One idea, taken seriously, for ninety minutes.
A new strand of our work — separate from our weekly classes, designed around a single concept each time. Children come, take one idea, and turn it inside out.
"Gymlab Workshops, are something we've wanted to make for a long time."
They sit alongside our weekly classes, but they are a different kind of thing. Each workshop takes a single idea and gives it ninety unhurried minutes — no curriculum to get through, no skill to tick off, just one concept and the time to turn it inside out.
We're starting with one. If it works the way we hope, more will follow — each built around a different idea, for a different age group, in a different colour. We'll see.
Upside Down is the first. Inversion in all its forms: rolls, bridges, headstands, handstands, cartwheels. Built for children aged 5 to 8 — at the moment when getting upside down stops being a thing they do by accident and becomes a thing they want to learn.
Some children will be working on their first forward roll. Others will be holding handstands against the wall. Both will have done the workshop fully.
A workshop is structurally different from a class. Six things make it so.
Depth, not breadth.
One concept, taken seriously for ninety minutes. No station rotation, no varied curriculum. Just one idea, explored from every angle a child wants to explore it from.
Exploration, not progression.
A class moves children toward a target skill. A workshop opens the space and lets the child find their own version of the concept. The success criterion is that they explored fully — not that they achieved a particular thing.
Mixed ages, focused concept.
A 5-year-old and an 8-year-old work side-by-side, at their own levels, on the same idea. The age mix is part of the design, not a compromise.
Ritual bookends.
The workshop opens with a gathering and closes with a ceremony. These are deliberate — a child should feel they entered something and left something, not just attended an activity.
A real artefact home.
Each child leaves with a printed photograph of themselves from the workshop, taken by Massimo and printed on the day. It is not a souvenir. It is a record of a thing they did.
A workshop is not a class with a different name.
If a parent peeked through the window they might see children doing rolls and bridges, but the texture of the hour and a half is not a class's. It is its own thing.
About Upside Down
Children spend a lot of their early lives upside down by accident — over the arm of the sofa, off the back of the bed, hanging from the climbing frame. Around the age of five, that instinct turns into a question: can I do this on purpose?
Upside Down is a workshop built around that question. Over ninety minutes, children explore inversion in every form their bodies can find — rolls, bridges, headstands, handstands, cartwheels. Some will hold a wall handstand for the first time. Some will discover that a forward roll is harder than it looks. Both will leave knowing more about what their body can do.
The work is hands-on and patient. We don't push children toward a single skill. We open the space, follow what each child is interested in, and meet them there.
Everything else you might want to know.
Eight short answers, before you ask
When and where
Saturday 13 June 2026, 12:15–13:45. Chobham Academy dance studio, Stratford. The workshop runs for ninety minutes — one continuous session.
Who it's for
Children aged 5 to 8. Open to current Gymlab families, families on our waiting list, and friends they'd like to bring along. Booking is entirely separate from any class waiting list place — booking a workshop has no effect on your child's position for a weekly class.
What it costs
£40 per child. Includes the printed photograph each child takes home.
Who's teaching
Francesca leads the workshop. Massimo holds safety and logistics throughout, and shoots the photographs. A second coach joins if the group is large enough to need one.
About the photography
Massimo photographs throughout the workshop. Each child receives one printed photograph of themselves at the end, on paper, theirs to keep. Photo consent is collected at booking — three tiers, granular, your choice.
If your child is shy
Workshops are small — a maximum of fifteen places. The structure is exploratory rather than performance-based, which means there is no front of the room and no moment of being watched. Most children find this easier than a class, not harder.
If your child isn't 5–8
The next workshop in the series will be built for a different age group. We'll let you know when it opens — if you're on the Gymlab list, you'll hear about it the same way you heard about this one.
Cancellation
Standard Gymlab cancellation terms apply. If we cancel a workshop, we refund in full. If you cancel, please refer to the booking terms on ClassForKids.
Book a place
Booking is handled through ClassForKids, the same system you'd use for a Gymlab class.
Workshops are how Gymlab asks the questions we couldn't quite ask in a weekly class. We're glad you're considering joining us for the first one.
- Francesca and Massimo -