Football, swimming and ballet fill most children's weeks in Dubai, and for good reason. But some children light up when they find something nobody else in their class does. If yours is one of them, here is our top 5 of the best unusual classes in Dubai: circus and aerial silks, Olympic fencing, dinghy sailing, DJing and stargazing.
They cover very different ground: the air, a combat sport, the sea, music and the night sky, so there's little overlap between them. Every one is listed on Waha, and we checked the details on each provider's own website on 18 October 2026. Where a provider doesn't publish a price, an age group or a timetable, we say so rather than guess.
1. Circus and aerial silks at Dubai Circus School
Dubai Circus School teaches circus arts in a warehouse in Al Quoz, with separate classes for kids, teens and adults. Its six disciplines are aerial silk, aerial hoop, aerial trapeze, aerial hammock, trampoline and ground acrobatics, so a child can climb, swing and tumble under one roof.
Aerial silks are the showpiece: two long lengths of fabric hung from the ceiling, which children learn to climb, wrap themselves in and hold poses on. It takes grip, core strength and a bit of nerve, and it feels more like performing than training. If your child dreams of the flying trapeze, the school says aerial trapeze is the place to start from the absolute basics.
Good to know: the school doesn't publish kids' age groups, prices or a class timetable on its website at the moment, so message it to find a class that fits. For more classes that build strength and body control, see gymnastics and acrobatics across Dubai.
2. Olympic fencing at MK Fencing Academy
Fencing is an Olympic sport, and in Dubai children can learn it in a fencing hall inside the Hamdan Sports Complex. MK Fencing Academy started as Dubai Fencing Club in 2002, became MK Fencing Academy (MKFA) in 2008 and has been a member of the UAE Fencing Federation since 2005.
It teaches group and private lessons from age 6. Junior groups are split by age, weapon and level, from Juniors U11 Épée Beginners up to an elite épée group for ages 15 to 20, with separate U11 and U16 sabre classes. For a child who loves a challenge but not a ball sport, fencing is a great fit: fast, tactical and one-on-one.
The easiest way to start: a free 30-minute tester session, on Sundays at 9am and Tuesdays at 6:30pm on the academy's October 2026 schedule. The academy provides the equipment, and beginners need to buy nothing for their first three months. Nearer Dubai Sports City? Knightsbridge Fencing Club teaches children from age 7 at GEMS School of Research and Innovation. Both are listed with Dubai's other combat sports.
3. Dinghy sailing at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club has been sailing in Dubai since 1974, from its clubhouse on Jumeirah Beach Road in Umm Suqeim. It is an RYA (Royal Yachting Association) recognised training centre, so children work through the same RYA stages taught at sailing clubs around the world, and skipper their own small boat on the sea rather than swimming lengths of a pool.
Weekly Weekend Learn to Sail runs for three hours every Saturday or Sunday of the term. The Beginner group, from 10am to 1pm, is for water-confident children from age 6. The Intermediate group, from 2pm to 5pm, starts at age 8 and needs RYA Stage 2. Younger sailors aged 6 to 8 who swim confidently can join Sailors of Tomorrow instead, in small Optimist dinghies on Wednesday or Thursday afternoons.
Book soon: the next weekend term starts on Saturday 31 October or Sunday 1 November 2026, according to the club's booking page. Not sure yet? Splash & Sail is a three-hour taster for children from 6, with dates on 1, 14, 28 and 29 November. There's more to do outside in the cooler months on our outdoor activities page.
4. DJing at Dubai Sound Academy
Most music lessons mean piano or guitar. At Dubai Sound Academy, children learn to DJ. The academy calls itself the "1st Official Pioneer DJ School in the Middle East", and Pioneer DJ lists it among its official DJ school partners in the UAE.
Its kids' programme, Supersonics, runs weekly DJ and music production classes at introduction, beginner, intermediate and advanced levels for ages 7 and up, with production taught in GarageBand, Ableton and Logic Pro X. Younger children can start with Discovery DJs, a 25-minute weekly music club for 5 and 6 year olds, and the academy says classes start from age 4.
Classes are based at Dubai British School Jumeirah, and since late September the academy also runs a DJ Club at Studio One Hotel in Studio City. Once they're good, Supersonics DJs can even be booked to play at birthday parties and events. For instruments and singing, browse music classes across the city.
5. Stargazing with Dubai Astronomy Group
For a child who asks big questions about space, Dubai Astronomy Group runs family stargazing evenings with astronomers and professional telescopes. It is a non-profit that has been running astronomy events in the UAE since 2000.
It isn't a weekly class but a calendar of evenings you book one at a time. Coming up this season: the Leonids meteor shower in the Al Qudra desert on 17 November, from 10pm to 2am, the Geminids in the Al Khatim desert near Abu Dhabi on 12 and 13 December, and supermoon evenings at the SEE Institute in The Sustainable City on 24 November and 24 December, each with a planetarium show followed by telescope viewing. On the meteor-shower nights, children under 13 must come with a ticketed parent.
The late desert nights suit older children; the 7pm supermoon evenings make an easier first trip for younger ones. For more science and space ideas, see STEM classes in Dubai.
Honourable mentions
Three more on Waha that didn't make our top 5, but are worth a look:
- Parkour DXB teaches parkour in Al Quoz, Mirdif, JVC and on The Palm, and offers a free trial class. Choose it over circus if your child is more ninja than acrobat.
- Mid Air Circus Arts teaches circus arts to children from age 4 in Dubai Investment Park, a good option if Al Quoz is a long drive.
- Bedia Pottery in Al Quoz runs a beginners' pottery workshop for kids, and its wheel workshops are open to first-timers, children included.
How to choose
Try before you commit. Fencing has its free tester, Parkour DXB a free trial class and the sailing club its Splash & Sail taster, and a stargazing night is a one-off anyway. Circus is the one to ask about directly.
Think about the week. Sailing takes three hours every weekend of the term, and fencing and DJing run weekly. If the calendar is already full, read how many activities is too many before adding another.
Mix it up. An unusual class sits well beside a team sport, and trying different things is good for children's development. For days out rather than classes, see our 25 best things to do with kids in Dubai. Our guide to playing one sport or several looks at what the research says.
