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24 Wednesday, June 10, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon VIRTUAL DANCE: Summer session is planned in July Continued from page 3 and reshaped them for an online audience. Liddell explained, <I set it up so that all of our classes would be offered on the Zoom platform and remain on their normal schedule. There was a big learning curve for me and the other teachers, and it took many hours to get it all set up, to communicate to our families how we would be continuing, and to help them understand how to access their child9s classes. <We started our online schedule April 6, and are so grateful and amazed at the adaptability of our dancers and families and the contin- ued support to make it all work.= She added, <The kids have been dancing in their homes 4 anywhere from bedrooms to living rooms, to kitchens, to hallways, outside in their backyard, you name it, we9ve pretty much seen it!= One benefit of virtual classes is an opportunity for more parental engagement. Instead of waiting in the car for their kid9s class to finish, mom, dad, and the rest of the family can join in. Dance mom Tara Shafer was moved after watching her daughter dance during a We started our online schedule April 6, and are so grateful and amazed at the adaptability of our dancers and families and the continued support to make it all work. — Lonnie Liddell PHOTO PROVIDED A young dancer works on her moves with virtual tutoring from Lonnie Liddell. Zoom class. Shafer said, <I wasn9t expecting to get emo- tional during Autumn9s first COVID-19 quarantine dance class, but it hit me hard how strong the human spirit is and I couldn9t stop the tears!= As with any new platform, there are always struggles and learning and teaching online is very different than being physically there. <Some of our students just couldn9t continue with the online format for vary- ing reasons and over 30 per- cent of our students chose to end their dance season early,= Liddell said. <Not only finan- cially was this a big loss to the studio, but with each stu- dent9s farewell, our hearts ached to not to be able to con- tinue teaching and connecting with them.= This is the first time in 11 years that Sisters Dance Academy did not present a live show in June. Liddell said, <It has been a difficult thing to accept 4 not only for myself as the artistic director, but for our teachers and students. 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SPRUCE ST. | 541-719-1186 “Your Local Welding Shop” Year-round GoFundMe fundraiser for the academy to help support the programs through these diffi- cult months. <When I got word that they were doing this, I was overwhelmed with gratitude, humbled beyond measure, and was literally brought to tears,= Liddell said. <In not even two weeks9 time, the fundraiser goal they had set for $6,000 was met.= As Oregon entered Phase 1 of re-opening, Liddell was met with another wave of big decisions to be made. <We wanted to be able to reopen and bring students back in, but we knew there were still many uncertainties. THANK YOU to all our readers who have let us know how much they appreciate The Nugget Newspaper MEAT S, GAME ALASKAN SEAFOOD CHEESES SANDWICHES BEER, WINE, CIDER We do repair work and fabrication in steel, aluminum, copper & other metals. is something we all look for- ward to and train for all year long. The June performance also brings in revenue that helps support and maintain the studio through its slower summer months.= Then something unfore- seen took place. Candy Williams, parent to teacher and choreographer Kayla Wi l l i a m s , a n d A n d r e a McAffrey, sister to Kayla Williams and a parent of a dance student, recognized the hardship the dance stu- dio would be facing with the effects of losing students, not having a spring perfor- mance and on the business as a whole. They organized a I wanted to be able to make decisions that gave our fami- lies flexibility and choices for students returning to our physical dance space. I decided for a slow open start- ing in June.= Sisters Dance Academy will gradually bring dancers back in person with all of the COVID-19 protocols in place and continue to offer all of their classes online through Zoom, so if families still feel uncomfortable to return, they can still dance online. They plan for the Spring 2020 sea- son to conclude the fourth week of June. Liddell noted, <We have also decided we will be doing recordings of each of our classes the fourth week of June. Students who choose not to return to the physi- cal studio have been asked to record themselves per- forming their choreography at home and submit them to us. We will then be editing together all of the footage for a special recorded showcase that will be available to our dance families as a free digi- tal download.= Going forward the dance academy will be having a six- week summer session from July 13 through August 21, which will include a com- bination of small in-person classes and online offerings. Once the summer schedule is finalized it will be avail- able to view and enroll online through their website, www. danceinsisters.com. 541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com Readers who would like to make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters can visit NuggetNews.com and click on “Subscriptions & Support” or drop a check in the mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759