one4review | On 11, Aug 2013

I’ve attended a few discos in my time, although very few of them have started at 11am in the morning! Baby Loves Disco is a dance event with a difference, one of Edinburgh’s clubs is turned into a family-friendly venue for a few hours to accommodate the dance stylings of Edinburgh’s coolest youngsters.

I took along my daughter Lily, who at 18 months is just starting to work out her own rave routines.  I was joined by a friend who took along her 11 month old son.  As we waited in the queue outside Electric Circus we were asked to fold down our buggies as they would be stored in an area next to the venue.  This wasn’t a problem for me as I had only come into Edinburgh to review this show so was travelling pretty light. However, I think if you’re out and about with quite a lot stored in your buggy it might cause you some problems. As you aren’t able to take the buggy into the venue you could find yourself juggling your child along with all the various paraphernalia that taking a child out for the day involves.  Furthermore, when you enter the venue you might have to be quick to find a space to store all your bits and pieces as there isn’t a lot of seating.  Mind you, if your child is anything like Lily you’ll probably spend half your time chasing them round the dancefloor anyway. The storage of the buggies was probably my only niggle with the show as once the event is up and running there is a lot of fun to be had.

The disco takes place in the main space inside the venue, alongside the licensed bar (let me repeat that – licensed bar!) Through the back of the club are karaoke rooms which fill a variety of purposes.  These are turned into a soft play area, a quiet room (perfect if you’re still nursing), a room for children to colour in pictures as well as another room for face-painting.  This is a great use of the space and Lily spent a lot of time exploring each room.  If you like, you can even book into one of the karaoke rooms and use it for its original purpose.

The disco itself was a little late in starting due to technical problems but once it was up and running it was very well done.  There are staff on board ready to entertain the kids with various competitions and prizes and the music is at a volume which won’t upset the little ones.  My friend had been a little worried about this as her 11 month old tends to cry at loud music, but he was absolutely fine. Lily had a grand old time dancing with the other children, chasing the disco lights around the dancefloor and waving her free glowstick round like it was 1991.  She also seemed particularly intrigued by the episodes of The Clangers which were playing on the TV screens behind the DJ stage and took her toy monkey to investigate them on a number of occasions.

If you’re worried about the children getting hungry, don’t be.  There is a whole host of healthy food on offer for the kids – rice cakes, breadsticks, biscuits, fruit and sandwiches as well as orange and apple juice. When she got peckish Lily could be found munching on a cheese sandwich and knocking back a couple of orange juices in a corner of the club, at least until Gangnam Style came on at which point she was up and dancing again!

I wasn’t sure that I’d stay for the full 2 hours, but there was so much to do that we were there from start to finish. To be honest, I think I enjoyed the dancing as much as Lily and it was nice to be doing it in a proper club rather than in the confines of our living room.  We ended up leaving, faces painted, glow sticks in hand, both thoroughly danced out. It was a great experience for all age groups and something truly unique.  If you’re looking for something that’s a little bit different, and you can still remember your moves from ‘the time before children’, then I’d thoroughly recommend giving Baby Loves Disco a go.

Reviewed by Di (and Lily)