Hellobee Boards

@bhbee: we are. It’s actually our first season. They had a summer class so we could try it out to see how it would go and she really liked it.

They did make changes for the summer, which I’d assume will still be in place for the fall. They had boxes taped on the floor for dancers to stand in. The teacher wore a face shield. Parents were asked to wear masks if they had to go in and leave the building during class while normally they would stay.

They also had room for 20 dancers and only 6 signed up. I’m sure it won’t be as empty for the fall.

We’re in Louisiana which is in a similar place as Texas in terms of cases for reference.

My six year old has been dancing since she was two; last year was her first year of competitive/"company" dance. Her season was cut short after the first competition, and she continued to do 3 out of her 4 weekly classes on Zoom. Those were ballet, lyrical, and jazz; she did not do acro because the studio felt it wasn't safe if some of the girls didn't have proper mats, trained spotters, etc.

I did feel the classes were decently productive - they focused on things like flexibility, strength, balance, etc. and a bit less on techniques that would need physical correction - but the teachers were focusing on the girls (7 in my daughter's group) one at a time to make corrections to them. If it were just once a week, and there weren't other options for in person classes, I might be more apt to go with it.

The hardest thing about dance on Zoom is that when they finally got back together to dance at a socially distanced recital, a lot of the girls were doing their routines mirror-imaged because that's how it looks on Zoom.

Currently she's dancing in her studio in groups of up to 10 girls in taped out boxes, with all doors open, fans going, and wearing masks when possible. I'm not sure if it will be able to stay that way through fall or not.

We made Zoom work in a pinch, but I really don't think I'm willing to commit the time/money/coercion (at the end) into a full season of Zoom dance if it comes down to that. I'm running close to needing to sign a contract for her committing to next year, and like you, I'm very torn...

@greencraftycello: Totally agree with you, which is why we've supported her studio to the extent that we can for the past six months, and plan to continue to do so in some respect.

I understand everyone's financial situation is different, but I was gobsmacked by some of my friends (who can definitely afford the lessons/the loss of the $$ for the lessons) calling various studios/school enrichment programs demanding money back from March-June (yet claiming they love the teachers and the program).

I definitely want our studio to be there when life gets a little more "normal"!

My five-year-old is doing remote ballet, and it's not going so well. She keeps moaning and moping every time it's time to sign in. The teachers decided to make the class free (they're doing paid classes for the older kids though). She does keep saying she wants to be on stage when that's finally OK, so we're sticking with it. The teachers have been saying that they may be allowed to reopen live in September, so I think we'll manage till then.

I'm a little nervous about live class indoors, but DD is hanging out with the same kids in the playground daily, so... As long as they ask adults to wear masks at dropoff, and don't let parents hang out in the teeny tiny lobby afterwards, I'm good with it.

No advice. Zoom didn’t work for us. But I was flipping through all the fall classes (my DD could have started a kinder tap) knowing full well that we wouldn’t be able to risk it right now and it totally bummed me out!