Dear Parents and students of Southern Dance Theatre,
It has been a pleasure to join forces with you in dancing our way through the ever-changing challenges of COVID-19. I appreciate so very much the kindness and understanding you have shown me, the office staff and teachers. I hope that everyone sees the great value and comfort that online classes have given the dancers. It has kept some level of consistency for them in doing something they love and that is normal to them while supplying physical movement and enhancing their morale. With that said, after much prayer, contemplation and re-working of solutions I come to all of you today with my plan for moving forward. It seems each day presents another myriad of new concerns and guidelines from the government, CDC and health experts. It has kept me literally on my toes and my brain in constant overdrive.
The following will address Classes, Recital and Summer Session
CLASSES – I do not foresee being able to conduct classes at SDT in person in May. I do not believe that we could safely conduct classes and maintain the CDC guidelines for social distancing and am certain that the government will not allow gatherings of more than 50 people in their first phase of opening businesses. On any given day we have 45 plus students between our 3 studios, plus teachers, office staff and parents dropping off and picking up students. The changing of classes alone would be quite a logistical task. While we would all like to hurry into getting back some normalcy, safety and wellbeing of everyone is still top priority.
Southern Dance will continue to honor our class contracts through June 6th via our current zoom online classes. This will also cover the week we lost in March due to closing for COVID-19. May and June tuition installments will continue to be discounted at 15%.
RECITAL – Due to Governor DeSantis’s announcement of the Florida Schools being closed, leases for theaters in Palm Beach County are not being permitted. I have spent the past three weeks exhausting all possible theaters from Boca Raton to Palm Beach. There were ten local theaters I investigated. Of those ten, eight answered with a definite no, one was too small with limited seating and without a sufficient holding area for dancers, and the last one never responded back to me. With that said, many teachers will continue with recital choreography so students can have the opportunity to perform their dance(s) for their family at home in their costume(s). This will occur during the last week of classes (June 1-6).
On a great note, the faculty and I have decided that we will put our Disney recital, “Making the Magic Happen”, on stage next year. We will have another year to plan and make it spectacular.
COSTUMES – Are the property of the students and provisions will be made for pick up in May when we are given the okay from officials to open to the public (see the update on this below) . As stated on your costume order form the costume(s) payment(s) are non-refundable. The costume companies make our costume orders on a “custom order” basis and will not accept returns.
SUMMER SESSION – Intensives, Summer dance Camps, evening Open Classes and our Tune up classes are still scheduled to run as planned. More information will be forthcoming once we have been given directives by the Governor.
I am heartbroken that some of this may be disappointing. Despite my best efforts, circumstances, out of my control, keep me from being able to do all that I had hoped for. I hope that you understand and know that myself and SDT’s staff is committed to serving you the best way we know how with a level of excellence given our limitations at this time.
With gratitude to all of you,
Penni A. Greenly
Director of Southern Dance Theatre