Update: August 11, 2020
Dear Directors, Students, Teachers, and Dance Families,
2020 has been a year that none of us expected. As I am sure you can all relate, at times it has been exceedingly difficult to deal with all the uncertainty around the current situation. As business owners, we work hard to give kids a safe learning environment under any circumstances, even when it seems impossible. And as parents, we worry about how our kids are going to be going back to school. Each day brings new questions and plans can change week to week.
It is under these conditions that Dancers Inc. has conscientiously decided to indefinitely suspend our 2020 competition season. This means we will not host any in-person live events for the rest of the calendar year. It is our priority to provide a safe and constructive learning environment for your dancers, and we feel we are unable to do so under the ever changing local and federal guidelines. Many states, including the states where we have rescheduled dates booked are delaying or rolling back provisions that directly impact our ability to host live competitive events this fall. Such provisions include the reduction of the maximum capacity of indoor commercial spaces in addition to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for people traveling from certain states.
Additionally, and most importantly, the safety of the dancers is paramount. We will not be able to host our events as normal if local mandates preclude children from returning to normal activities as it pertains to education and sports. We understand that both parents and teachers have a lot to manage with adjusting to at-home-learning again in the fall. Many of us here at Dancers Inc. are in the same boat so we have a deep and personal understanding of the toll it can take. We think it is important to give studios the time they need to adapt to what will best serve their dancers and their families.
In lieu of in-person events, Dancers Inc. will be offering an array of virtual offerings launching this fall. We will announce more details as they develop but the offerings will include solo competitions, convention classes, student choreography contests, social media challenges and more. We will post information to our website and social media platforms beginning in September. Follow us or sign-up here to receive further updates.
Looking forward, we are dedicating our resources to ensuring we can provide safe performance spaces for the 2021 season. We have several events confirmed and listed on our website. We anticipate adding more in the coming months. We are paying close attention to booking venues that will allow us to adapt to social distancing measures such as proper separation in the dressing room as well as limited contact between performers backstage. We are also paying close attention to using venues that can help ensure the proper cleaning and sanitizing of areas where spectators and participants will be present.
We want to personally thank all the studios who have kept in contact during this unprecedentedly difficult journey and look forward to a time when we can all celebrate being back together. In the meantime, take the time to focus on what is important and we will see you soon!
Yours in Dance,
Dan Barris and the Dancers Inc. Family
Update: June, 2, 2020
As many states begin the process of getting back to normal, we'd like to take the opportunity to update our dance studios and their families on upcoming events. We are encouraged by the planning and steps being taken to ensure that our communities can open up safely, and that we can once again offer a nurturing and constructive environment for your dancers to learn and grow.
We are working hard to re-book as many shows as we can and are excited to have confirmed dates and venues for several shows so far. As dates are confirmed, we will be adding them to our schedule under the "Regional Events" tab found in the menu at the top of our website. This is where you will find the most up-to-date information on our events for this fall.
It's fortunate that we were able to book many of our same venues for later in the year and our success in booking dates has given many studios the opportunity to come to Dancers Inc. events later in the fall. Because we want to support studios making plans to reopen, and not feel rushed to do so, we've decided that we will not be hosting our summer events in Ocean City, MD or in Hershey/Harrisburg, PA this June and July.
For studio directors that have questions either about the summer events or the re-booked dates in the fall, please feel free to reach out to us directly at 732.685.8182 or email at dan@dancers-inc.com.
We are looking forward to seeing you all very soon! Until then, continue to stay safe and stay healthy!
Yours in Dance,
Dancers Inc.
Update: March 23, 2020
Dear Dance Families,
Thank you for all the kindness, support, and understanding we’ve received. Speaking with many of you on the phone over the past several days has been a comfort, especially since we all want the same thing, a return to normalcy for our kids.
In order to comply with CDC guidelines and in accordance with local and federal restrictions, we have postponed all events scheduled for March. Any studio who was registered for a March show will be contacted by Mr. Dan to go over options. In many cases we have already booked alternative dates for later in the season.
As we approach the April dates, we anticipate we may need to postpone additional events, particularly those in the first few weeks. In those instances, we will email the studios directly to notify them and to provide more information if available.
As of today, we are keeping the May dates as listed in hopes that we will be able to run them as scheduled. Please understand that circumstances may change, and if needed, we will adjust so that we continue to comply with state and federal agency guidelines.
The following dates have been rescheduled:
Raleigh, NC - May 1-2, 2020 @ Washington Duke Inn
Portland, ME (North Berwick) - May 22 - 24 (Memorial Weekend) @ Noble High School
Manahawkin, NJ - May 29 - 31, 2020 @ Stafford Township Arts Center
Harrisburg, PA - May 29 - 31, 2020 @ Scottish Rite Cultural Center
We will post updates to our website and social media as they become available.
