It’s been amazing to see the commitment to dance and our studio throughout this pandemic! We are so grateful for your devotion to the training you receive from our amazing Pavilion Dance Centre staff. As we gradually re-opened our studios this summer, for our Return to Recital session, our students have been on Cloud 9, feeling a sense of comfort and community while “socially dis-dancing” with their dance friends and instructors! As we fully reopen all of our studios, and welcome you back to your dance home, we want to share the steps we have taken to create a safe environment for all.
We have implemented new policies and procedures following the guidance of the CDC and IDPH, however, it will take the FULL participation of our dance community to keep everyone safe. Parents, if your child is sick or you have a sick family member, PLEASE STAY HOME. We want to protect our dancers and staff! In the event that we may experience a future closure or quarantine of some kind, the PDC is fully prepared to transition our recital classes into a virtual format. If you or your dancer are still not comfortable attending in person classes, we currently have a following along from home option for you as well! Please contact the dance office for more information regarding this option.
Updated PDC Policies and Procedures:
Before Class: Dancers attending class in Dance Studio #1 will be asked to park and enter our facility through the Pirates Cove/Pavilion Aquatics Center entrance. Dancers attending class in Dance Studio #2 will be asked to park and enter the Pavilion through our main entrance. Dancers attending class in Dance Studio #3 will be asked to park and enter our facility through our Garden Terrace Banquets entrance. Please be sure your dancers use the restroom before coming into class, preferably at home! As your dancer enters the building there will be signs on the floor and walls to safely direct them to their designated dance studio. Circle stickers that read "stand here" will be placed on the floor, 6 feet apart, outside of our dance studio doors. Dancers/parents will be asked to stand and wait on the socially distanced stickers until their instructor opens their studio door. At which time, dancers will be asked to enter the studio one at a time, so they can safely maintain distance. Please be sure your dancer wears their street shoes inside the Pavilion, and not their dance shoes. Once they have arrived at their designated dance studio for class, and are standing on their socially distanced floor sticker, your dancer should take off their street shoes and put on their dance shoes. If a parent or guardian is present, they should take their dancer’s street shoes with them and away from the studio. If a parent or guardian is not present, your dancer may bring a small bag with them to place their dance or street shoes in. All street shoes must be changed out of before entering the studio, only dancers with dance shoes or bare feet may enter the studio. Your dancer’s small dance bags will be placed inside of the dance studio, dancers will place and retrieve their small dance bags one at a time at the beginning and end of class.
During Class: Class sizes will be limited to 10 dancers and 1 instructor, depending on the classroom size. We will be taping off areas for dancers to take class safely, keeping them socially distanced, at least 6-8 feet apart at all times. This includes remaining 6 feet from the instructor, so at this time, teachers will not be providing any hands-on corrections for your student. Inside of the studios, posters will be placed on the walls, 6 feet apart to be used by dancers standing at the ballet barres for ballet or stretching. Dancers should bring their own water bottles to class, clearly labeled with their name. There will be hand sanitizer available for use before entering class. The studios will be sanitized between classes and deep cleaned nightly. At this time, wearing a mask is MANDATORY during classes under Covid-19 regulations. Upon our return, dancers will remain in designated areas marked on the floor for the entirety of class. At this time any close group formations, touching, partner work or lifts will not take place. Keeping your hands to yourself and being mindful of your space in the studio are already lessons and practices our dance teachers have had in place prior to the pandemic. Although dance class will look and feel different upon our return, we are confident many of the same techniques and principles in our classes will remain the same. Acrodance classes will no longer use mats, wedges or semi-circles. Our new Acro-Strength class will focus on building individual strength, flexibility and finishing their class choreography. Parents/guardians are not allowed to step into the dance studios, dancers only please.
