Over the last year we have faced many challenges during Covid-19. One of them, not being able to go to the studio to see each other and dance together as one. Over the last year lots of changes have been made to try and make Zoom lessons the best we can possibly make them. Dancing is our home and not being there has been a struggle for lots of us. Dancing in our small bedrooms, dancing with our pets under our feet, dancing with our younger siblings shouting in the background, it has not been the easiest time for lots of us to dance at home.
The Knight's Academy Of Dance encouraged students to take part in the online Zoom classes for a sense of routine, consistency and to keep them all motivated through the tough time. Knight's Academy created a small reduced timetable of dance classes for the students to take part in. From Ballet to Commercial. Keeping a sense of normality has helped students stay motivated, dedicated and hard working.
It was important to keep dancing throughout the lockdowns to keep building upon our strength and flexibility. Over the last year every single student has pushed themselves to get better. From being back in the studio this month we have been able to see the massive improvement from all of our students, in their dancing and in their confidence.
Dancing on Zoom has given us lots of amazing opportunities to be taught by amazing teachers and choreographers like Freya Sands, Cassie Clare, Fallon Geiger, Amber Willis, Rosina Andrews and many more. Zoom has been able to give us experience and opportunities that we may have never been able to have before. Zoom has also taught us important life lessons. Not taking time for granted, appreciating the studio space we are lucky to have, being grateful for all of the hard work everyone puts in behind the scenes of your classes.
Here are some of our students' views about dancing on Zoom...
~ Dancing on zoom was something I never saw myself doing as a dancer. However, having that experience has made me recognize how much I appreciate the large studio spaces and also being able to dance in the same room as people. It was amazing to see how many people were on zoom, and to see my friends and teachers after a long time of being stuck inside. My favorite parts were when we could thank and celebrate our teachers' commitment to us as a dance school and also being able to take workshops from different people, which was incredible! All in all, I think that zoom had a positive impact on me as a dancer, and also as a person.
~ I LOVED dancing on zoom because it allowed me to improve my technique, musicality and stamina, even though we couldn’t be in a studio together in person. I also found it very uplifting and enjoyable after long days of online school to be able to log on and see all of my friends at dance! I found it amazing how we remained such a close knit team throughout the lockdown period. For me, zoom has helped me so much and I am grateful for all of the opportunities it gave me.
~ Dancing on Zoom was definitely an unforgettable experience which helped me to improve on both strength and flexibility. However it also made me realise how much I appreciate the studio space and face-to-face teaching. I feel like,
looking forward to dancing every night and seeing my friends and teachers, despite being online, helped put some normality back into our lives even in those strange times. My favourite part of zoom was all of the workshops that took place with amazing choreographers.