Are children’s dance classes safe?

[Allyfromtheblock]

We are in Tier 2 and a while ago my child has signed up for a dance camp class that has been rescheduled a thousand of times due to COVID. So it’s this Sunday and I realize I am very worried, because the camp is inside and there are 15 kids aged 6-8. AIBU?

No one can tell you what is 100% safe unless you want to abstain from everything. My 3yr old goes to a ballet class- huge hall, 10 kids, all spaced, no physical interaction and the adults wear masks. I’m fine with it

No where is completely ‘safe’ (apart from if you stay at home and never come within 6ft of anyone else outside of your household).

It is very misleading when we hear places such as schools and workplaces being referred to as ‘Covid safe’.

Sure, some places are more at risk than others, and IF strict guidelines are adhered to then it reduces the risk, but it doesn’t eliminate it completely.

FWIW, 15 kids aged 6-8 at a dance class will not completely social distance at all times, no matter how hard the teachers try to enforce it.

All you can do is weigh up the risks and do what you feel comfortable with.

As safe as them going to school, if not safer.

It may not be safe from the risk of catching a virus that won’t kill them, but it will be very safe for their development and mental health.

Mine both attend drama classes, it’s a risk I can’t afford not to take.

No it’s not safe but then nothing is. It is probably safer then school though.

We’ve stopped all indoor activities only because I don’t want to be that family that closes the class down!

Safe is a word used too much in this pandemic. We are creating a life full of fear and instilling in our children that there is danger everywhere. It's going to have massive repercussions in years to come.

How safe does it need to be? Ie are you clinically vulnerable?

My DN does dance every week and they have to stay in their own squares.

My DC do judo every week and its just like before...ie a contact sport and lots of changing of partners. I live abroad and gyms, pools and sports clubs are closed to everyone except children who are enrolled in clubs.

I'm not concerned (the whole family has already had it - tested) and it's great for the DCs' mental and physical health.

Nowhere is safe from Coronavirus if there are other people there.

You have to make your own risk assessment.

I always ask myself, am I happy with the measures put in place to try reduce the risk, do the benefits of attending on physical/mental health outweigh the risk to my family. How many other 'risky' activities am I taking part in.

The dance club will have dine lots of tusk assessments and I’d be amazed if they don’t want to reassure you on this - every activity my DC do is positively tripping over themselves to show us videos on their COVID-safe procedures.

This might help OP

I'm not sure but both my girls go. My eldest does 8 hours a week over 4 days.

We were lost without dance.

My eldest has one mixed aged class, my main concern is that one of the teens tests positive and she'll have to miss school. I don't have any other concerns. Do glad dance is back.

Entrant 6 thank you for this information, it’s very useful!

She is not vulnerable but we have stopped indoor activities as well and am a bit worried to resume even for a day. However she enjoys the dancing so much and it would be so good for her.

DD has gone back to her ballroom & latin dance class. They have to social distance and can't dance in hold with a partner. She was uncertain at first but is fine with it now. It's as safe as it can be, but nowhere is risk free. You need to make your own risk assessments based on what information you have for your town/area. I felt we could go ahead but I am assessing week by week and will stop if I feel we need to.

Mine thankfully have outgrown clubs but I would have stopped all indoor ones if not. I know children are at less risk of complications from the virus but they could take into school or family and affect others. Schools are already high risk without adding in more risks.

Our daughter attends her tap class - they’ve made the classes smaller and windows etc open. Temp take on arrival , parents not allowed inside. Children over 11 wear mask entering the building and they have an area marked out for them. And 15 min gap for cleaning etc between classes.

Ballet is still on zoom for now.

The only safe option is not leaving the house...but what would be the long term damage to my daughter if we did that? Mentally and socially. Children already seemed to have aged faster recently they seem to carry a lot of weight on their little shoulders already :(

If you have sent back to school then i wouldnt be concerned. Likely to be safer but wont be more of a risk than school enviroment.
I wouldnt send in our instance as child was shielded and hasnt returned to school. But i know other families who havent sent children back either but are allowing them to participate in clubs like dance as the clubs have social distancing, open windows, masks and smaller numbers of children compared to a classroom of 30 with no social distancing and no masks

It depends largely on how well they're following guidelines.

I work with a performing arts group. We have bubbles of 15, but within those bubbles all kids are kept 2m apart. We've just had a student test positive within 48hrs of a session and no other child has had to isolate because our systems are so tight.

They should have measures for increasing ventilation, bubbling, cleaning and distancing in place if they're on the ball.

I think it's probably safer than school. My son goes to a drama club where they are all supposed to stand on socially distanced 'spots' - whether or not they do is another matter but the organisers are trying their best.

My children are still going to their activities (some of which are outside) but I do struggle with this too. Overall though I think they've had a very tough few months and to see them happily doing stuff they enjoy while they still can is worth the risk IMO. They are primary age though so I think the risk to themselves is very small but obviously it's the wider context (and potentially being responsible for closing a school bubble down) that I worry more about.

I'm socially seeing pretty much no-one except for 2 minute school gate chats. But I think it's important for my kids to have as normal a life as possible right now (we're tier 3 too).

Dance school owner and teacher here- we have very very stringent guidelines to comply to to be covid secure, so, as long as the organisation is following these guidelines, your daughter will be as safe as it is possible to be at the moment.

We have to follow guidelines for gyms and leisure activities, grass roots sports, performing arts organisations and out of school activity providers. At my own school, this translates into- masks worn in corridors/ toilets etc, a one way system throughout the building, staggered drop off and pick up times, blended learning to reduce class sizes (a rota where students are either live in the studios or online), marked 2m spaces in the studios for students to stay in, whole building capacity determined by 100sqft of space per person, doors at each end of the studios open at all time to ensure constant fresh air ventilation, anti-microbial bio fog applied to all surfaces, high touch points sanitised between every class, floors cleaned between each bubble, classes bubbled, hand sanitizing stations throughout, only dancers and teachers allowed in the building etc etc. No cases at my studios so far, and we've been open since the beginning of September. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

The dance teaching community has invested heavily in keeping the industry going, and care for our students as if they were out own- I dont imagine any will take any unnecessary risks. X

Also, I feel is should point put, that the kids are amazing at social distancing. The marked boxes on the floor, and colourful dots in the centre help them to visualise their spacing brilliantly, and I have no problems with them breaking that distancing. X

My son dances and the arrangements are similar to those Waah describes. Not 100% safe but safer than school. He's older though (12) so his class are good at sticking in their 2m square plus his dancing will really suffer if he misses a year so we send him.

No

My daugther does ballet and they are in a big room and each have their own space. I'm happy with the measures in place and the benefits outweigh the risks for us. Nowhere is 100% safe so you have to weigh up your own risks and decide.

My niece has been back at dancing for ages now with no issues. She's there most nights