Kamloops dance studio owner angry, confused over conflicting health guidelines

KAMLOOPS – For the past week, dance studios in Kamloops have been closed.

With an increase in cases across B.C., the provincial health office temporarily forced studios across the province, cancelling in-person classes until new guidelines are released in the coming days.

“We’re dealing with children in an incredibly-controlled environment, so we’ve been lumped in with a lot of adult activity, but we’re dealing with primarily children,” said owner of the Academy of Dance in Kamloops Krista Faraday. “And we’re not getting the information or the data to even know why we’re closed or why we’re deemed temporarily unsafe while these guideline are developed.”

When the studio re-opened in late spring, Faraday reached out to WorkSafeBC and Interior Health, who both said it was safe. She’s gone above and beyond to keep her kids safe, following all safety protocols – sanitizing the studio after every class. Students were also six feet apart.

Faraday is angry and confused as to why dance studios were closed when other, more contact-intense activities can resume.

“It seems very unfair to be closed, and it’s very hard to digest when you drive by the mall and you see the mall packed, or you go anywhere else and you see it packed. I don’t want any business to close down, but I don’t know why I’m closed down,” she said. “To know that I have siblings, like students’ siblings who are doing indoor soccer, hockey. Great for them, but why are they allowed to play those sports when they’re not allowed to come to dance class.”

Regina Bittner-Rothbart from Nuance Dance Studio has been just as diligent keeping her students safe, even requiring masks well before the mandate. She trusts the health professions like Dr. Bonnie Henry, but she shares the same confusion.

“I’m just wondering what the criteria was to determine which people were shut down and which were allowed to open,” she said.

Bittner-Rothbart worries about her teachers, some of whom rely on dance as their sole income.

“These young teachers, they need to earn a living,” noted Bittner-Rothbart. “It’s become increasingly difficult to do that. They have gone to Zoom, Zoom classes, so we hope to keep up with that.”

At least one studio, Kamloops Dance Academy in Valleyview, closed completely this week, awaiting for Monday when Dr. Henry will be making a decision on whether they’ll remain closed or can re-open.

Faraday is also anxiously waiting for the decision.

“Dec. 7 for us, the biggest hope is that they’ve recognized that, as dance studios, we are doing all the proper things and almost all the studio owners I know are working together across B.C.,” she said. “We have poured our heart and souls into having these safe spaces for kids – for their mental health and their physical health – and our hope is that we can re-open that day.”