Back to Ballet: 

Over the past year, lockdown and the constant covid rules and regulations have greatly impacted everyone's lives in a range of ways we would never have previously imagined! With the easing of lockdown restrictions and reductions of covid cases, local dance school: The Rhodes Academy of dance in Windsor has safely re-opened its doors to its hundreds of eager dancers at the ready to pirouette and grande jété away from their cramped kitchens at home, to the spacious studios awaiting them. 

 Classical ballet teacher Rebecca Fraiz clearly described how relieved she felt after receiving the news in regards to being able to return to the studio and teach her students in person. She quotes: “Both in terms of business and personal reasons this felt like a huge relief, as I personally much prefer being face to face with students. This also enables all dancers to all have the equal opportunity of working in a safe studio together due to a range of different circumstances at home.” Similarly, senior student Marcia Karavas aged 17 quoted “I couldn’t wait to get back to the studio as one of the main reasons for my love of dance is the social aspect- being in a class with your friends and dancing together. This meant I felt the online lockdown training very draining and difficult, reducing my mental health and making me question my love for dance.” Other dancers report enjoying some of the positives of working online, getting to be taught by amazing international stars and meet and connect with others from their homes over the internet, providing them with amazing opportunities which may not have previously been possible.  

Therefore, we can clearly see a range of contrasting opinions in regards to online training from those who believed there were a range of benefits to this, whereas many suffered bad mental health and were unable to train sufficiently in their limit spaces at home. Overall, The Rhodes Academy of Dance is buzzing with life again and everyone is happy to be back to ballet!