was like, oh, don't be silly. I never said that. You picked up on a comment where I meant something else. Taken out of context. Yeah, definitely didn't say that word. Apparently the mum went white. And at the end, she was like, it wasn't meant. And my teacher was just like, don't worry, it's absolutely fine. Or they blurted out, oh, it's just little things. So we explore different dance styles. And there was an element we were doing. I can't remember exactly what it was. But we did something and we said, oh, to explore it like this. Oh, that's right. So in flamenco, we used to do a traditional movement, a group movement that was based on bullfighting. To take it back, you know, from a traditional sense. We don't do it anymore, actually, because of this comment. But he came in and he said, actually, my mummy said, because we're about to do this traditional Spanish bull dance. Actually, my mummy said that we shouldn't be doing this in our classes because it's really, really horrible to the bulls and it's a really cruel thing that they do. I was like, oh, actually, that's a really good point. That's a very good point. Okay, and the mum was like, oh. But things like that, I was like, yeah, that's a really good point, actually. We don't do it now. We do rhythmic clapping as the exercise, but they just blurt stuff out. I mean, I don't, nothing comes to the top of my head of anything really rude. No. But, you know, I'm sure there's been a few things. So in my own experience, with kind of kids and toddlers, stuff like that, is obviously being an amputee, again, where they've kind of got no filter and there's no judgment, but they're very intrigued to like, oh, I'm not used to seeing a guy with one leg or, you know, a prosthetic leg. I'll be in a supermarket or something like that and very much it's like the parent wants them to shut up and a bit like what you're saying, oh, they've said the wrong thing. But have you ever had in your classes where you've maybe got a child that has got something that's maybe slightly different to the others where it gets pointed out? Yeah, that's a good point. I think, to be honest, you know, our children aren't born with any prejudice. And so it's, for me, we are all inclusive in the classes. So we've had children come in with all different abilities. But children just, yes, they will stare sometimes if it's a physical difference or they might be a little bit scared, you know, if somebody's got additional needs where they've got a sensory need, which involves physical touch a lot more, you know, pushing and hitting. But if I'm completely honest, it's probably more the grown-ups that judge more. That doesn't surprise me. And it's like, oh, there's, you know, looks of control your child or looks of this and that is nothing I ever want to happen in classes. So I think the more we can address that and be more inclusive is definitely the aim. But it's like you were saying, I want us to do more work about representing and showing our toddlers, people with, especially with different physical differences or different physical abilities. Because I think the more our young children see people who look different, the more they will just accept it and not. It will just be normal. Exactly. But when they do see you for the first time or whatever, and they'll be like, oh, why have you only got one leg? Or they might see you on a video. You know, we've recorded videos talking about your amputation before. If that sparks a conversation at home where they are asking about that and then the parents can have a discussion about it, that's got to be a good thing. And then the more they can experience children who look different or act different, then the more they'll be accepting of that. And I think I'd love that to happen from a really early age, not until they get schooled. Yeah, well, like you say, I think it's the best time to do it because, like you say, at that time they don't judge. It's not that they don't obviously see these things, but if it was just something that was just in their everyday life, it wouldn't be a thing. Do you know what I mean? They'd still know, oh, yeah, Jack's got one leg, I've got two legs. But it wouldn't be, oh, that's really weird or that looks strange. It'd just be, well, I don't know any different. I have my nephew and sometimes when I see him I haven't got my prosthetic leg on, sometimes I do, and he just goes, oh, Uncle Jack, you've got two feet today. It's just stuff like that. But he's never known me without being an amputee and he very much talks about me as being an amputee as just a normal thing. It's not something that needs to be brought up. It's just, oh, yeah, that's just my Uncle Jack, that's just it. But I think there's more. I went to a kids' media event last week and I think the TV channels are being really responsible with that now as well. I don't want to specifically name anyone for advertising rights, but one channel is bringing out a new programme which really focuses on all different abilities so that the little children are really introduced to that. And I just think that's so important so that they can just start to understand and have conversations about