Thank you for your responses + The “Why” of this survey
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I appreciate the kind words of encouragement. It was necessary to give people a forum to share what they think and what they need to feel safe during these pandemic times.
Thank you to each of you who responded. Getting 56 people together for anything in this community is a minor miracle, so I’m glad to see people getting involved.
I had one lone respondent say that asking people what they want and shaping policy around that is not leadership. I resent the implication that safety isn’t our first priority and that I’m just pandering to the majority. It’s been clear from the very beginning of the pandemic what Siempre’s approach would be: we were the first to suspend our activities, we continued safe community building throughout the pandemic, and I’m holding off on group activities until I feel comfortable coming to back to the dance floor in a group context.
I wanted to do this survey because I honestly didn’t want to fight with my patrons on this issue. I don’t want to have to promote my events, teach and help people out at those events, and on top of that enforce these regulations if this community does not share my values. Luckily, most people do agree with having to show proof of vaccination to access tango activities, as you’ll see.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the typical responder:
- had been dancing for a few years
- mostly attended a mix of group classes and practicas
- and sometimes attended milongas.
About 68% of people said they would like to come back to tango, and nearly 27% of people say “Maybe!”
- 39% of people say “I would be willing to return to organized dance activities that adhere to the minimum required public health guidelines.”
- 23% prefer a stricter approach, saying “I would be willing to return to organized dance activities with more restrictions than current government regulations, such as continuing to require masks for some time after the mandate is lifted, or a reduced attendee capacity.”
- Over 10% of people say, “I will not return to dance until it is deemed safe to resume fully as before the pandemic (ie: indoors, no masks, no distancing).”
See those very thin slivers? Over 10% of respondents wrote in their strong preference for double vaccination. (This survey was posted just before Ontario’s vaccine passport system was announced, and it was not clear what that would entail.)
71.4% of respondents are willing to attend class where proof of vaccination is required. A significant amount of people are willing to attend indoor classes (41.1%) and classes with partner rotation (39.9%) and masks (33.9%). The numbers were somewhat similar for milongas and practicas.
In keeping with provincial guidelines, proof of vaccination will be required to attend Siempre Tango’s events. We will also require masks indoors. I will have people pre-register to facilitate the recording of contact information, in order to make sure that all available spaces are taken. As far as the medical exemptions that are mentioned in the regulations, I am looking into that but need to educate myself on what to look for, so at this point, no exceptions.
I feel that this topic is something that people in our tango community don’t want to speak openly about. We don’t want to exclude and we don’t want to be the fun police. I have become, it seems, the unofficial COVID police and that’s not what I’m here for. My team is here to create a safe environment for people to enjoy tango.
So just before we go further, this is my record of vaccination. I will take down the link on Sunday, September 26, but you can ask me any time for this proof of vaccination and I am happy to show it to you.
At the moment I am teaching private lessons, and because of that, I am refraining from dancing socially.
The big question is at this point is, “When are prácticas coming back?” I’m working on it! There will be news coming soon.
