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Date: 4/15/2020
ENFIELD, CT – “Learn to dance, online and at home,” declares championship dancer Sara Schilling, owner of EdanSe Company and Ballroom, located in Enfield.
She continues by saying “Our ballroom and Latin dance studio has turned social distancing into an asset! When life gives you lemons, what can you do? You can get creative and make the best lemonade you can! We feel so lucky to be creative and flexible and move with this ever changing world and offer our services in a whole new way…online!”
The dance studio, which specializes in ballroom and Latin dance styles, has been open for about seven years, and is usually busy with private lessons six days per week and a social dance open to the public on Saturdays. Children through seniors take lessons, as do college students and prospective brides and grooms. At the Saturday social dances, students of all ages and members of the public show up to dance and mingle.
“In my opinion,” said Schilling, “there are not too many activities where people of all ages interact and ‘speak’ the same language.”
Schilling has been teaching dance for over 20 years, and she and her husband, Evgueni Chaoulski, have been competing professionally for the past 12 years. “We have been honored to represent Canada at the World Championships for eight years. We hold Licentiate Degrees (equivalent to Master’s degrees) in ballroom and Latin dance. We are still competing and developing as dancers and therefore continue to improve even more as teachers,” said Schilling.
In addition to themselves, the studio works with several other instructors who are independent contractors, “but who are also like family,” said Schilling. Their one employee, Rachel, is “super talented and organizes our events, dances, group classes, and private lessons. She does scheduling and keeps our whole studio running on track and all students happy.”
EdanSe doesn’t have recitals, but did have an Anniversary Gala scheduled for last week, which had to be postponed to a future date due to the virus. All competitions, nationally and internationally, which Schilling and Chaoulski judge, as well as compete in, were also cancelled. “This was obviously a massive hit to our income, planning, and goal achievements for both ourselves and our students,” said Schilling. “Teaching dance is a lifestyle, a life force that makes you a much better and well-rounded person…dance changes lives physically, mentally and emotionally,” believes Schilling.
To help tide themselves, their current students, and future dancers over until COVID- 19 is a thing of the past, EdanSe has developed and now offers their online virtual dance lessons. They say, “It’s never been a better time to learn a new skill. With everyone at home with their families, it is an ideal time to challenge yourself with learning something new. Dance is a great way to improve your physical, mental and emotional health.
“In today’s stressful environment, it is vital to maintain some sense of normalcy. Dance is a great way to de-stress while allowing you to move and stimulate your brain. No partner? Not a problem. Our virtual dance lessons allow you to learn alone or with a partner. Perhaps, a great feature of learning to dance online is that it takes the self-consciousness of going to a dance studio away. You can learn at your own pace, in the privacy of your own home.
“We have developed a combination of virtual platforms that allows you to learn to dance and develop the skill in an interactive way. Dancing is an activity you can do anywhere, starting in your home and extending to weddings, events, concerts and social dances. Our virtual dance lessons begin with pre-recorded patterns in which you can learn at your own pace. We then have a combination of virtual group forums, as well as virtual one-on-one sessions with the class instructor. For instructors, a great aspect of virtual teaching is that we can focus and see from an outside perspective the areas to improve on. It allows us to give you feedback, without having to physically be there with you. With our virtual lesson feedback, you will have lots of tips to practice and have fun dancing at home.”
For more information on EdanSe’s virtual lessons email the business at at info@EdanSeCT.com or visit their website at www.edansect.com. Lessons available for absolute beginners (no partner needed) through advanced levels.