people that look different or act differently. I just think it's really, really important from an early age because I know a lot of toddlers watch strictly, but late on a Saturday night or watching it on catch-up, it might not be their thing or they might not want to. But I know a few of them that do watch it, it sparks conversations as well. So Rose being deaf and Ellie, all of the characters, all the characters, all the people that have been on strictly, it's amazing that young children can watch that and start discussing it and seeing it. I think so many parents or adults, it's not that I don't think people are open to being like that as well, it's just it's happened to be introduced to them as a new thing as well and a new concept because it's very much like sometimes if you suddenly buy a car and all of a sudden that's the only car you see on the roads whereas you didn't know it's seeing that car before. I become an amputee and all of a sudden I notice if there was an amputee on telly because it was kind of like suddenly you go, oh my God, that guy's only got one leg like I've got. And I think it's with adults, it kind of, like you're saying, the more representation there can be from people from different backgrounds, people with different physical appearances, it's going to then reach a whole new audience of people that are then going to go, I want to go and do that or I want to delve into that. Yeah, so I think the more TV shows, the more kids' programmes, the more toys. Yeah, I remember literally the week after I had my amputation done, there was a game show on telly and there was two amputees on there and they were on crutches but a lot of the time they hopped around the studio and it was just so mind-blowing and that was my first realisation of, I might be able to do that one day. Obviously, I now do it to the extreme. Well, look at Britain's Got Talent. Well, exactly. Look at Musa. Absolutely, just incredible. But I think it's, again, just showing, it won't be that just an amputee sees him and is inspired, that will inspire just so many people. I'd love to think that the toddlers have watched that. That's just unbelievable. Yeah, absolutely. Whereas I think, however many years ago, it kind of would have been seen as just stick the guy in the wheelchair but now it's this whole anyone can do anything attitude and I think, like you say, teaching that to children or showing children and opening their eyes to that is the best way because otherwise they're just influenced by a parent that might be more old-fashioned in their views whereas you've kind of got to come up to speed with the world we live in now and everyone should feel happy to do what they want to do. Yeah, and do you know what? I think we're all learning, we're all adapting and probably the message from today's podcast should be then be more toddler. Yeah, 100%. Because actually the more open and blatant, no, don't be blatant and be offensive, but, you know, ask questions and learn and go and educate yourself and, yeah, toddlers will come up and just say it as it is and ask a few questions. Yeah, exactly, but I think the world is also, unfortunately, a lot of people get offended by stuff these days and stuff like that but it's another thing that a toddler doesn't, I don't believe, knows how to be offended. They just go, okay, you said that and I've moved on and whatever and in the sense that, like you say, they'll say something that an adult would maybe go, well, I'm not going to say that. But certainly when it comes to intrigue and finding out about more stuff, it's kind of, well, why can't we all explore these things and, you know, obviously in a respectful way. Respectful way, open conversation though. Yeah. But, yeah, we've entered on a serious note. Yeah, I know, we went from some toddler quotes to, oh my God. I think that's how we're going to end up on these things though. This podcast is going to open lots of discussions and I think it's great and, yeah, toddlers are the savage and they don't care what they say. No. And they will just hurt you. And actually when we had to go online and do classes online, I would actually, it was a bit nerve-wracking at first when you're doing something to a screen and you haven't got anyone to interact with but actually we got used to a point where it was like, oh, actually, I haven't got savage toddlers shouting at me and ignoring me and looking me up and down, looking me dirty. Look, we were all there just to a screen and in our heads, like you were saying, I'm in a concert. Yeah, I know. I've got thousands of toddlers screaming my name. They're all joining in. They're doing everything that I'm saying. And then actually going back to the reality of classes, you go, oh, yeah, no, that's what reality for toddlers is like. I am famous. On that note, we will wrap it up today then. So thanks for joining us again on the podcast. We'll be on again soon. Yeah, tune in to the next episode and be more toddler. Yay. Thanks for listening today. We hope you feel inspired to get moving. And don't forget to give us a follow here if you enjoyed today's episode and check us out on all other social media at The Moving Mission. Bye.