'Dancing for joy' as indoor classes, festivals and theatre ready for return 

Dance teacher Mary Gibson Madden with her pupil Niamh Kehoe looking forward to the reopening of dance at her Ballet Theatre Ireland dance studio in Donnybrook, Douglas, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

Easing restrictions may have come just in time for some of those who want to dance both outdoors and indoors before this year ends.

Ed O’Leary of The Good Room music and events company said the question he was asked most frequently is "will we be able to dance?" at its upcoming festival. 

It Takes a Village festival is scheduled for September 17-19 in Trabolgan, Cork.

And Mr O'Leary hopes the Government's new roadmap for reopening the country will allow people to dance at the event.

“People have not been able to dance for nearly two years.

“You have to be seated under the current restrictions but I’m hoping with the 75% capacity [outdoors] people can dance,” he said, hours before the formal Government announcement.

Ed O’Leary of The Good Room music and events company said having close to full capacity events over these three months before Christmas could save businesses and venues.

From September 6, larger crowds are to be allowed at concerts and live events.

Indoor crowds will be capped at 60% while outdoor crowds will be capped at 75% capacity, both for the fully vaccinated.

After-school activities

From September 20, indoor activities and after-school activities like dance and drama classes for children will resume.

And from October 22, if 90% of people aged over 16 are fully vaccinated and if Covid-19 related hospital admissions are manageable, virtually all remaining restrictions will be lifted.

Mr O’Leary said having close to full capacity events over these three months before Christmas could save businesses and venues.

If October 22 is a solid date, then we can really start to plan for the end of the year. The last three months are always the busiest in events, you could make half your year’s income in those three months.” 

But in the meantime, he said limiting indoor events to 60% capacity would require Government support to make them economically viable.

Mary Gibson Madden of Ballet Theatre Ireland Dance Academy has been teaching ballet for 49 years.

“It’s good news that we can reopen again [from September 20]. We’ve been a long time waiting. And it’s been unfair.

Even before Covid, everyone in a ballet class had to stand more than 2m apart anyway. But sports where people are on top of each other and sharing equipment were allowed. That makes no sense."

After being out of ballet for almost two years, Ms Madden Gibson is concerned  some students may not return.

Other students, who want to be professional dancers, lost two years of vital training which may compromise their future career chances unless their families could afford to get them private tuition throughout the pandemic.

“You’ve lost a generation of kids really," she said.

“They’ve been hugely impacted by this.

“Teachers will have to be very gentle, particularly with the smallies, when we get back. For many of them, it will be their first experience being around other children."

Pat Talbot, whose theatre company Patrick Talbot Productions is producing Brian Friel’s classic play Philadelphia, Here I Come! In Cork’s Opera House from October 5-16, said the announcement was very welcome.

Instead of playing to just 50 people each night next month, they can entertain an audience of hundreds.

“Theatre is uniquely a live thing. It is a wonderful prospect that we can perform our play potentially to a few hundred people on a nightly basis beginning on October 5.

“We’re getting back to doing what we do – performing live theatre.

“If we were doing it tomorrow, it would be to 50 people. The decisions that the Government has arrived at in the last few days have transformed the situation. I welcome it wholeheartedly.

“Ideally, we would aspire to 100% capacity. But we understand that we have to have precautions, we have to be safe, and I think a balance has been struck here."

Sharon Manning of the Joan Denise Moriarty school of dance said both teachers and students are looking forward to September 20.

'It will be great to get back'

“It will be great to get back. 

“People are impatient to get back now, but we’ve managed so far so we can hold on for another few weeks.” 

Ms Manning said reopening her dance school should be straightforward and students will not be too out of practice as she ran outdoor classes throughout Covid.

“We found that students were getting very anxious without it [dance] so we did Zoom and then outdoor classes. We were lucky we found venues.

“We’d never have thought a few years ago that we’d all be dancing outside but sports train outside so why not dance I guess?

“And dancing in the sun was lovely.” 

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