A local dance studio has opened up its classes online free to the public in an effort to keep up spirits and heartrates during self-isolation.
Co-Founder of DansConnection School of Performing Arts Shelley Rutherford says the digital routines and workouts are their way of keeping kids moving and healthy.
“Physically and emotionally healthy, we want our dancers to stay connected and social, but we also want to keep everybody physically fit.”
The first class was streamed live on March 19th, with courses covering ballet, tap, jazz, acro, lyrical, contemporary and hip hop. Rutherford says they’re also offering live craft times, paint days, and adult fitness classes.
She adds there has been an uptick in viewers and guests on their website since the COVID-19 physical distancing measures were brought to the forefront, especially as they didn’t have online dance offerings prior to the pandemic.
“We’ve had people from all over jumping on to some of our live classes and taking advantage of the website we’ve put together, we’ve had a great response.”
Rutherford says never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be leading dance classes in an empty room, but she welcomes the challenge and hopes those at home enjoy joining in.
“If you asked me a year ago would you ever teach classes digitally, I probably would have said no,” she laughs. “With circumstances, we can’t control, it’s a window we probably wouldn’t have opened so we are taking that and running with it.”
More information, including links to videos and PDF files, can be found on their website.