Studios are being contacted directly with more information about re-booking options and in many cases by Mr. Dan personally. We appreciate your patience. If you need to leave a message, or send an email, please understand it may take longer than usual to respond. For now, we request contacts from studio owners and teachers only at this time. We love our dance parents and to best serve you we need to prioritize the most up to date information to the studios. We strongly encourage that you call between the hours of 10:00 am and 5:00 pm daily, Monday through Friday. If you don't reach us please leave a message or email us directly.
Thank you for all your understanding and support during this exceptional time. We encourage all the stay safe.
Yours in Dance,
Mr. Dan and the DI Family
Dan Barris
Executive Director
Dancers Inc.
732-481-2558
Update: May 11, 2020
Dear Dance Studios and Families,
Wow, what a crazy year that this has been. We are keeping up with the website as new information comes to us. We want to THANK YOU for working with us through this craziness, we are grateful to have you as part of the DI Family! We can't wait to see you all... When hugs are cool again!
As we begin looking forward to a time when we can resume live events again, we want to update our dance families on our schedule moving forward. Depending on the restrictions in affect in each state, we intend to host the following shows:
June 27 – July 2, 2020: Ocean City Summer Finals @ Clarion Oceanfront Resort, Ocean City, MD
July 8 – July 13, 2020: Hershey/Harrisburg Summer Finals @ Radisson Hotel Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
Aug 2 – 6, 2020: H2D2 United Dance Festival @ Showboat Resort, Atlantic City, NJ
Aug 21 – 23, 2020: Harrisburg, PA Competition & Convention @ Scottish Rite Center, Harrisburg, PA
Sept 18 – 20, 2020: Manahawkin, NJ Competition @ Stafford Township Arts Center, Manahawkin, NJ
Oct 2 – 4, 2020: Somerset, NJ Competition @ Ukrainian Cultural Center, Somerset, NJ
Nov 6 – 8, 2020: Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Competition & Convention @ Hilton Hasbrouck Heights/Meadowlands, NJ
We are still anxiously awaiting information from our Maine, Connecticut, and Springfield shows regarding the reschedule dates so that we can keep you as up to date as possible.
Registration for the Dancers Inc. Summer/Fall season will be open at least 30 days prior to the start of the first event. Studios who have room reservations for our Summer Finals will have priority in registering for those events. All other events are prioritized for studios who were scheduled to attend previous events this season.
A link to our registration portal will be posted on our website and social media pages no later than May 26th.
Studios are being contacted directly with more information about re-booking options. We appreciate your patience. If you need to leave a message, or send an email, please understand it may take longer than usual to respond. For now, we request contacts from studio owners and teachers only at this time. We encourage you to call between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm daily, Monday through Friday. If you don't reach us please leave a message or email us directly.
Thank you for all your understanding and support during this exceptional time.
Yours in Dance,
Mr. Dan and the DI Family
Dan Barris
Executive Director
Dancers Inc.
732-481-2558
Update: March 12, 2020
Thank you for choosing Dancers Inc. during this 2020 competition season.
We wanted to take a moment to reassure you that we are working diligently to ensure the safety of our participants and are closely monitoring the CDC and World Health Organization recommendations.
Currently, we are working closely with our venues and evaluating each of our competitions on a case-by-case basis and will update you all as more details become available.
At this time, given the recent announcement by the Maine Government that restricts all gatherings to less than 100 people, we are postponing the Portland Regional Competition scheduled for this weekend, March 13-15, 2020, at Noble High School in North Berwick, Maine. Studio Directors, please be on the look-out for an email that contains further information.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office. Please note, we are experiencing a large call and email volume at this time, and our responses may be slightly delayed.
We look forward to seeing you all soon!
Yours in Dance,
Dancers Inc.
March 9, 2020
We would like to take this opportunity to address the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and assure you that the safety and well being of our attendees remains of the utmost importance. We have been closely monitoring the fluid situation and have been in constant contact with our Event Venues. We have also been regularly reviewing both CDC and World Health Organization guidelines and recommendations. We encourage everyone to review the current recommended guidelines as provided by the above organizations:
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Urge anyone who is sick to not attend.
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Encourage those who are at high risk for serious illness not attend. People at higher risk of severe illness include older adults and those with chronic medical conditions.
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Encourage attendees to follow the increased recommended hygiene routine, such as:
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Washing their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
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If soap and water are not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used in a pinch.
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Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
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Covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue - if available - or into their elbow.
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Clean surfaces with standard cleaners.
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At this point, all of our venues are operating as usual with additional precautions. We will continue to monitor this understandably stressful situation and will follow recommended guidelines. If you are unable to attend an event for the remainder of the 2020 Sweet Sixteen Season Tour, please notify us in advance. We can be reached via phone at 732-685-8182.
Thank you for your long term support and we look forward to seeing you at one of our tour cities.