“At first when it hit [the Covid-19 virus] we were doing classes over Zoom and it was terrible,” shares junior Jessica Dudok. Dudok has been dancing for 9 years, however, this year has looked very different from the rest.

     She dances for Ragebox Dance Center typically two days a week. “We start learning our dances in October and our first competition is in February,” Dudok explains. They compete about once a month until May. 

     According to Dudok, the dance troupe travels to a variety of conventions from January thru May in order to improve their abilities as dancers. Also, they have the opportunity to take classes given by professional dancers. Over the summer, Dudok and her fellow dancers have only a few weeks off and then their training resumes. During classes, they “either work on their dance technique, or in hip hop [they] battle each other, which is fun,” she describes.

     When COVID forced the troupe to begin practicing at home, many problems arose.  Dudok and her team were forced to dance in their living rooms which “lacked space.” She says this made it very difficult to see what the teacher was doing. “My internet would always go out, so it was frustrating,” she expressed. 

     The squad is currently back in the studio, but they have to wear masks. “It’s better that we’re all together, but I get out of breath trying to do everything,” Dudok shares. She is hopeful that everything will be back to normal soon.

     Senior Mackenzie Smith is another dancer who has had to change her dance routine and practice at home. She explains, “My dance studio closed the same week as school did when the Covid cases started to rise, and my teachers didn’t want to do Zoom, so we didn’t get to do online stuff.” According to Smith, her teachers didn’t have enough space at home, so they didn’t want to practice. 

     Smith went almost 6 months without dancing, even though there were options for online classes from other studios. Lack of space in her house to perform the routines was a contributing factor. 

    On October 4th her “studio opened again but [they] have a maximum of 8 students in each class and we have designated spaces in the room to make sure everyone is 6 ft apart.” Smith states that everyone has to wear a mask the entire time as well. 

     Another dancer affected by the pandemic and having to make alternative plans for dance is Junior Lauren Richardson. She’s been dancing since she was 3 and currently dances for the International Academy of Dance. She’s been able to create a space in her basement that she uses as her practice area. 

     “As of right now I haven’t heard anything about reopening yet since we have a lot of little kids in our studio,” she shares. Her studio occasionally hosts Zoom calls and then dancers submit videos of their dance routines and progress.