November 9th Update – “Easy November”

November Update

While there has been encouraging news this week regarding a possible vaccine discovery, the pandemic continues to cause disruption and unease with record breaking numbers of cases in British Columbia recorded almost daily. This newsletter will outline our protocols and schedules over the next few weeks and if you have any questions or concerns, please email or phone at any time for clarification.

We want you to be assured that all of us at Steps Ahead Dance are doing everything we can to remain proactive while anticipating how to alleviate the risk of any of our students and staff from becoming ill. 

Hand sanitizing, temperature checks along with enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols are things we continue to practice on a daily basis. 

Our aim is to keep everyone healthy, keep our doors open and teach as many dancers as possible!

Last week we mandated the use of masks in the annex and encouraged optional use of masks while in the studio.

The discussion on cohorts continues; as you are aware, we keep classes separated and have a max of 12 dancers in any one class at a time. These measures, however, may not be sufficient to keep COVID-19 out of Steps Ahead Dance. 

We are now announcing some new components in our evolving plan to keep everyone safe:

  1. From Nov 11th – Nov 21st incl.  we will be operating “Easy November”

During these 11 days we are asking families to consider having their dancer take part in some of his/her weekly classes using our Zoom Room. Our hope is to EASE the load of physical presence in Studio 2 by 50% for this period of time. This in turn will lessen the likelihood of a COVID-19 incident by 50% during this period, while cases are surging in BC and on the island. We have selected these dates as some schools will be returning from a week of mid-term break and may have friends who have travelled during this time.

Our fantastic teachers will gear the lessons to be suitable for both those at home and those in studio for this brief period of time. If you are online your class will still be valuable.

Some examples of how you can help during Easy November: if your dancer usually dances three hours per week at Studio2, perhaps s/he would take one or two of those hours remotely. If your dancer usually attends six classes per week, three of them could be on Zoom. If your dancer attends one class per week and has missed a few classes already during term 1, please come to class, but if your dancer attends once a week and you have been able to attend most classes in person, perhaps consider taking a lesson on Zoom during “Easy November”. 

If Steps Ahead Dance is part of your childcare plan, be sure to continue coming to Studio 2 as per usual. Similarly, if your WIFI is not sufficient at home, simply continue attending your classes in person. 

November Update

2. Nov 23rd – 28th incl. – Zoom Open House  with All Dancers back in Studio2 *Pandemic Permitting*

Families are welcome to log into our Zoom room to observe classes for the entire week of Nov 23rd – 28th. We very much look forward to showing you our progress. 

3. Remembrance Day – November 11th.

No classes at the HUB this day.

All classes at Studio 2 running as per usual.

4. ISTD Remote Exams – completed and a great success!

With huge thanks to my teaching team over the weekend we filmed 19 dancers and uploaded the videos for marking. Despite it being very different from a usual exam day we feel the dancers indeed gained a great deal from the experience. We should receive results from these exams before the winter break.

I wish to thank you all for your continued support.

See you at Studio 2 soon

Lorraine