The classes may be called pop-ups, but that's not the only movement going on with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

At The Forks on Wednesday afternoon, clouds cleared in time for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School (RWBS) to host the first of its free weekly dance lessons under the canopy of the CN Stage.

"They love to dance with music so we thought this would be a fun activity for them," parent Matthew Plett says. His three and six-year-old daughters were the first to arrive, tutus in tow. 

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Jolene Bailie's daughter, Sophie, comes from a family that loves to dance and will be taking classes in the fall with the pop-up's instructor, Magdaline "Maggie" McGregor. 

"I didn't tell her until we parked and I said 'you know there's an outdoor dance class we can check out,' and her eyes lit up. She was so excited," Bailie says

McGregor led a small group of young children and their parents through a series of movements, including asking children to put on their imaginary spacesuit and to catch stars.

McGregor has been teaching over Zoom and the Wednesday classes gave her a chance to instruct in person.

"I am honestly just glad that we get to be dancing together," McGregor says. "It is fun to dance together as opposed to a screen."

RWBS's recreational division principal, Nicole Kepp, is echoing McGregor's enthusiasm.

"It is really nice to be able to engage children and their families again," Kepp says, hoping to see more children come out and join them at 4:30 p.m. for the next three weeks.

For the older children, Kepp says they haven't forgotten them in their pop-ups.

"We've got at six o'clock either a jazz class or hip hop class; it is going to alternate each week."

The free pop-ups will continue to take place on Wednesdays at the CN Stage at The Forks until Sep. 1.