IT'S HERE!

So excited to launch Dance Directory July 2020, Issue 1 Magazine.

In this directory you will find a full list of Australian Dance Competition Organisers.

Click on the link below to check it out.

1. How has the shutdown affected your studio?

Just like most businesses impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions, we were forced to close our doors very suddenly. Whilst the sudden economic impact hit us hard, and we were distracted with the stresses of the sudden loss of income (hard for any business owners!) and uncertainty moving forward, we were concerned with the fact that our students would no longer have their creative outlet - their passion - to keep them busy, creative and active. We received plenty of questions from our families and students asking what would happen in the meantime, so we knew we had to act quickly. 

2. How have you adapted?

The restrictions forced us to come up with solutions. A majority of our kid’s train part-time and anywhere from 1 hour to 25 hours a week. We were in the same boat as most small businesses around Australia - that is, we simply couldn’t operate!

Backed into a corner, we had one main objective in mind and that was to ensure our students had every opportunity to continue training, staying active and creative, staying social, staying connected, in what felt like a very disconnected time.

We decided to move our school online. Over the course of one week (and whilst being 35 weeks pregnant), my team and I worked tirelessly (morning, noon and night!) to record, edit and upload over 40 hours of pre-recorded classes, set up our live streaming platform including a full timetable of approximately 60-70 hours of weekly group classes, plus approx. 50 hours of weekly private lessons, set up new processes to ensure all students could log in and participate safely and efficiently, teacher process, new safety protocols, payment systems, schedule in systems… the list goes on! Needless to say, we had a very busy week leading up to launching our online platforms!

The hard work paid off and the platforms were adopted by our staff and students much better than imagined.  We received amazing feedback from our parents about how we somehow managed to achieve continuity, allowing the kids to maintain their activity levels, and more importantly, their sanity!

3. How have the students adapted?

The students have taken to the online classes like ducks to water! Although there are many challenges associated with online learning, such as having everyone stuck at home, the family juggling the computers and internet usage, creating studio space out of lounge room and bedrooms and our students dancing around the house for hours at a time during the week, the important thing is that we’ve been able to provide a platform for our students to continue their training, when everything else seemed to come to a stop!

For our students, from time to time there were some technical challenges, there were some social challenges, and simply put - learning online is a new and foreign concept that we’re all STILL getting used to.  In saying this, all in all they LOVED being able to continue doing what they love best, when many other activities could no longer continue. And the best part is, now more than ever our students and parents appreciate how much their dance studio is a part of their lives and how important we are in their child's mental and physical development.

4. What does the next 6 months look like in terms of training and competing?

As we adapt back to a “normal” way of life, we will continue to focus on the most important thing for us, that is, training safely, training effectively and training hard!

We will keep an eye on the restrictions that bound us to certain ways of operating and ensure the safety of all of our students and families by abiding by and enforcing the strict hygiene rules. Our training will continue, and our students will hit the ground running. If anything, it’ll ramp up so we can make up for the lost time!

Regarding competitions, we are still assessing whether or not to compete this year, as we have a number of upcoming events to juggle including our 10-year anniversary showcase!

Either way, despite being a sad and lonely time for many, and a truly testing time for the world as a whole, as business owners who struggle like everyone else to keep things afloat, we have tried to see the “silver lining”. 

We will use the restrictions as a way of testing our willpower and work ethic as a studio. As a result, we know that in this time of weakness, we’ve done everything in our power to give our students strength and prepare for whatever formidable challenges arise in the future!!

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What have I been up to in ISO?

I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from so many amazing choreographers from all over Australia and the World throughout isolation. Even though it has been disappointing to not be in the studio it has given dancers an incredible experience that we may never have got if it wasn’t for the pandemic. I was so lucky to do the DreamOnline Series 1,2 and 3 with Marko Panzic and his amazing team of choreographers, an Elite Training Program with the brilliant Briar Nolet, workshops with the insanely talented Autumn and Krista Millar and Break The Floor with the awesome Mark Meismer and Travis Wall. I absolutely loved the experience of learning from so many different people and loved working hard from home. Isolation was made fun and exciting by these opportunities.

I can’t wait to be able to dance on stage and look forward to when comps will start again. It is such an amazing chance to catch up with friends from other dance schools and states and perform in front of a live audience. I love being side stage and watching all the awesome competitors and look forward to having that feeling of excitement and butterflies just before I perform. I also can’t wait to start training again with Scimm Dance Company and Dance Prescription as these dancers inspire me to be the best dancer I can be. They are all amazingly talented and I am proud to dance alongside them all.

Even though isolation has been tough at times I really want to thank all of my teacher and friends for making it fun and for keeping me motivated. It has been pretty crazy, but I am still very grateful to have learnt so much in iso.