Danspace COVID-19 Safety Protocol 2024-25

Danspace offers a safe, fun, and engaging programming with options to dance in the studio.

If you have questions or need additional information about our safety protocol, please contact us any time: info@danspace.com.

As of July 2024, all studios are equipped with air filters. Masks are optional. We ask that if you do not feel well that you please stay home, for the health and safety of the Danspace community.

If someone in your household tests positive for COVID but you / your dancer are symptom-free AND testing negative for COVID, you / your dancer are welcome to attend class in a mask. If you have any questions about whether or not you / your dancer should attend class, please contact us.

We trust our community of dancers and families to make choices that take into account the health and wellbeing of everyone in the studio.

Alameda County Covid-19 Dashboards

Archive – as of June 2023

IN STUDIO – FAMILY & STUDENT PROTOCOL

Danspace is committed to providing a safe studio environment for all dancers, families, faculty and staff.  All studios have air flow with a door and or window open and a HEPA air filter. Masks are optional for all classes (Children’s, Youth and Adult) as of June 5, 2023.

Please do not attend class if you are feeling unwell or suspect you may have COVID.

Prior to Arriving:

Parents/Guardians of students will be advised to monitor their child for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Dancers should stay home when they are sick, when household members are sick, or when required by a healthcare provider to isolate or quarantine themselves or a member of their household. If you need to take medicine to feel well enough to dance, please do not come to class. Please notify Danspace at info@danspace.com as soon as possible if your student is not well enough to attend class.

Do not come to class if you or anyone in your household has had any of the following symptoms in the last 24 hours:

1. Fever > 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit 
2. Cough, usually dry
3. Shortness of breath
4. Sore throat
5. Unusual headache
6. Chills
7. Congestion
8. Muscle and joint pain that are unexplained 
9. Nausea or vomiting
10. Loss of sense of smell 
11. Diarrhea
12. Pink Eye

FAQs

Last updated 2/3/2022

This page will be regularly updated. Please submit questions you would like answered or added to this document to info@danspace.com. 

Will students be distanced in class when the fall semester starts in September 2021?

• No more than the number of students that can safely distance will be permitted in a class.
• The students and teacher will stay safely distanced for the duration of the class.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommends physical distancing, also referred to as social distancing, to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. According to the CDC, the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads primarily when people come into close contact (within about 6 feet) with each other for a prolonged period (approximately 15 minutes or more). This policy complies with CDC, state, and local guidelines regarding physical distancing protocols for dancers and is adopted for the protection of dancers, employees, and families. This policy is in effect until local and state health officials provide guidance that such physical distancing measures are no longer necessary.

Are you planning to limit class size in order to hold in person only classes?

For our young dancers, a virtual or hybrid class has not yet been successful. We offer in person only classes for students enrolled in Serendipity and Pre-Ballet (age 4-7). Our current class size is about 8 students in a class. At any time, you may request to attend your class virtually on zoom. Please allow a reasonable amount of  time for us to accommodate the request.

For students in Ballet 1 and up (age 8-18) we will evaluate each class and the needs of the class to determine compatibility with an in person only or hybrid learning format. Email info@danspace.com to participate in a class conversation about what works for the group.

Will all the staff be vaccinated?  

Any requirement for the students who are eligible to be vaccinated?

If the COVID situation worsens significantly in the next few weeks and we decide it is not the best time to take indoor classes, it is possible to get a refund before the September 13 start date?

Alameda County is in the Orange Tier and approved for in person activities. Will Danspace offer some in person classes for the rest of the spring 2021 semester?

The spring semester will be finished out virtually, with a few potential test pods coming into the space to inform a hybrid format classroom for the upper level dancers. When we have more information on moving forward we will send an email with the re-opening plan to students and staff. 

It is exciting that we are progressing towards more options for class instruction, and we’re proceeding with safety and good health being the top priority. 

Will your safety plan be available on your website?

Yes! We’re developing our protocols for the space, for our students, and for our faculty and staff. Those will all be posted on our website, posted in the physical space, and be sent to our enrolled students by email. We will notify all students when any major changes to the plans are made.

We are planning to continue to offer virtual class options, even as we begin reopening. If you prefer to dance virtually, you will still be able to do so for the foreseeable future.

Will the schedule (times of classes) stay the same or do you expect those to change?

Right now, we’re planning to release our fall schedule in June. We have noted which classes are all virtual, which are in-person only, and which are hybrid (virtual with some in-person opportunities for students who are comfortable coming in person).

