Dance Central’s 2020 renaissance: tears, triumph and a very special Open House

Posted on 9 November, 2020

“We’re just preparing for our End of Year Show,” explains Julie Scheer, Founder and Director of Phillip’s Dance Central, gesturing to the small mountain of boxes in the dance school’s common room. “It’s madness.”

There’s a twinkle in her eye and a conspiring grin as she adds, “I love it!”

Looking around Dance Central, it’s hard to believe that the pandemic has hit them at all. There’s palpable excitement, a business-as-usual vibe that hums in the place even when there aren’t classes on.

But the actual story of their year has been filled with the kind of curveballs that businesses around Canberra and the world have been struggling to catch in the midst of a world pandemic.

Dance Central is a modern dance school based in Phillip. What started 15 years ago as a toddler-parent music and dance program turned rapidly into a dance and fitness school now spanning more than 200 classes and over a thousand students ranging from tiny tots to adults.

At the heart of this local enterprise is a pint-sized dancing dynamo named Julie Scheer.

“I could see that things were about to hit us,” she recalls matter-of-factly of how things unfolded. “Even before March, I had the sense that we needed to get ready. And I needed to work out what we were going to do.”

As the world grappled with the rapidly evolving situation of suppressing and managing the spread of COVID-19, Julie’s first move was to create two action plans—one for her students and family, and the other for her faculty and staff.

“It was important to me that everyone knew we were taking their safety seriously. That we absolutely prioritise their health over everything else.”

That core value was also why she decided to close Dance Central ahead of the game. Julie called it on the week of Monday 15 March and closed DC that Thursday. Schools in the ACT closed the following week.

“It was busy. I’d decided to credit all families for the remaining three weeks of term they couldn’t get to do. The office went through all that, and then quite a number of parents told us they hadn’t expected us to give them a credit note at all! But it was still the right thing to do.”

With schools now closed and online, Julie—like so many households in Canberra with children—was now thrown into the chaos of establishing a new home routine and getting her two children as independent as possible. Meanwhile, she was still working remotely with her office team while they worked round the clock to kick off Plan B: online dance classes.

“There was so much to do! A brand-new policy that would keep our faculty and staff safe, changes in government policy around COVID-safety measures, and so much setting up. Things had moved so quickly, and we were still testing out different teaching platforms for our classes. We were starting a brand-new business, actually. In just a few weeks! Insane! But we were doing it.”

Eventually, they decided to teach dance online by starting up a streaming service that anyone could subscribe to. Meanwhile, they were setting up their filming studio, including proper lighting and AV equipment, all while working out cleaning measures and a process to film safely. They also had to create and brand a new website portal. Eventually, DC Online was launched on Friday 3 April.

“We wanted to keep the momentum going, and keep our beautiful DC family moving,” Julie explains. “We were all stuck in our homes now, and these are kids and families who love getting out, who love dance and want to keep active. DC Online gave them that. We wanted to give them that. Keep their passion and talents alive.”

Closing the studios part way through term with no real promise of a return-to-normal was nerve-wracking enough; Julie saw a 98% fall in her term’s income immediately after the closure. And there was still plenty to do when JobKeeper kicked in. They were still a business with four part-time staff and over fifty teaching faculty on their payroll.

Luckily Dance Central’s landlords came to the party, offering rent relief and other support measures in line with Government COVID-19 assistance regulation.

Lockdown measures eventually eased, and Dance Central chose to reopen in stages, starting with their Crews and Troupes (their competitive dancers) from 1 June. This involved yet another spate of developing new policies, cleaning measures, and setting up a COVID-safe system in places. When everyone else started back up on 20 July, it was like a cork released from a champagne bottle.

“Just the outpouring of love and understanding and support from our DC family and community. I couldn’t believe how much love there was,” Julie smiles. “As soon as we opened the doors, families came back. And because of DC Online, brand new families joined us too!”

The energy of the place has definitely changed with social distancing measures in place. “It’s certainly quieter without the parents around,” Julie laughs. But more than that, there’s a sense among the students that they’re just thankful they can return to dance again.

“The pandemic was definitely unsettling,” Julie observes. “Work had to be done to build morale and confidence back up. Even with DC Online, we found our students needed to build their physical strength again.”

For now, they’re back in competitions and are in the throes of putting together their End of Year Show and their annual Open House. “Like everyone else, we’re improvising. Trying out new stuff.”

This year’s concert will be filmed on stage, and then edited, then streamed online as well as on the big screen at HOYTS. It’s a mammoth effort with a lot of changes, but Julie is adamant it’s all worth it.

“It’s really important to us that our students get that magical experience, that they’re still excited, and still have purpose in their dance.”

Looking ahead, Julie’s realistic about how things could change again.

“This pandemic isn’t going away quickly. I’ve never prepared for a pandemic before—I mean, who has! But I feel like this could easily happen again now,” she admits. “And I have to prepare myself, have that mindset, that we might have to go through all that craziness again.

“But now we know what it’s like, so let’s get ready.”

And then she smiles. It’s a sunny, sanguine smile that belies the grit of a woman who knows she’s done this before and came out the other side. And if she must, she can and will do it all over again.