Dance moves

PIVOTING EN POINTE

Ambition Performing Arts turns to technology to teach

BY STACIE GAETZ

Ambition Arts Performing Arts Inc. (APA) is using technology to help make dance, drama and music accessible to all students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In-person fall classes at APA began early on Aug. 3 to make up for the months of in-studio time that were lost starting in March.

However, APA was able to quickly adapt to the situation and offer virtual training in the spring almost immediately after being forced to close their doors.

“There are of course challenges with learning new technology, but we have reinvested over $10,000 in our technology and training of staff as we relaunched,” says Tara Pickford, CEO of APA.

Sharon Cambridge’s nine-year-old daughter Mackenzie has been a student at APA since she was five months old and she says the fact that the teachers were dedicated to getting the online classes up and running quickly so the students didn’t miss out brought her to tears.

“I was so grateful that we are part of a team who cares so much,” she says.

“This is Mackenzie’s extended family, her sense of community, and when she had it back, even virtually, she felt much safer. I saw a big improvement in her from March to June.”

Mackenzie says the online training wasn’t perfect as there were a number of distractions in her home environment, but she was happy the season wasn’t cancelled.

“I am glad to have been able to dance at home because it gave me something to do in the evenings,” she adds.

“The studio is full of fantastic people and dance makes you healthy and strong.”

Mackenzie has chosen to take in-studio classes for the fall season.

FALL FUN

APA is offering a number of options for teachers and students of all comfort levels for their fall classes.

“We are a tech-enabled studio, meaning that we have set up all our classrooms for drama, music and dance to be able to serve all families and staff in a variety of ways,” says Pickford.

“If teachers need to stay home, they will be able to teach from home, while students attend live at the studio with a room monitor. Students will also be able to attend virtually from home all during the same class time.”

She adds that they have also created a portal where families will be able to access recorded classes and extra resources throughout the season.

Something that will remain the same as last year is the number of classes APA will be running at 110; although they will have reduced in-person class sizes of between eight and 15 students.

The limits are based on the square footage of each room and how strenuous the level of activity is.

“We will also be able to serve any families that feel safer at home with our tech-enabled classrooms allowing us to serve a similar or increased number of families than last year,” Pickford adds.

METICULOUS MEASURES

APA has implemented higher levels of filters in the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system as well as high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in each classroom that are filtering the air every 20 minutes.

Additional measures the studio will be taking to ensure the safety of their staff, parents and students include: - Staff and students are screened upon entry; - All staff, students and visitors wash hands on entry and exit; - Distancing markers in the lobby for drop off and pick up; - Lobbies are closed for waiting; - Classrooms are practicing physical distancing; - Staff training on enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures; - Curriculum adjustments to allow for distancing while learning; - Systems in place to monitor absences and help contact trace with Alberta Health Services if necessary; - Stoplight communication system for families to easily identify if the building is open.

“We have spent countless hours ensuring that the health and wellness of everyone in our facility are at the front of every decision we make,” says Pickford.

“I am so proud of my team for doing countless hours of training and implementation so that we can get back to delivering great lessons to our families.” life