Dance schools call for guidance and advocacy

DANCE teachers across Ballarat, and the state, are calling for better government representation, unsure of the ways in which they should transition their students back to in-studio classes.

Planning to reopen her school in July, Lauren Irwin from Jeté! Exploring Dance said there are no guidelines, advice or recommendations for dance studios to follow, so her sector is “feeling a little bit lost.”

“There are hundreds of thousands of children that dance in Australia, yet dance schools really have fallen through the cracks. We’re not sporting clubs or gymnasiums, and we can’t offer outdoor classes,” she said.

“It’s like a bottomless pit. It would be really good if there were some guidelines provided by the government or somebody representing dance schools, so we have an idea of what’s required of us to move forward. It’s quite surreal.

“I feel a bit afloat. I don’t know whether to plan for 10 students coming back, or whether that may be lifted. I’m trying to work out whether to offer certain classes, hoping to give teachers work.”

Dancemakers’ Kylie Lavery said the thought of returning with only 10 people in each class is “daunting,” providing tuition to students aged two to adults.

“If we look at the people per four-square meters, we could fit so many more than 10 in our studio space. It’s such a safe activity, but we don’t have a leader to be our voice, and if we call the hotline, they look at us like a gym,” she said.

“If we return with 10, we might just meet costs, or we might not. It’s not financially viable. We’ve all got families to look after, and I want to provide some consistency and work for my teachers.

“We’re doing lots of restructuring, refinancing, but it’s not the time to increase our fees to cover costs, because we want to look after our clients, too.”

Curtain Call Performing Arts Studios’ Narelle Tolliday is keen to have her students of all abilities and ages back enjoying the benefits of class, and the community, as soon as possible.

“Dance is not only about movement. It’s about friendships and confidence building, and for many, the studio is their outlet and second home,” she said.

“Online classes have been doing well, but the sounds of fun, friendship and laughter down the hallway are missing.”

Teaching more traditional disciplines, as well as dance-based fitness classes like barre, Zumba and cardio drumming, Mrs Tolliday’s classes are “about mental health.”

“Our environment helps them mentally as well as physically. It’s important that we get everyone back to that normality.

“We don’t want to have to choose who comes back to dance and who can’t, if we can only have 10 and not 20 in a class,” she said.

Without fellow studios like Jeté! and Curtain Call, Mrs Lavery would be completely “lost” in the current climate.

“I’m grateful for the studio owners’ community. We’ve stuck together, supported each other, had Zoom catchups, and shared documents.

“We’ve all banded together, and in a somewhat competitive industry, those barriers have been broken down. It’s really special,” she said.

ausDance is lobbying the State government, requesting an indoor physical recreation exemption to allow 20 people in dance studio spaces.