Dance studios look forward to opening under Alberta's eased restrictions

Dance studios were among those surprised by the province's unexpected announcement last weekend that minor sports could start up again in a limited way.

Jill Williams, owner of Leap Studios in Calgary, says she is ready for in-person classes under the new guidelines, which will allow a maximum of 10 people, including instructors.

"It really feels incredible, it has the sense of opening night jitters," Williams told The Homestretch. "We know what we're doing, and had operated quite successfully prior to that as well from the start of the season, which is September, usually, just like when school comes back in."

Williams, who helped found a group called Dance Safe Alberta, said her dance students have been learning online since March, with a brief return in the summer months before things shut down again in the fall.

"We're just really excited to get back into our environment and derive the energy from each other," she said. 

The resumption of kids' sports at a time when coronavirus variant cases are growing in Alberta, has some raising concerns about masking requirements.

Doctor concerned about airborne transmission

Calgary emergency room doctor Joe Vipond says he's concerned about Alberta's guidelines for resuming minor sports.

Vipond said his 12-year-old daughter's dance class starts up this week, and that has him worried.

"As soon as they start to dance they can take their masks off, as long as they're three metres apart. Because of airborne transmission I believe that's a risky situation that would allow for transmission," said Vipond, who is also the co-founder of advocacy group Masks4Canada.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, says players have to wear masks when they aren't practising and it is vital that everyone involved in minor sport adheres to the guidelines.

Coaches will wear masks at all times.

Williams says she is planning to open next week but that the studio can also move online if needed.

"We became so well versed in our protocols, so everything looks roughly the same as it did before we closed. We were still cleaning and sanitizing all the time, having social distance as we come into the facility, our dancers are spaced out within the dance studio itself. And and then, of course, we've got really robust contact tracing," Williams said. 

Some studios have already reopened, as other sports associations scramble to get the word out to parents and teams about how things will look going forward.

Williams said she was not shocked by the announcement, as her group has been meeting with government representatives to lay out plans for a safe return to dance.

She said the dance industry has been looking at ways to make safety modifications within the classrooms and the curriculum, that lower the intensity.

"Those two minutes when they're performing is when you're bringing together all of that rate of exertion," Williams said. "But actually the practice of it has a lot of start and stop to it. So we're not always active. We're learning the mental construct of dance, you know, the cultural appreciation of it."

• Listen to the full interview on The Homestretch here:

Williams said she is comfortable with the 10-person maximum, saying that the new regulations take into account the fact that dance studios are a small business.

"Most studio classrooms need the financial viability of about five or six students or more to make it a go … so we're still trying to balance that aspect of protecting livelihoods and keeping people employed as well."

For Dr. Vipond, public health is a primary concern.

"We now know that airborne transmission is one of the ways that COVID gets around," Vipond said. "It's been great to see that our government has announced that airborne transmission is a component, but they haven't really put the policies in place to reflect that. Here in Alberta we continue to tell people it's safe to have their mask off if they're separated by distance."

Alberta Health said the policy is based on guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

"This guidance was provided in recognition of the challenges presented by masking during intense physical activity," Alberta Health spokesperson Tom McMillan said in an email to CBC. 

Alberta reported 339 new cases COVID-19 on Wednesday and six more deaths from the illness.

For Williams, the slow reopening of dance studios is a balancing act that she says can be managed.

"We've had the same financial support that's been available to every business. … but, we've also been closed the longest," Williams said.

"We're also really thankful for the opportunity that Dr. Hinshaw and the premier have shown us to come in with these restrictions in place, and look at bringing back our businesses to some sense of viability so that we can look after our bills and look after the people that we employ and ultimately do that very safely and look after our community and students."

With files from The Homestretch.