Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dancing through COVID-19: This nonprofit in the Historic Triangle continues to teach dance classes in-person

The final cast rehearsal for the Christmas Dreams in 2019. (WYDaily/ Institute for Dance, Inc.)
The final cast rehearsal for the Christmas Dreams in 2019. (WYDaily/ Institute for Dance, Inc.)

Institute for Dance Inc., a nonprofit organization in James City County, has been around for years.

Its mission? To teach people how to dance and provide scholarships for those who can’t afford to take a dance class.

“As a non-profit, we feel that offering scholarships is an important piece of following our mission,” Melissa Cantrell, iDance board president for the past three years, wrote in an email.

History

Institute for Dance was founded in 1978, Cantrell said.

In January 2007“two factions kind of split” up into two organizations: Institute for Dance Inc. and Virginia Regional Ballet.

“It was just doing business as Chamber Ballet until the split in 2007, when we started doing business under the Institute for Dance name and the other parties opened VA Regional Ballet,” Cantrell wrote in an email.”

The Institute for Dance Inc. is a nonprofit organization run by a “100 percent volunteer” board of directors and a studio director and dance teacher, Kathy Martin Palmo, who has been there for 19 years, Cantrell said.

“We offer all style of dance,” Cantrell said, adding they offer classes for all ages. “Ballet to include the flat ballet and pointe work, we offer tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop.”

There is a musical theatre style for younger and older groups as well as The Movement Dance Company, an audition company and performance group for upper level classes.

The dance company does not participate in competitions and instead performs locally from 2nd Sundays to Dancing with the Williamsburg Stars, Cantrell said.

“Our mission is to train the students with the best technique and get them ready,” she said. “Training and technique is our goal for students.”

Current conditions

Typically dance classes are in studio rooms with a teacher and a group of students, spaced out and practicing or learning their moves.

But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the organization to shift gears and come up with innovative ways so the kids can keep dancing.

“We feel that you know it’s our responsibility to err on the side of caution so we are doing everything in our power to do that,” Cantrell said, adding the list of their COVID-19 procedures are available on the website.

Some COVID-19 requirements for the dance studio include:

  • Families have to sign a COVID-19 waiver before starting a dance class.
  • Mask and social distancing are required in common areas like the lobby, bathrooms or when people enter or leave the studio.
  • Families must wait outside and people who enter the build must use hand sanitizer.
  • Class size is limited and the studio time is shortened by 10 minutes for sanitation and cleaning.
  • Dancers are each assigned to a box–– outlined on the studio floor–– to perform in.
  • Face masks are not required for exercising so it’s up to the students if they choose to wear one.
  • Faculty and teachers must wear masks in the studio when they are not dancing or exercising.
  • Teachers can’t use “hands-on corrections” and must show or tell students how to correct their dance movements instead.

The studio is currently not offering dance classes for adults.

“It’s not in very high demand right now, financially it doesn’t make sense to offer it right now,” she said, adding there is limited availability for both teachers and students.

So why not offer online dance classes instead?

“Virtual in the dance world is not as easy as it sounds,” Cantrell said. “Most people don’t have the space or the flooring in their home.”

If they have to switch to a virtual format, they would but for now, they will continue to offer in-person classes.

“We pulled off our first virtual annual showcase this summer,” Cantrell said, adding they used a spare (recital) room for the event.

Seven people participated and they recorded the 35-minute event on video.

They also had their annual studio showcase for families and turned their studio into a “blackbox theater and got a videographer” for the event, she added.

“It was very nerve-racking but we weren’t sure how we were going to do it,” Cantrell said. “The show is our biggest fundraiser…we’ve definitely taken a hit because we had to cancel our two biggest performances.”

Unfortunately, iDance had to cancel their Christmas show at the Kimball Theatre because of the venue’s COVID-19 restrictions. The event is an annual tradition and their most popular show, which doubles as the nonprofit’s fundraiser.

While the studio does not have anything scheduled for the fall at this time, Cantrell hopes they can have something virtual like a “short, holiday show on video.”

“We have very talented and creative staff,” Cantrell said. “We’re hopeful and we’re hoping we can put on our showcase in the spring in some form.”

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Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

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