Hi Identity Dance Families, both new and old!
The last few weeks have brought so much change in all of our lives. Having the next months, weeks, even days ahead seem “unknown” is a very daunting feeling.
As a family with 3 kids, as well as owning 2 small businesses, we felt so many emotions. For me personally, it was like I was going through the 5 stages of grief.
First few days I was in shock, which moved into disbelief, turning into anger & lots of tears. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to give up in those moments, and
I’m sure I’m not the only one. All of us are expereincing this new normal by way of cancellations, disappointments and changes. Its overwhelming to say the least.
The one thing that kept coming into my heart every time I thought about what to do with the studio was the word “Constant”. I felt that if we could pull together, like a family, and give something “constant”, in the midst of so much uncertainty, then we would do everything possible to make that happen.
After much thought & prayer we are choosing to press forward and offer something to our families to not only keep dance alive, but to aid in
keeping our dancers active, healthy and strong. Like a restaurant that just has to change the way they offer their product, we are doing the same!
We have created an online program through Zoom, and will be offering EVERY SINGLE DANCE CLASS on our schedule. Yay!!!!!!
Every teacher is on board, and we are committed to keeping your students dance experience (though different for the time being) as positive and impactful as if they were still in the classroom.
Major props to our teachers for literally throwing together last weeks videos. In essence they were a bandaid we were throwing on the wound. I heard from some of you that it was such a blessing to your kids &
I am so thankful. You Tube is a great tool, but for this type of situation moving forward, we will be streamlining our online program into Zoom. It is much more professional, interactive, and helps us keep track of students easier.
Many schools are turning to this program to aid in online instruction. It has been a life saver!
For a small glimpse into the future, it is my strong desire, hope, and prayer that our show “Oz”, will go on as planned, on June 27th. We are going to prepare as if it is still happening, in full effect. All classes are in it, and the online program will be geared toward making sure dances are being learned, practiced and perfected from home. If and WHEN these bans lift, we will be SO thankful we put in the work to keep this going. However, the show is NOT the sole reason I have created the onlilne program. Our motto “Dance on Purpose” is in full effect, dancing no matter where, what or how, and for the sole purpose that it is what we are called to do. Show or no show, lets give our kids a bit of JOY in the midst of this!
Another email will be sent out soon with specific instructions, but in the meantime, we invite you to google “Zoom” on any device (computers and Ipads/tablets are best for this) and create an account by downloading it onto your computer.
Each week, a few hours before class time, you’ll receive the “invitation” to join class live! These are 30-40 minute classes with warm up, skill training, across floors, and NEW choreography as often as possible.
The BEST part about this program is that the teachers can see your students, and vice versa! They are “right there”, with you in your house, talking, interacting, teaching, just like they would be in the studio.
I’m sure your wondering about the cost. As generous of a person as I am, and though it kills me to even say this, we cannot afford to offer these classes for free. That being said, we also don’t want kids to miss out on the rest of our year, or our incredible production, because of these setbacks. Because we are completely sensitive to the many changes in some of your families lives (loss and/or change of jobs), we are able to discount tuition for those in hardship cases. We will send links out to families that are marked as paid (or have communicated when they can pay) in order to participate in class. Online classes will begin Monday March 30th, as planned. But March 30th/31st classes still count on the March tuition bill if you’ve already paid that. We will most likely send April invoices early so that you can be marked as paid and receive your online class invites beginning April 1st. With so many families in our system, we prefer to just send out invoices as normal, and just have you respond to us if you need it altered. PLEASE RESPOND TO DUSTY (my husband- Dusty@identitydance.com) and he can take care of that for you.
For those that are WILLING, and/or ABLE to pay full tuition, we would greatly appreciate that. In order to bounce back strong after this, we will need to keep things as “constant” as possible, yet also, remaining flexible and full of grace during
this season.
We ask that you join us in prayer to cover our studio, our family, the other families of the studio, this community, and the quick recovery and re-opening of ALL THE THINGS. 🙂
Much Love and Blessings,
Lindsey, Dusty, and the Identity Staff
