World of dance remains defiant despite coronavirus
With 80% of the sector's activity in Catalonia affected by the crisis, dancers are overcoming the confinement restrictions by going online
With the world of dance also suspended due to the coronavirus crisis, estimates suggest that cancelations and postponements could affect 80% of the sector's annual activity, while losses to the industry in Spain as a whole could be as high as 25 million euros.
Yet, Catalonia's Association of Dance Professionals, APdC, does not prioritize quantifying the projects that have been lost or set back but getting across the message that normality will not return "on the day" that the directive to remain at home comes to an end.
"Everything suggests that the home confinement restrictions will be lifted gradually and that the activities for large numbers of people will be the last ones to come back," warns the association's president, Xevi Dorca.
However, some in the dance world remain positive in the face of the uncertainty, such as dancer and choreographer, Miquel Barcelona, who insists that "the confinement is a chance to understand things about ourselves and the situation we are living through."
Videos and photos posted online
Barcelona is one performer who has shared moments of dance from his home on Instagram. Another is Sol Picó, who has posted videos and photos online on Instagram, encouraging people to stay trim and keep on dancing, despite the health crisis.
"All we hear about are elite athletes but to perform we need to stay in top shape," says Picó, who says many of her colleagues are using their imaginations and the resources they have at home to make sure their bodies "do not decline" during the confinement.
Barcelona has also continued to train, and he says that he is confident that every other dancer will be doing the same: "If there's one thing about dance, it is that it's very disciplined," he says.
#BallemaCasaDID20 aims to keep people dancing
To keep people dancing despite the measures forcing people to stay at home, the APdC has launched the #BallemaCasaDID20 campaign online, which aims to fill the internet with dance in the run-up to International Dance Day on April 29.
International Dance Day celebrates the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet, and every year aims to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held on the date all over the world.
It is highly unlikely that there will be any public events or festivals held anywhere this year due to the health crisis, but as the #BallemaCasaDID20 campaign shows, that is no reason not to keep dancing. After all, the show must go on.