Dance schools feel forgotten

Left: KC’s School of Dance students Caitlin (left) and Holly Phillips would normally be performing at the West Gippsland Dance Festival these school holidays. Instead, they work to keep their technique and examination work up to date from home.

by Emma Ballingall

Local dance schools feel forgotten and face the very real risk of closure after being lumped together with gyms in Victoria’s roadmap to re-opening.

Warragul dance school owners Karen Freeman and Kristy Monk were left shocked after learning they would remain shut despite their belief dance schools offer essential education.

After initially locking down in late March, the two dance schools opened with COVIDSafe Plans in line with schools for term three in July. After just a few weeks, restrictions hit again.

Despite schools and outdoor youth sports to resume in term four, devastated young dancers are unable to return to training.

“We look at what’s open and we’re not even in the picture,” Karen said. “We’re just forgotten, definitely just forgotten.”

“We’re not looking for sympathy, we just want to try to get heard.”

Having lost half their students in the switch from onsite to online classes, Karen from KC’s School of Dance admits they were just holding on.

“This is real, it’s actually real. We are just wondering how to survive if we can’t teach (onsite) in term four.”

Kristy, of Industry Dance Studios, added “all studio owners are hanging by a thread financially and mentally”.

“If it wasn’t so bad, it would be laughable. There is absolutely no reason why we can’t open our studios in regional Victoria. If we can’t open now, I know lots of dance schools in a couple of weeks will be closing the doors.”

Karen said their past students perform with Queensland Ballet, on cruise ships and across the performing arts industry, and “they all started at their local dance school”.

Her message to Premier Dan Andrews was “to maybe learn a little but about what is involved with kids being in a dance studio. I feel he needs to know our industry, how it works.”

“Dancers can socially distance better than anyone. There’s so much discipline in dance schools.”

“To me, it’s education. There’s real jobs. I’m really cross that they don’t think this is a real industry and my job isn’t a real job. It’s essential.”

Kristy emphasised dance schools were not gyms. She said dancers space out across large areas and classes can be adapted to ensure no contact or use of communal equipment.

“We are the arts and we are more of an education. There are kids that go on to careers.”

Kristy praised dancers for adapting to online dance classes but “it’s not the ideal way to learn dance, or atmosphere”.

“They are all struggling,” she said. “Dance is their outlet.”

“I’m hoping that Daniel Andrews makes the right decision really soon before the whole industry just collapses. The worst part is just not knowing.”

“We’ll soldier on and hopefully see the other side really soon,” Kristy said.

Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood understands the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions confirmed to Ausdance that dance studios would be classed as “creative studios” and allowed to open under step three.

He said this decision was overruled, and advice retracted, a day later. Instead dance studios have been classified as “indoor fitness”, forcing them to remain closed until potentially November 23, Mr Blackwood said.

“Local dance schools have reached out to me in frustration,” he said. “They have COVID-Safe strategies ready to go.”