For one locally-owned family business, the shock of having to close their doors took a bit of time to process and adapting to the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic has taken an online turn.
Judy Russell's Enchainement Dance Centre closed its doors about a month ago knowing a big change was coming when the dance festival which was to take place March 14-20 was canceled in Prince George.
"We're just kind of reeling and I didn't want to go online super quickly," Russell said. "I felt that people needed a little bit of time to mourn and time to decide how they were going to navigate this."
Russell's whole family is involved in the entertainment business in one way or another - teaching, acting, managing, lighting, sound, set building - so not only were Bill and Judy Russell affected but so were sons Jon and Matt and their families as well.
"This is unprecedented," Russell said.
"Collapsing 150 classes a week down to something manageable while still giving everybody that's in our dance community something enjoyable to look forward to took a lot of thought and a lot of time - lots of virtual meetings and phone calls and now we've finally got that sorted out."
The first virtual classes started last week.
There is a schedule of classes set up so those younger dancers can have something fun to do and older dancers won't lose the technique and skills they have taken years to hone.
"We're still in the situation where we can grow the online classes if there's a demand for them," Russell said.
The adults taking lessons are more interested in the social aspect of the classes and Judy will soon be adding time before and after their classes so they can have a chance to chat and catch up with their friends.
"So there are many reasons to sign up online," Russell said. "We've also been asked to host a Zoom virtual hang out for the kids in the company troupe, who've spent between five and 10 years of their lives all together. We're in the position that we can do that so we're going to make that happen for them."
Classes are geared for ages 2.5 years old to adult.
For more information and to register visit www.judyrusselldance.com.
