On March 12th, I announced that ABDC would be closed starting the next day (Friday the 13th, of course!) for what we hoped would be one week. One week turned into two, then into a month, and here we are-4 months later, finally getting ready to reopen our doors.

Even after these 4 long months, it still seems like a dream sometimes, doesn’t it? Sometimes as I watch the news, or think “do I have my phone? wallet? keys? mask?” it hits me how surreal this is. I think, maybe I’ll wake up in the morning and this will all be over.

But there are things to be grateful for in this experience, and the biggest one for me is the ABDC community. We’re no stranger to hard times, that’s for certain. Most of our current students aren’t old enough to remember Melinda, our studio’s founder, but losing her to cancer in 2007 was like having the earth stop turning. Much like now, that time felt uncertain and scary, but the community of teachers, dancers, and families pulled us through.

It’s been the same over these past 4 months-our teachers, dancers, and families have kept us going. We’ve danced with our pets in the living room. We’ve seen siblings drift in and out, and in some cases show off their moves. We’ve laughed at bloopers in the videos we’ve made. During recital week, we loved seeing your friends and family from all over the country. It wasn’t the recital any of us are used to, but it was magical in it’s own way.

Now, after 4 long months, we are ready to open our doors to the community we love so much! Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed, the floors have been taped, and while things will be different for a while, dancers are known for being flexible, right? More change is on the way, that’s for certain, but one thing we do know is that we are ABDC strong, and we’ll get through this together.

And above all-we can’t wait to see you! Let’s dance!!