Our overall schedule will look different than in previous years — we’re leaving longer transition times between classes to allow each class to fully exit the space, for our staff to clean the space and prepare it for the next class, and for the next class to transition in. That has shifted our schedule slightly and has moved some classes into different spaces. We were able to add mirrors, add barres, and improve the floors in Studios 2 and add Studio 3 (and a new floor!) to our available space, so we’re able to keep all of our classes on the schedule at similar times for the Fall.

If you have conflicts with the classes available for you/your dancer, please contact us so we can see if there are other options. 

If I choose an in-person or hybrid class, will masks be required?

Yes. In order to reopen in Alameda County, every person in the building (students, teachers, staff, renters, cleaning staff) must all be masked at all times (the only exception is if someone is alone in the space). We will have more details about masks in our reopening plan.

If I’m fully vaccinated, do I have to wear a mask?

Yes. In order to comply with reopening guidelines, everyone in the space must be masked, even if you’re fully vaccinated.

If I opt into in-person or hybrid classes then decide I’m more comfortable dancing virtually can I change back to virtual-only?

Yes. If at any time you do not feel comfortable dancing in person for any reason, please contact us. If there’s accommodations we can make we’ll do our best, and if virtual dancing ends up being best for you, we’d love to see you in class virtually. In these unprecedented times, we support each of our students, faculty, and staff in making the choice that’s best for them.

What’s the difference between “in-person” and “hybrid”?

For our youngest dancers, we are planning to offer separate in-person classes from virtual classes (pending enrollment). We think it will be too difficult for our youngest dancers to thrive in a hybrid class.

For dancers who come to class more than once per week (Ballet 2, Ballet 3, and Ballet ⅘) and for Adult classes, we’re planning to offer hybrid classes with registered students grouped into pods. If you opt-into a hybrid class, you will receive a schedule of when you’re able to attend class in-person and you will attend the other classes on zoom. In hybrid classes, there will always be students on zoom and in-person at the same time.

Dancing on zoom is not my preference, but the only available classes for me are hybrid. Is there any way I can sign up to always dance in person?

Not yet, but we hope that we can offer that soon. Reopening guidelines require space between students, and we cannot accommodate a full class in our space yet and maintain a safe distance between all the humans. We’re hopeful that as vaccinations continue to increase, cases decrease, and guidelines become less restrictive that we can welcome more dancers into the space at once. We will update you as that becomes a possibility (we can’t wait either!). 

Can I do a drop-in class (for adults) or a makeup class in person?

Not yet. Right now, the students able to opt-in to in-person options must be enrolled so we can pod everyone. If you need to do makeup classes or want to do drop-in classes, we’d love to have you in class virtually.

What is Danspace’s capacity?

Pre-pandemic maximum capacity for each studio is:
Studio 1: 100
Studio 2: 66
Studio 3: 82

To reopen we’re limited to 25% capacity as our new maximum which is:
Studio 1: 24
Studio 2: 16
Studio 3: 19

However, in order to maintain the required 6’ minimum between people, we’re planning to start at the following capacity, to ensure there’s enough space between each person in the space, prioritizing the safety of our students, faculty, and staff:

Updated 2/3/2022
Studio 1: 12 maximum people, including the teacher
Studio 2: 9 maximum people, including the teacher
Studio 3: 9 maximum people, including the teacher

We are not taping marked spaces, rather providing space indicators at the barre (tape indicating where to stand) and on the floor (plastic dots to visually guide students for appropriate spacing).

Will there be any changes to the ventilation at Danspace?

We’re planning to hold in-person classes with the doors and windows open to allow for additional airflow. In addition, we’re adding a HEPA air purifier to each studio. For dancers in the studio, we encourage additional warmups and layers throughout class as needed to stay warm.

If I choose to stay on zoom, will I have a good experience taking class if some students are in the studio with the teacher?

We hope so! This is new territory for us, so we ask for your patience and flexibility as we get some practice at teaching this way. We welcome your feedback as we go to help continue to make the class rewarding and engaging for all students, in the room or on zoom.

In order to keep as much airflow as possible, the door to the studio stays open, so you will hear more road noise and neighborhood noise than you may have previously. The music sounds good and the teacher can absolutely be heard, but that is something that we’ve noticed as we test hybrid classes.

Have other questions?

Please email info@danspace.com so we can update this document and answer your questions.