Hello to all of the BDA Tap (and Advanced Jazz!) parents and dancers,
I hope this finds you well. I’ve sure missed seeing you all and dancing with your children and teens. (And there’s a huge hole in my heart where a “tap finale” should have been!) I wanted to reach out and let you know about my plans for the beginning of this school year, as they’ll be a little different than most other classes at the BDA. I apologize for the length of this email, but I hope you'll read until the end. And I hope you’ll continue to trust me to teach your kids during these uncertain times.
I’ve decided to teach all of my classes virtually on Zoom. That will mean all Tap and my Advanced Jazz students will be tuning in from home while I’m by myself in the studio, or perhaps with one or two assistants occasionally. I do plan on this being temporary. You’ll notice on our Fall schedule that our other genres are offering a hybrid option (a few in each class in-studio while others will be taking class virtually). While I know virtual isn’t the most ideal option for a dance class (I’d like nothing more than to teach a room full of dancers again, too), I’m asking you to give it a chance. I promise to put my all, as I always have, into teaching my dancers.
There were a few reasons why I have chosen to start the year off this way. The main reason is continuing to keep my family the safest I possibly can while Washington gets its cases under control. I did lose my grandmother to COVID-19 early on, and have had several other people that I know have major complications with it, so it hits a little closer to home for me. I know that everyone has their own levels of comfort when it comes to being in class with others, and I do plan on teaching kids in the studio at a later date. With most everyone not having done much tapping for months now, getting back into it will require much heavier breathing than normal (tapping is extremely exerting under normal circumstances!), and I would like to let the kids begin their tap year at home without having to dance with a mask on.
Tap, as you all know, is such and intricate and detailed art form, I didn’t feel like I would teach the most beneficial classes with some dancers in the studio while others are at home. While other forms of dance will definitely work this way, teaching tap well requires really listening to each other and I believe I will be able to hear and give more individualized attention to each dancer if they are ALL at home, learning the same way. I know there was some concern with the schooling already being virtual, but taking a dance class virtually is much different than sitting and looking at a screen for an extended length of time. Virtual class may not be for everyone, but I do hope you’ll encourage your dancers to try, and I’ll do my best to make all classes fun and engaging. I’m very excited to work on some more on-the-spot tricky footwork that I don’t normally get to teach… it should be fun for them to learn and will also provide a good break from sitting much of the day, they can get up and practice for a few minutes! (Miss Tory will be teaching our new “Intro to Tap” class as well and hopefully expanding into more classes as the year progresses – I know many are attached and familiar with her and she’s fantastic!)
When it comes out, you’ll see on our schedule that for most dancers, their tap class is on a different day than their other classes (with a few exceptions where it might be a couple hours before or after another class). This is so they’re able to attend both in-studio classes if they wish and also keep up with their tap from home. It will mean that when more dancers are allowed into the studio, the tap day may change so that more classes are back-to-back. It also will mean your tuition will increase slightly as virtual classes cost less than our normal rate.
For your tappers to be successful at this new way of learning, I’ll need a little help from families. There are some settings on Zoom that you’ll need to complete so that I can properly hear the taps from home. It’s not complicated at all and I’ve highlighted the steps at the bottom of this email. They will also need some sort of tap board or mat to dance and practice on. (Tap dancers should all have these anyway as it does require much practicing.) This CAN be done very inexpensively. I DO NOT recommend percussive dancing on cement as it’s very damaging to their legs and feet. No worries at all if the setup isn’t complete for the first few classes. Options are highlighted below.
As for my Advanced Jazz students, I’ll be offering a virtual class for you as many of you will be lined up with Freestyle Tap. Miss Emilie will be offering an in-studio jazz class for those of you that would like to take it in addition to or instead of the virtual only. For now, we are only offering the Senior Advanced class to dancers who have already been in my Jazz program or those who are in an Advanced Modern class. I did not feel that it was the safest to begin Advanced Jazz at home. I know many dancers have been waiting to get into the Advanced Jazz program… be patient! We haven’t forgotten about you and will try to get that started up later in the year.
I really do hope that you’ll all join me in this new “adventure” to keep up on technique, stamina and skills. I’m sure there will be a lot of trial and error and I thank you in advance for giving this a try and making some sacrifices so that we can keep the ball rolling in the studio later in the year. As always, I appreciate, more than you’ll ever know, the ability to teach your dancers and share my love of dance with them. This too shall pass, and I hope we can all do this together.
I can’t wait to see all of the Happy Tappers and Jazzers on screen very soon. I’m looking forward to dancing with you again after SO LONG! THANK YOU for your support and patience.
Thank you.
Love,
Miss Sarah