Waiting Areas: Parents with dancers in classes ages 3-4 years and 4-6 years will need to wait in their designated "dance waiting areas" while their child takes dance class. We are asking that only 1 parent or guardian, and siblings, accompany your dancer to the Pavilion at this time. The Babysitting Room (located right next to Dance Studio #1) is the designated waiting area for parents with dancers in Dance Studio #1. The Art Room (located across the hall from Dance Studio #2) is the designated dance waiting area for parents with dancers in Dance Studio #2. The “Changing Room Area” down the hallway from Dance Studio #3 will be the designated waiting area for parents with dancers in Dance Studio #3. Inside of the designated Parent Waiting Room areas chairs, in sets of 2, will be placed 6 feet apart within the space. Families with dancers over the age of 6 have been asked to drop their dancer off, after attending the first week of class, at their designated entrance/exit to the Pavilion. You can either wait in your vehicle in our parking lots, or utilize any of our outdoor space at the Pavilion, if you choose to stay nearby. One parent or guardian may enter the building and escort their dancer to class during the first week of classes to help familiarize yourself, and your dancer, with our new facility procedures and signage. Again, face coverings will be required while walking through the hallways of the Pavilion.
After Class: Exiting the studios, one at a time, will take place as well. After dance class is complete, our instructor will release dancers over the age of 6, one at a time, in order to avoid unnecessary congestion in the doorway/hall. Our 3-4 and 4-6 year old dancers will be released one at a time by their instructor directly to their parent or guardian. If your dancer is not in a 3-4 or 4-6 year old dance class, please be sure you are present, outside of the Pavilion at your dancer’s designated entrance/exit area, to pick up your dancer as soon as their class is complete. We are taking 5 minute breaks between our dance classes to sanitize areas of the studio and allow dancers to safely exit the Pavilion before our next round of classes begin.
Cleaning: Our dance instructors will use a sanitizing solution to clean any high touch areas in the studio between classes, an additional 5 minutes will be scheduled between classes in order to properly sanitize. Our Pavilion custodial staff will deep clean and disinfect the studios and dance waiting areas each night after use. Pavilion custodial staff will also walk around the Pavilion every 1-2 hours and clean high touch areas used by our patrons as they enter and exit various areas throughout the Pavilion (door handles, bathrooms, dance waiting areas, etc.)
Face Coverings and Temperature Checks: Face coverings should be worn by dancers and family entering the Pavilion. They are to be worn inside of the studios as well as the hallways/bathrooms and in our new designated parent waiting areas (waiting areas are for those with dancers 6 and under only) if a 6 ft. distance can not be maintained. Dancers will keep their face covering on during the class and 6-8 ft. distances will be kept by all for the entirety of dance class. At this time, we will not be taking dancer's temperatures and instead are asking parents/guardians to be diligent at home before sending their dancer to class. Listed below is a self-health assessment checklist for you to complete at home with your dancer prior to coming to dance class.
Illness: You should keep your child home and call your physician when the following symptoms persist: Fever of 100.4 or higher, children must be kept home 72 hours after fever arrives and must be fever free without the use of fever reducing medication for 72 hours. A written clearance letter will be required from a doctor to return to programs.
Nausea or vomiting
Skin rash or sores
Inflamed, swollen, or reddened eyes
Excessive coughing, sneezing
Diarrhea
Sore Throat
Headache/earache
If your child has contracted a communicable disease such as Covid-19, chicken pox, strep throat, measles, or mumps, please notify Jessica Beirich at (847) 690-1042 immediately and please contact our Safety Coordinator & Risk Manager, Anita Healy at (847) 228-3499. A letter alerting the parents of the program will be sent out. If a dancer does contract COVID-19, they should remain isolated at home for a minimum of 10 days after symptom onset and can be released after feverless and feeling well (without fever-reducing medication) for at least 72 hours or has two negative COVID-19 tests in a row, with testing done at least 24 hours apart. A written clearance letter will be required from a doctor to return to class.
COVID-19: Parents/guardians and participants are the ultimate decision-makers with respect to whether they or their children have underlying health conditions that may put them at heightened risk in public settings and whether they or their children should be in a public program at this time. Participants must comply with COVID-19 related policies (and all other policies); failure to do so may lead to prompt dismissal from the program or facility.
Policies and practices are subject to change based upon updates from the State of Illinois' "Restore Illinois" and/or Center for Disease Control.