A DANCE company has denied claims that it teaches youngsters how to emulate the raunchy moves of sexy pop princesses Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears.

Worcestershire-based Dance at 8 was featured in an article in a regional newspaper that claimed youngsters were flocking to learn the sexy moves of scantily-clad dancing divas.

Founder Paul Pritchard was quoted as having said: "We are different from other disco classes because we take the dance routines in pop videos released with the music and choreograph them, rather than using our own."

The article claimed Mr Pritchard had initially expressed reservations that parents might find the sessions too raunchy when they started five years ago.

He and his wife Barbara said they were misquoted and stressed that although the Video Pop Stars classes did teach children elements of certain dances, raunchy moves were removed and routines re-choreographed in a tasteful way.

"Initially I had some reservations with the way pop music was going, but we have such tight control over our content that we have no complaints from parents, who have full access to all of our classes," said Mr Pritchard.

"We also teach the parents of the children we teach."

Mrs Pritchard added: "The Government is trying to encourage children to be more active. Here we have an activity that children have an opportunity to participate in and enjoy," she said.

"As a parent we wouldn't use anything that was questionable. We're a family-run business."

The company teaches a diverse range of classes from salsa to ballroom, targeted at all ages from six to adult.