As the Coast adopts to life in lockdown, one local dance studio has gone digital to keep clients engaged.
Known as the home of Latin dancing on the Coast, Central Coast Dance Centre, has taken the challenge of staying relevant in the age of COVID-19 into its stride, launching online dance lessons.
Owner and five time Australian Salsa Champion, Krin Bajough, thought he was getting ahead of the virus when he rolled out non-contact salsa classes at the start of March.
But when the latest government restrictions came into effect, like many small business owners, he’s turned to the internet as an alternative to complete lockdown.
Armed with nothing but an iPhone, Bajough held his first virtual dance class on March 24, with clients entering a group video chat and watching on as he ran them through the steps before having a crack at it themselves from the comfort and isolation of their homes.
One local participant Stephen Jones of Pretty Beach commented “We stepped and turned and twisted, we huffed and we puffed and we made mistakes and went again to get it right and in between had a few laughs along the way.”
“All in all, it was a great way of breaking the COVID-19 inflicted isolation and connecting with friends without risking connecting with any dreaded COVID-19 viroids that might be hitch-hiking on them.” he said
While Bajough admits that there were some issues coordinating the lesson, he was pleased with the response from his students and was keen to see the new initiative take off.
“It was touch and go, trialling new ways to keep dancing together”, Bajough said.
Video article below:
Source:
Website and video, Mar 24
Krin Bajough, Central Coast Dance Centre, Media statement Stephen Jones.