Hello dancers and yogis,
I hope that you are staying healthy and remaining hopeful that we will soon regain a sense of normalcy as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. We can all agree that it has been a trying few months.
Like you, I am thankful for the essential workers who have been providing care and services during this unprecedented time. They have been dealing with life and death struggles and have shown selfless bravery to come to the aide of our community—thank you!
I’m very thankful for my health, and that of my family members, friends, and students. I want to say thank you to those students who have reached out to touch base over the last 8 weeks to see how my family and I are doing. I’m glad to hear that you and yours are staying healthy. For those students whom I have not connected to, over these past 8 weeks, please know that I have been thinking of each of you and wishing for your continued health and well-being.
Despite the many challenges, adjustments, and sacrifices that COVID-19 has asked of each of us—and there have been many—we have learned/re-established the importance of our health. COVID-19 has reminded us to be even more mindful as we move forward.
Looking ahead to June 12, and beyond, I’m sure that we all hope that the end of the Stay at Home order is nearing—and that a “COVID-19 all clear” will be sounded in the coming days.
With this future in mind, I wanted to acknowledge that many of us may not feel 100% safe or normal when we return to our workplaces and extracurricular activities. This is understandable and expected.
We will likely be asked to continue to wear masks in enclosed public spaces, some of us may elect to wear gloves in public, there may be some continuation of social distancing, and some of us may not wish to or feel ready to immediately return to group gatherings when the Stay at Home order is lifted.
We will each have to make the call as to when we feel safe to resume our activities, and we all need to do so in ways that promote our health and the health of those we come into contact with. Looking ahead to when I am able to return to in-person teaching, I want to assure you that I take your health and mine seriously. I also want to assure you that there are safe ways for us to resume group classes and private lessons.
When my group and private lessons start back up, there are a few guidelines and mindful changes that we can employ to keep us safe:
Students may wish (or may have to) wear a mask to class. We will follow the CDC and governor’s guidelines.
Since Ballroom dance requires individuals to be in hold (in each other’s arms), some students might wish to wear gloves. This body-contact does not apply between yoga students.
All students should carry hand-sanitizer of a strong enough percentage to kill COVID-19.
Should any student prefer, we can hold Ballroom group classes or private lessons 6 feet apart (not in frame). Leads and follows would work individually, but in tandem (working on the same patterns at the same time, spaced 6 feet apart, without being in frame).
Many of you have been in classes with me where I have had students explore dancing in this way—it teaches us better balance, connection, concentration, and execution. Much can be gained from employing this method.
I will continue to demonstrate Ballroom patterns and yoga asanas, continue to give detailed verbal instruction, and should any student prefer, I can refrain from making hands-on adjustments (light touches to adjust a student in a yoga asana or contact to the body to adjust posture or frame in Ballroom dance).
We will refrain from changing partners in our Ballroom Dance group classes until COVID-19 is no longer an issue.
For those individuals who live in the same home, and therefore have been quarantined together during this shutdown, you may dance together in hold in private lessons and group classes, or practice yoga together in private lessons.
For those students who come to class solo (whether in group classes or private lessons), we can continue to work together—you and me—via verbal instruction and demonstration—and, should you feel comfortable, via hands-on hold or adjustments.
Each person, myself included, should commit to being transparent and conservative about his/her health. If you are feeling unwell—you will not come to class. If I am feeling unwell—I will not hold class.
I will abide by the CDC and governor’s guidelines, as they stand and if they shift.
My studio locations, Next Level Dance Center (private lessons), The Dance Studio (private lessons), Troy Community Center (group lessons), and the OPC (group lessons) will also abide by the CDC and governor’s guidelines.
If you are not comfortable resuming your group lessons or private lessons with me, until some time when COVID-19 is absolutely eradicated, I understand.
Please reach out to me to let me know. I can either hold onto your lesson credit (for private lessons), and you can resume your lessons when you feel safe to do so, or I can reimburse you for any unused portion of your private lesson package.
If you are a current private student, I will be contacting you in the next week to inquire about your preferences.
In this manner, when our Ballroom Dance and Yoga lessons resume, we can each commit to being proactive, practical, and personally responsible for our health, the health of fellow students, and our passion for dance and yoga.
For those students who may wish for alternative Dance/Yoga lesson options, here are two additional possibilities:
I can teach private lessons or group classes over Zoom.
Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about my Zoom rates and/or to schedule a lesson.
Also, depending on my teaching schedule, the driving distance, and our continued health, for certain students who do not feel comfortable coming into the studio for their private lessons, or attending class at Troy Community Center or the OPC for group classes, I may be able to teach you in your home. All in-home lessons would be billed as private lessons.
Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about my out-of-studio rates and/or to schedule a lesson.
When the Stay at Home order is lifted, I look forward to seeing each of your smiling faces in my studios and centers. Let us celebrate our resilience and perseverance together!
With love and continued wishes for our excellent health,
See you soon!
Amy