'It was frightening:' Stouffville dance studio adapts amid COVID-19 pandemic

Yorkregion.com
July 15, 2020

Spring was a little different for Tom Carter and Lee Newman this year.

The two have been running the Stouffville Academy of Music and Dance for 27 years. The end of the year usually means recital season, but the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out everything.

“It was frightening,” Newman said.

For the rest of the season after mid-March everything that could be was migrated to online.

“We adopted a pay-what-you-can model,” Carter said. “The important thing for us was to keep the kids active and engaged.”

“The most important aspect of our 'getting through' this pandemic has been the support of our school community,” Carter said. “The support has included everything from patience and understanding, to contributions to our 'Pay-What-You-Can' online instruction, to emails and calls of support during this time. It has given us the ability to carry on and know that we will come out on the other side of this pandemic.”

The academy serves around 450 local families with dance, music and drama instruction.

And as summer rolls on Carter and Newman are facing many uncertainties about what do for the next season starting in September.

“It’s difficult to get a consistent plan as things change week to week,” Carter said, adding that arts education has been somewhat missed as governments attempt to navigate the COVID-19 waters.

“We are working with over 500 dance studios in the province to be able to reopen safely,” Carter said.

The financial challenges are extremely difficult for dance companies. The academy has been using the wage subsidy to keep their full-time employees working.

“We have kept our full-time staff on because they have families. This is their sole source of income,” Carter said.  

While Carter said they have run a good business and should be able to weather the storm, he is concerned for the industry as a whole.

“If dance schools aren’t able to reopen it's going to leave a big gap,” he said.

Carter and Newman have been busy working with federal and regional governments to help come up with solutions for the industry.

Regionally they have been working with the subcommittee on the arts on a marketing campaign that Newman came up with “We are ready when you are.”

The idea was that people are going to be ready to come back in their own time, Newman said.

“We have never been busier and worked harder for no revenue,” Carter said.

As for what September could look like for the academy, Carter said it might look a lot like what schools do. Physically distancing in dance is very easy as there is ample space and they make personal squares on the floor to dance in. 

As small businesses like the academy contemplate what reopening looks like, York Region council has decided to refocus their Starter Plus Program and use $500,000 of funding to support local businesses to recover.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our economy and local businesses,” York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson said. “We are supporting York Region businesses through the reopening of our community and economic recovery.”

Part of this decision was made since “many businesses across York Region have expressed concern and uncertainty over the ability to withstand and recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Charles Banfield, Manager, Strategic Economic Initiatives for the region, said.

The Starter Company Plus programs are offered through the four Small Business Enterprise Centres (SBEC) located in Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and the York Region Administrative Centre. Information about how to apply for these programs is available on the respective SBEC websites. 

The expectation is the funds will be used to deliver micro-grants to assist around 200 businesses across the region, Banfield said.