What a strange experience as a non-Christian... I found this studio on Groupon and didn't do full research on it beforehand so that part is on me, but starting a class with a prayer and ending with gospel music stretching was.... quite an experience as a non-religious person with a Jewish upbringing! What a time. I did see after the fact that their website mentions this practice, but it doesn't exactly make it welcoming to non-religious customers.
The adult tap class I tried was challenging in new ways and definitely more focused on classical tap with a hint of Irish dancing, which isn't my favorite but I know that is studio dependent. The teacher was knowledgeable but didn't really explain steps fully to the whole class, and the woman next to me was asking me questions throughout about how to break down a movement when the teacher herself kept messing it up, even though I was brand new. They have tape on the floor to mark distance but the teacher stated she didn't know how to maintain distance yet during class and many of the students were right next to one another. Only I and one other student wore a mask in a class of 8-10 people.
My biggest disappointment was the lack of acknowledgement and following of the mask mandate. Aside from a couple of people I saw inside and plexiglass at the front desk, it was like entering a pre-COVID world. Staff and customers alike did not wear masks, and yet there were crowds of kids moving about the studio and adults all very close to one another, maskless and without distancing. They had only 1 sign on the front door asking people to distance. Religion will not protect you from a pandemic or a state mandate. read more