Our Story

“It's amazing what little people are capable of, and at Petite Performers we see children flourish creatively and physically everyday”

Emily Cardno, Co-Founder

Childhood is full of creativity and magic and we realised that by harnessing this imaginative wonder we could help children develop.

We don’t believe that journey should only begin at school age, especially as toddlers are learning about their bodies and their voices naturally through play. Toddlers love to dance to music they like and will do so whether you teach them to or not, so why should they wait to join in the fun?

At Petite Performers they don’t have to, we created our own syllabuses to allow us to include the littlest of performers and explorers.

Our unique curriculums take your child into the early school years but the classes don’t have to stop there, many of our schools have classes and timetables for all age groups.
 

Two sisters, one goal

Twin sisters, Emily and Michelle Cardno were each opening dance schools on different sides of the Atlantic when they hit across a snag. There were no programs available that covered each genre of dance and theatre for children under six. Over a series of Facetime calls, many debates, lots of coffee and an intensive summer at Petite Performers HQ, the Petite Performers unique curriculums in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop and Drama were born.

About us

When their individual schools proved so popular with parents and children alike, they decided to expand, and so the franchise began.

Unique classes, characters and music

Creating the curriculums from scratch gave them a unique opportunity to design the classes around everything they had learned from teaching children over the previous ten years. And to create the kind of classes these two toddling dancers would have loved.

"These classes are just the right balance of play and learning for young children experiencing dance and drama for the first time.  We are so happy we found Petite Performers "
Petite Performers Mum, Putney

The unique characters and the music were born out of this process. If they could design a class for their two-year-old selves then what would it look like? Magical, full of fun and inspiring, after all if Bella Ballet can leap as high as the sky, then you can bet your little dancer is going to want to join in.

By creating unique characters and stories, Petite Performers opens up a wondrous world of learning to even the youngest of budding performers. With the help of Bella, Harry, Tilly and Digby they learn numbers, colours, motor skills, how to take turns, speech, confidence building, repetition, expression and so much more.

And with unique songs to accompany the classes, they can sing along with their favourite characters in class and at home.

 “Sharing their growth with their parents, seeing the joy on the children’s faces, as well as the parents, when their child achieves a new skill, like skipping or jumping. You feel proud to be a little part of that.”

Michelle Cardno, Co-Founder