Returning to the dance studio safely (covid-19)

Warren J. Dew said:
I strongly suspect that studio owners who are competitive couples are already going to their studios to practice, and that's likely within the law i...
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I suspect this also. Especially in the case of married couples or dancers living together, I can't see harm in them driving to the studio and dancing there. They are already exposed to each other. They aren't increasing the circle of exposure. I sure hope most are going in and practicing!

Our stay at home has been extended to the end of May. The boredom continues.... But at least I have dance lessons!

I imagine private lessons may be light immediately after the lockdown ends. Some dancer's budgets will be shot. (One at my studio bakes beautiful party cakes. Those are probably not flying off the shelves right now.) Some people will remain cautious to watch case rates for at least a few weeks. It might not be difficult for a studio to operate in "closed" mode. By officially operating in closed mode, customers may feel a bit more reassured about the risk. Waivers will still be required.
 
Thanks, j_alexandra and ProgressNotPerfection. For those who don't regularly watch Fox News, I think this is the clip, which I'm about to watch:

 
j_alexandra said:
Fox News did a piece on it, which might answer all your questions.
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It answers a lot of them! To summarize for others who might prefer text:

- Everyone is wearing face masks for lessons and classes. Excellent! Eddie took his off to do the interview but he's holding it in his hand.

- Everyone is wearing disposable gloves. I don't know how often they are replacing them. If he said anything about washing hands, I didn't hear it, but I might have missed it.

- He's limiting the 14,000 foot studio to basically ten people at a time. That seems quite conservative, but a good thing.

- Private lessons are being taught in a hand to hand hold at arms length. That also seems conservative, but might not be so useful for more advanced students, especially in Standard.

Now if Georgia would require these measures for grocery stores and other "essential" businesses that were open all along, too, they'd be in good shape!
 
TV107 said:
Anyone paying money to social distance dance like in this video is crazy
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I get your point. The "social dis-dancing" in the video does not have the advantage of dancing full contact. But for studios that choose to reopen after the pandemic, it's a START! Reopenings are going to be accomplished in increments. FIRST is the example above. As everyone starts to feel safer, studios will eventually allow (in person) group classes and parties. Hopefully, SOON!

"Throwing money" for such "reduced services" can be a way for dancers to support their own studios during this extreme financial crisis. For those like ourselves who choose NOT to do this yet until "full contact" during lessons is restored, many studio owners would empathize. Many of them WANT to be careful to tread the fine line between maintaining the good health of their students and financial survival.

And there ARE benefits to returning to "the studio" for even "reduced" training such as the example of the above video. Each dancer who is considering the prospect of returning to "the studio" must determine if this is feasible for them or not.
 
Dr Dance said:
As everyone starts to feel safer, studios will eventually allow (in person) group classes and parties. Hopefully, SOON!
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Hopefully, soon, yes, but hopefully not so fast we get into trouble, either. And that depends on more than just dance studios.

The student in the arms length private lesson looked like she might be a beginner, so she might have been getting almost as much out of that lesson as from a normal lesson, especially at the beginning when they were doing Rumba. Obviously that wouldn't be the case for advanced students. Given Georgia is letting barber shops reopen, I'd think closer holds might be accepted fairly soon.

The group class looked pretty normal to me.

Masks should probably not go away any time soon. If their parties pack ten times as many people into the studio, that might not be the best thing to do right away either.
 
GGinrhinestones said:
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried actually dancing while wearing a mask?
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I tried wearing a surgical mask for my "climb 8 flights of stairs" exercise today, which got my heart rate to about 140. Breathing was not an issue, though it was slightly freer when I took the mask off. Viennese waltz can get me up to a heart rate of 180, but I don't think that would be enough for the mask to be a problem either.

N95 respirators might be a different story, but I don't have any of those to try out.
 
TV107 said:
Anyone paying money to social distance dance like in this video is crazy
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I don't agree with this. If you're a follow, there is benefit in learning to be on your own feet and not relying on the lead for balance in dancing. There is also a lot of technique that can be learned through drills and solo exercises, for both rhythm and ballroom dances.

The video showed what seemed like a good start, and it's preferable than no dancing at all.
 
Larinda,

I've been really happy with my online lessons here in Illinois. I think my pro is also pleasantly surprised at how well they work.

In yesterday's lesson, he was incorporating exercises with elastic bands to do solo work and he said he plans to do group lessons with that after the stay at home. He think they are very helpful (based on his use and observation of online students). He thinks probably wouldn't have tried the technique anywhere near as soon without the online lessons.

I don't know how many of his students took up the opportunity for online lessons, but it has been a learning experience about the broader variety of things that can help students.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to wait at least two weeks after the governor ends the "stay at home" order before I do in studio lessons. I'm just going to tell my pro we can continue online. I figure even if he goes to the studio for other students, he can use zoom in the studio just as easily at in his home!
 
Anyone hearing anything official about how the dance studio "buildings" might open especially in CA? Would love to find practice floor space to open up movement in solo practice and maybe even start dancing with my Am/Am partner assuming I have confidence her contacts are low and that she's maintaining social distancing. More specifically, I'm not sure how such options fit into California staged re-opening.
 
My coach has been so pleasantly surprised by how effective virtual learning can be that she plans to continue offering it even after all this blows over. Not as a replacement for in-person lessons, but as a supplemental offering for folks with constrained schedules or difficult travel logistics.
 
"everyone being challenged to dance independently, to practice on their own, and become a knowledgeable dancer... thinking and understanding instead of just imitating patterns, which is greatly to everyone's benefit."

I can't emphasize/agree enough how true this is. My virtual lessons have been harder in some respects than in-person, because I am responsible for 100% of the mental and physical execution, no slacking and mindlessly following. I'm feeling it so much more afterwards.

And I'm also in the "wait and see" camp on re-opening. I love dance (and other things) but I'm not going to be first in line anywhere waiting for the doors to open. I want to see how it plays out. Of course, I've never been an early adopter of anything, so not earth shattering.
 
I’m in Georgia where studios are opening... nope. Nope. Nope. Not me. Not anytime soon. Especially because I think we’ve opened too early and I’m waiting for the second wave.
 
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