Last week we began our 15th season here at Studio Dance Centre – WOWZA! We could have never guessed the challenges that would come our way this year.

Today’s learning environment is more important than ever before. Whether your child is dancing in-person or online, the community they’re building and the connections they’re making are fulfilling important needs. Every child wants to feel like they belong and that they can accomplish great things—and dance helps bring this to life.

In our classrooms at SDC, we’re going the extra mile to create a safe environment that minimizes risk and maximizes joy! We’ve made changes to our in-person class structure, for example, to ensure there is no personal contact and there is always a safe distance between students. Additionally, through our investment in technology, we’ve made it possible for any child to participate in class virtually if their family would prefer at-home learning.

The physical and mental well-being of our dancers is our top priority, and we are committed to providing an experience that supports both. While we can’t predict the future, we can provide a safe outlet of activity and self-expression—a way for our children to cope with their stresses and build their resilience muscles. We believe their health will be better for it!

Living in this new world means our dancers are already adapting to many changes in their lives, from wearing masks to limiting close contact with others. We want to remind them these changes are welcome and appreciated, so that we can all move forward in the safest way possible. We want them to know their efforts matter! This sense of teamwork among peers is just one example of how dance helps our kids make sense of our circumstances.

Not only that, our dancers are learning valuable lessons in how to express their emotions through movement. It can be complicated for a child to verbalize their feelings, and yet through dance, they have the opportunity to say with their body what can be challenging to articulate otherwise. We dance from our hearts first, and we believe every child deserves the chance to express themselves in this way.

We hope that you’ll continue to see what a positive impact dance has on your child’s life throughout this year. At SDC, healthy classrooms—both in-person and online—equal happy kids. And we couldn’t be prouder to bring dance into our students’ lives during this important time.

Love,
Ms. Julie