Returning to the dance studio safely (covid-19)

Warren J. Dew said:
Out of curiosity, what category of permitted businesses does the business meet? I didn't see a category that could be interpreted to include dance studios, though I could have missed it.
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My best guess for my studio is "personal services".

A few other local studios are opening next week, I presume under the category of "gyms and fitness studios".
 
worddancer said:
No asthma.
My mask was a cloth mask that sometimes get sucked in when you breathe in. I need to find more duck billed shape one somewhere!

I think when you guys go back to your lesson, you'll know what I'm talking about! I'm guessing some people will do better then me, and some will prob have the same difficulty.

We did a whole smooth round, with V Waltz.
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Definitely time to try a different mask. That's not how it should work (getting sucked in as you breathe in that much).

You also could try breathing in through your nose. Or possibly not opening your mouth as widely while breathing. But really, I think a different sort of mask will be much better. And hold off on full speed VW until you get it figured out.
 
ProgressNotPerfection said:
So here’s the funny thing... I intended this post to be serious, not joking. Yet almost all of you have used the “haha” reaction! Interesting. (I hope Pro also interpreted it as amusing.)
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Mengu said:
I'd agree with you there... it is serious. 90% of my lessons are spent fixing what happens when you put a person in front of me.
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It is quite funny, because it is simultaneously facially paradoxical and completely familiar to everyone. Everyone goes through this, and so far it seems to hold true to one degree or another at every level. Mengu's experience is almost certainly in the majority. Doing all of the things in perfect integration with another person is one of the primary challenges in partner dancing. What's more, the simple act of putting a person in front of you changes the context you're working in, and can make you behave differently even if the partnering is perfect.

My coach has an exercise to understand and combat this challenge. Whenever a group class learns a new pattern or technique, the first step is to learn it alone. But before working in pairs, she first has people dance face-to-face, but outside of the distance where they can physically interfere. Maybe 3-4 feet. Even though there is no risk of interaction, people's technique and execution nonetheless changes, just because of the changed context.
 
worddancer said:
The mask was hard for me. It took 1 hour after the lesson for my breathing and heart rate to stabilize. I mean it's doable, but it's like exercising in high altitudes.
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I've had similar problems so far, wearing this style mask:
1590093195624.png
raindance said:
Definitely time to try a different mask. That's not how it should work (getting sucked in as you breathe in that much).

You also could try breathing in through your nose. Or possibly not opening your mouth as widely while breathing. But really, I think a different sort of mask will be much better. And hold off on full speed VW until you get it figured out.
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I DO breathe through my nose, but the mask gets sucked into my nostrils frequently...especially when I breathe heavily. Yesterday when we worked on cha cha, I ended up using the inside of the mask to wipe the sweat off my face. I know the high humidity isn't helping matters, either.

When we took a break between the double lessons, Pro opened one of the doors leading outside and we stood there panting in the doorway, both masks tucked uselessly under our chins.

We put them back on when we resumed, but it felt a lot like "form over substance," if you know what I mean. (Kind of like trying to protect your picnic with saran wrap during a dust storm, but you just lay the saran wrap lightly across the top of the casserole dish and don't seal it, and periodically lift up the edges of the saran wrap while the dust storm whirls around....)
 
ProgressNotPerfection said:
I've had similar problems so far, wearing this style mask:
View attachment 4237


I DO breathe through my nose, but the mask gets sucked into my nostrils frequently...especially when I breathe heavily. Yesterday when we worked on cha cha, I ended up using the inside of the mask to wipe the sweat off my face. I know the high humidity isn't helping matters, either.

When we took a break between the double lessons, Pro opened one of the doors leading outside and we stood there panting in the doorway, both masks tucked uselessly under our chins.

We put them back on when we resumed, but it felt a lot like "form over substance," if you know what I mean. (Kind of like trying to protect your picnic with saran wrap during a dust storm, but you just lay the saran wrap lightly across the top of the casserole dish and don't seal it, and periodically lift up the edges of the saran wrap while the dust storm whirls around....)
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The pleats on that type of mask are probably part of the problem - the material is flexible and will move as you breathe.

I have been using these masks from Dance America, they are cloth and resusable:

They have added more options over time (colors, sizes, etc). But they are all multiple layers of fabric plus interfacing, and have a vertical seam down the middle in front of the nose.

I haven't used them for dancing, but I've used them for yard work, so that's mild exercise, and they have been OK for me. I think the vertical seam in the front helps give structure and helps keep the mask from collapsing too much with breathing.

The way they show them on the manikins in the photos, there is a bit of a "bump" that goes under the chin, the masks aren't completely symmetrical top to bottom. I tried wearing it that way, but found it more comfortable with the bump over my nose. I think what works will just depend on your face shape, and finding the right type of mask that works for you. Maybe you can help your pro find something better for him and the other teachers, too.

There are tons of other companies selling fabric masks (local clothing makers, people on Etsy, other dancewear companies, etc), these are just the ones I've tried. I was on their email list from previous dancewear purchases, and so when they sent out an email early on saying they were making masks I thought I would try them to get something from a company I already knew, and to support a dance company during these strange times in some small way.
 
raindance said:
The pleats on that type of mask are probably part of the problem - the material is flexible and will move as you breathe.

I have been using these masks from Dance America, they are cloth and resusable:

They have added more options over time (colors, sizes, etc). But they are all multiple layers of fabric plus interfacing, and have a vertical seam down the middle in front of the nose.

I haven't used them for dancing, but I've used them for yard work, so that's mild exercise, and they have been OK for me. I think the vertical seam in the front helps give structure and helps keep the mask from collapsing too much with breathing.

The way they show them on the manikins in the photos, there is a bit of a "bump" that goes under the chin, the masks aren't completely symmetrical top to bottom. I tried wearing it that way, but found it more comfortable with the bump over my nose. I think what works will just depend on your face shape, and finding the right type of mask that works for you. Maybe you can help your pro find something better for him and the other teachers, too.

There are tons of other companies selling fabric masks (local clothing makers, people on Etsy, other dancewear companies, etc), these are just the ones I've tried. I was on their email list from previous dancewear purchases, and so when they sent out an email early on saying they were making masks I thought I would try them to get something from a company I already knew, and to support a dance company during these strange times in some small way.
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I bought two and that's what I used at my lesson. Now they have more colors! Must buy more! (not entirely joking)
 
Well, one of my Pros has a BS degree in molecular biology (or maybe it’s microbiology; anyway, it's a variation of an -ology). Prior to turning Pro as a dancer, he had worked in a major national laboratory, running experiments with some nasty, nasty virus stuff. Weighing the safety protocols that they used in the lab versus the physical distancing and masking precautions that are being recommended now for COVID that lay people find to be challenging to undertake, he is in NO hurry to resume in-person dance lessons.
 
At the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, a 13th-century Gothic cathedral that is expected to open this week, free devices will be given out to visitors to notify them when they are not social distancing. The novel gadget, which will dangle around visitors’ necks before being disinfected between wears, flashes and vibrates when visitors get too close to each other.
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news.artnet.com

Italy’s Museums Reopen, Offering Vibrating Social-Distancing Necklaces and a New Chance to See Rome's Epic Raphael Show

Museums around Italy are slowly reopening, but fewer visitors will spell financial trouble as they scramble to rearrange budgets.
news.artnet.com news.artnet.com
 
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