I am sure that the last 3 months have been beyond challenging for the director and staff. It has certainly been challenging for my family. But I want to say that in a few specific ways, some good has come out all of this. My youngest daughter has, for the first time, been forced to learn her routines cold, because she could no longer rely on eyeing her classmates for cues. After a struggle with getting Zoom to work on our devices, both of my daughters completely took over responsibility for learning, disappearing into their designated spaces every day at the appointed time. When it was determined that BDC would have a virtual recital, my daughters decided how they would film each other and/or themselves without any assistance. My husband and I didn’t know this until we tried to nail down the logistics and were told, “We’ve got it covered, the teachers explained everything VERY CLEARLY.” And they did. Even though it took hours over the next few days, many takes, including a complete redo because someone’s head was accidentally cut off without realizing. In this process I think my oldest in particular, really came to know herself better, to be okay with herself, and to take Karen seriously when she said JUST DO THE BEST YOU CAN DO, was the goal.

I know other studios around the country had to cancel their end of year recital, and I give full kudos to the staff for finding an alternative so that our dancers could celebrate the culmination of everyone’s efforts. Thank you so much for the amazing effort put forth this year. I can only imagine the sacrifices made to make this possible.