At long last, Dubai is coming back to life again! Yesterday was our first day reopening the studio, and we were pleased to welcome students, new and old.
Prior to opening, all precautions including disinfecting and cleaning were carried out. To protect the health of both staff and customers, we are screening temperatures of all visitors, and following all precautionary measures recommended by the authorities including mask-wearing, social distancing, and implementing a thorough cleaning regime.
In terms of dancing, many customers are asking, how do we dance while staying safe? Well, firstly, if you feel unwell, we advise you not to visit the studio until you feel better. For everyone else, in addition to temperature screening, keeping masks on, and frequent cleaning, we are limiting physical contact between coaches and students. It may sound strange to you, but this is how children learn ballroom dancing – first by themselves, dancing solo, before partnering up. We adults have just become, perhaps a little too on our coaches to steer us in the right direction, remember the steps, and hold our posture up.
For those that are hesitant, we have three messages: YES, we are doing everything we can to make the studio a safe environment for all; YES, you should continue your dancing now instead of waiting for things to go back to "normal"; and YES, you will learn and you will see progress in your dancing.
After two months of staying in and putting life seemingly on hold, this is the new normal. It will not be the same as before, but we need to learn how to live with it – how to strike a balance between living our lives and staying safe.
To end this post, here's a video of some talented young ones competing solo:
