CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

Posted March 10, 2022

Masks no longer required in public indoor settings under a public health order.

As of April 8th, proof of vaccination will no longer be required.

This means this Sunday your masks are completely optional. If people continue to choose to wear masks, that's ok. If people do not, then that's ok too.

Sunday, April 10, Suburban Swing no longer is required to require proof of vaccination.

Suburban Swing has had a great turnout for our first dance back and for those waiting to join us again! We had faith it will end and it has. We thank you all for your support and patience. As a registered and legitimate business, it has been difficult to maintain the balance; opening and closing. We thank all of those who have reached out that could not come and encouraged us with kind emails and letters of support. We are so happy for your return!

As we rebuild our community, we want you to know we have done our best to maintain the dancing community by:

Building a dance team and leadership throughout the pandemic. This team is a dynamic group of hard-working and loyal dancers. They are ready for you to learn, share, and socialize!

We opened twice in 2020 and then again in 2021. Finally opened once again in March 2022. We have constantly worked hard to maintain the dance community when we could have simply closed the doors. But there were so many dancers who needed to dance and we were able to provide that for them.

We look forward to seeing you and being able to open up once again freely and without mandates.

Posted Feb 15, 2022

Suburban Swing is excited to announce we are back open on March 6, 2022, for regular dances and classes. We will still be following health orders and will wah for the ever-changing dynamics of this. Workshops will resume Sunday, March 6 from 3 pm to 7 pm. Dance will begin from 730-11 pm! SOOOO EXCITED!

Safety requirements for exercise and fitness activities include:

Proof of vaccination required for entry (12+)
Masks required at all times, except when actively exercising. We strongly encourage people to wear a mask even when exercising

Posted Jan 22, 2022

Suburban Swing remains closed for all of January. We will be looking weekly at the health orders and the public health risks. BC PHO currently allows dance classes to up to 25 people. We are going to look at dance classes for mid-February but no social dances at this time unless the situation changes. Please check our social media and website weekly for updates.

Posted December 21, 2021

Suburban Swing has now closed once again until the new year. We will revisit the reopening of the Dance in the new year.

As of December 22, 2021

These restrictions are in effect until January 18, 2022.

Indoor organized gatherings of any size are not allowed. This includes gatherings like New Year's Eve parties, wedding receptions or other celebrations
Adult gyms, fitness centres, and dance studios are closed

Posted December 6, 2021

Suburban Swing is open and running dance lessons with time to practice those lessons after. Masks are required in all public indoor settings for all people born in 2016 or earlier (5+) unless, according to BC HEALTH, "when not engaged in physical activity". Meaning, we require mask-wearing in our hall at all times unless dancing or seated at a table when you have food or drink with you.

Posted October 29, 2021

Suburban Swing is open and running dances openly. We recommend mask-wearing at our dances. There are no capacity restrictions on indoor organized gatherings. Proof of vaccination is required for organized gatherings with more than 50 people.

Seats must be provided for all people at some indoor events with more than 50 people, including:

Concerts, theatre, dance, and symphony performances
Weddings and funeral receptions (outside of a funeral home)
Lectures, presentations, and workshops
Recreational classes and activities like art classes or choir rehearsals

Province-wide indoor and outdoor gathering capacity limits and mask orders remain in place, with 3 additional requirements:

All people must be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination to attend.
- Examples of organized gatherings include ticketed events like sports, movies, plays, and festivals, indoor adult sport, fitness or dance activities
Organizers must collect contact information from all people
Events must have a COVID-19 safety plan

Posted Aug 25, 2021

Suburban Swing has pushed the dance back one week because of the latest BC Health Orders and to give us a bit more time to work out the details. According to the BC Health Orders, "Indoor high intensity and low-intensity group exercise are allowed with normal capacity." Masks are currently mandatory unless dancing ( you have to wear it into the hall) and you must have proof of vaccination for all dances. This is also a policy for the Matsqui Community Hall where we host the dances. This is a challenging time for many people and we ask for your support and for the support of everyone around us. We respect peoples decisions not to be vaccinated. Please reach out to us and let us know how we can support you. Outdoor dances, online classes, and live streaming are all ideas we are exploring. We care about the dance community and know how important it is to everyone. We are doing our best to open and to build a strong dance scene once again so we ALL can dance together.

Posted Aug. 19,2021

Suburban Swing is reopening and will offer more and more things each week.

We strongly encourage you to be fully vaccinated.

September 5th, we are moving into stage 4 of BC's reopening. We are excited to be offering a regular dance once again.

Suburban Swing is still going to plan and prepare for the possibility of opening. However, if the rates of infection continue to rise and the health orders dictate indoor physical activities are no longer allowed, we are more than happy to hold off until it is safer to do so. Ticket holders will be refunded or the tickets will be honored for when we do open if that be the case. Again we are taking direction from the health orders.

When we are open, there is a limited number of people in the building. As we can hold up to 280, we have limited the number to just over 100 people, knowing it probably will only be half that.

Also, we strongly encourage all volunteers, teachers, DJs, and dancers to be fully vaccinated. However, it is still a choice so people must know there may be unvaccinated people there for a variety of reasons. You have the right to set your own personal safety boundaries. Meaning, if you do come, you must respect those who wear masks and those who do not. You must respect those who prefer to dance with vaccinated people only and not take it personally. Some may say no to a dance with you because of their comfort levels, and that's ok.

Finally, policies and guidelines change overnight. if things worsen once again, we will not open. We will wait patiently like we have been doing for almost 2 years.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate in asking or calling directly.

We encourage you to be vaccinated so we can all dance together fully.

You may be asked to sign a liability waiver declaring you understand the health and safety risks of dancing regardless if you are vaccinated or not.

You can dance in your own bubble or dance with others. You must respect people's choices of their own safety measures. Some people may in at the dance without vaccination for a variety of reasons and many will have both vaccinations.
At this time, we do not require proof of vaccination.
Some people may choose to continue to wear a mask after they're fully vaccinated and that's okay.
We will follow all health orders given by BC Health
If the dance is canceled, all money will be refunded or credited for when we can safely open once again.

Here is BC Heatlh stage 4 Guidelines

Masks in public indoor settings a personal choice
Normal social contact
If you or anyone in your family feels sick stay home and get tested immediately
Return to normal personal gatherings and social contact

Posted July 25, 2021

We strongly encourage that all attendees be fully immunized with two vaccinations plus two weeks after last shot before attending a social or a class.

It is important to acknowledge that not everyone who attends may be fully or even partially vaccinated. Everyone will have to read and sign a health waiver indicating they are responsible for their own health choices. We are hoping to host an open and free dance for everyone to enjoy and feel comfortable. We do need to respect boundaries and choices, while maintainge a safe and healthy dance for everyone.

Posted July 5, 2021

We hope to repoen September 5, 2021 unrestricted.

Posted May 25, 2021

Its coming soon. The days are numbered and we hope to be reopened for phase 4 along with the rest of the community. What that looks like will depend on us to be vigilant and stay safe. We are getting ready to welcome you with OPEN ARMS!!! So excited!

Posted February 17, 2021

We miss you! We do want to dance with you again! We would love to be open and run the amazing events you were once accustomed to! However, the BC Health Orders continue to restrict us at this time. Once we are able to open again, we will get started and open the doors and play music for you!

We hope to see you soon, but in the meantime enjoy your families, the BC outdoors, or catch up on great dance videos and learn some solo dance steps! We are planning for a huge grand opening once we are able to open! Be ready to come and dance your heart out!

Posted December 5, 2020

We are remaining closed throughout Christmas. BC HEALTH requires that there are no adult dances allowed at this time. We will plan for January or February with Classes and dances once again. Classes seem to be what will be more likely. You will be required to have a partner for the classes unless they are a routines class, which then you are solo anyway. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Stay Healthy!

For more information on the BC health orders please click this link.

Posted October 30, 2020

We are canceling the dance on November 1st. With the rise in Covid cases and the new BC health orders (updated October 30) no longer allow dancing at the moment. We need to wait till Monday to get clarification on that. So for right now, we are closed until further notice. It was a brief but successful run. No covid cases and everyone complied with the rules. Thanks, everyone for your support and health efforts. We may only put on classes in the future for now, but the dances are canceled once again. All tickets sold will have their funds returned or tickets forwarded to a future dance.

Posted October 28, 2020

We have run 4 successful dances thus far with everyone being respectful of COVID Saftey practices. We thank you for that. Thank you for your support as well. As for the March Workshops, we have offered all the participants several options. If you have not received information about that, please contact us right away so we can assist you.

Our COVID safety measure are as follows:

At this time, all event organizers are ordered to limit all public gatherings to no larger than 50 people. Everyone has to wear a mask upon entrance and when crossing the dance floor or using the washroom. At their table, they do not have to wear it. Each table is set for 2, 4, or 6 people ... depending on their bubble. Each table is set at least 8 feet apart from each other.

We ask COVID entrance questions: Anyone who has had symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 10 days must not attend. Anyone under the direction of the provincial health officer to self-isolate must follow those instructions. Anyone who has arrived from outside of Canada in the last 10 days must not attend. You must bring your mask to the event.

Our staff escorts each person to their designated area. Our staff all wear masks while they are working with the public. All tickets must be prepaid to ensure tracing as well as managing the numbers at the hall. No one is allowed to rotate out of their bubble during any given dance. We clean thoroughly at the end of the night and maintain social distancing on the dance floor by using the entire 3000 square-foot floor now only for 50 people including staff.

Any questions or comments please reach out.

Posted September 23, 2020

COVID Dance #2 October 4, 2020 - DJ music (TBA)

The first dance back was a success with everyone following the safety rules and guidelines without incident.

Now we are more confident to open it up to your personal bubbles. (max6) Boy was it nice to see you who did come and how much you enjoyed yourself.

Tickets are online only. No drop-in tickets are available. Each ticket is for 2, 4, or 6 people! 1 Ticket per couple or group.

We will run a safe and COVID friendly dance following the recommendations by Fraser Health and WorksafeBC. Only 42 dancers per dance.

You must bring your mask with you. You're expected to wear it when you enter and use the washroom, but your choice while you dance.

There will be 2 dances available. 50 Person (including staff) in the building at one time and no drop-ins!

The first dance at 7 pm- 830pm is focused on beginners that include a 30 min drop-in Beginner Lesson. The second one will be at 850pm - 10 pm without a lesson. Pay attending to your tickets and times that your coming, please.

Dancers have to come with a partner or a max group size of six. You must pre-register with every person's name in your group or pair and there will be no rotation allowed outside of these small groups or couples. Each pair or group will be assigned a table and section to dance at. We need to adhere to social distancing and these rules if you want to dance and they will be strictly enforced. If you have any questions please contact us.

Visit www.suburbanswing.com for more!

Posted Aug 30, 2020

Hi Dancers!

We are excited to let you all know we have a COVID dancing plan. We are still working out the past dance workshops TBA. We are in discussions with Peter and Lauren about some options.

Starting September 20, 2020 we will run a safe and COVID friendly dance following the recommendations by Fraser Health and WorksafeBC. Only 42 dancers per dance.

There will be 2 dances available. One at 7 pm- 830pm that includes a 30 min drop-in lesson. The second one will be at 850pm - 10 pm without a lesson. Dancers have to come with a partner and there will be no rotation allowed. Each pair will be assigned a table and section to dance at. We need to adhere to social distancing and these rules if you want to dance and they will be strictly enforced. More info will be coming soon, but if you have questions please contact us. Tickets will be on sale soon!

We want this to be fun and safe. There are other dances in Canada running and have been successful. If you need to get your dance on, then join us September 20, 2020.

Posted June 5 2020

Hi Everyone!

We hope that you are well and we look forward to dancing with you all again. As phase three is approaching in BC, we are continually in contact with Fraser Health and a few other clubs to see where we are at for dancing. We have talked about a few options, but they pale in comparison to having an open and free-running dance. We will remain closed for June and look at the next phase for our guidance in July and August.

The last thing we want is anyone, to get infected at one of the dances. We care about you all immensely and miss your smiling faces. We have been in contact with all the instructors (including Peter Flahiff and Lauren Smith) and we are good to go once we are cleared by Fraser Health to do so. We thank you all for your patience and we are as eager as you to return to classes. You all were progressing wonderfully.

As for Crystal, Riley, and I, we have been working feverously at the hall to get it ready for your return! Boy was there a lot done!!! We have been doing many home projects and simply doing a lot of good family time! This has been a wonderful opportunity to focus on family and activities together. I have recently returned to work in the prison system, but my job has temporarily changed and .... I now work in the kitchen for now.... I made cookies today lol.

We do not know what the new normal looks like, but we assure you we are working on options and ideas all the time. If any of you would like to contact us and discuss your thoughts about dance and what it will look like when we open, it would be a welcome discussion. Just PM us anytime.

With Love, respect for all, passion for dance and music,

we will see you all soon! Take care and stay safe.

Posted May 2 2020

We are excited to one day dance with you again! Here is what we have been doing in the past 2 months:

Almost every day we have been working around the hall on painting, renovations, and overall look of the hall. We are still closed until further notice but frequently go to our Facebook group and page to get the latest updates and classes online.

Stay safe and keep practicing! We will see each other again!

Posted March 13 2020

Hello everyone.

First of all, we want to thank everyone for their support and patience in this difficult time with all the dance clubs. As one of the long-standing dance clubs in our community, I can tell you that this is unprecedented. It is hard to know when to keep things running because you all love it as much as we do. Or when our safety is at risk. Well now is that time.

Suburban Swing has decided to close its doors after many consultations with the other organizers in our community and follow suit with the group decision. This was not an easy decision but it had to be made. Dancing and the people that come is often the best part of our week.

If you have workshops you have paid for, we are working on the solution. Right now we will credit you for the next workshops when this can be offered. You will not lose the value of your expenses. We will make it right one way or another. In saying that, give us all some time to work this out.

We know you love it and we want you not to lose hope. Because of this, we have asked our most recent instructors from our events to provide online instruction for you. We ask that if there is any cost that this may incur, that you think about paying the fee. These people have dedicated their entire lives to this passion and sharing this with you. Think of the money that you would have spent at our dance clubs as an opportunity now to purchase amazing online instruction from a dance teacher that you connect with. They will remember you all for this and you will receive all the benefits of these personal passions.

There are so many instructors out there right now doing online work! Here are the following links for some of the instructors we have reached out to and there will be more added as we get them:

Matt Richey It's All Swing
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhIBKDbncDsX0mEI5ZzlEQ…

https://itsallswing.dance/…

Rusty Frank Rustys Lets Dance

https://rustysdanceshop.com/…

Peter Flahiff Lauren Smith
https://www.facebook.com/PeterandLauren/

Mikey Pedroza
https://www.facebook.com/mikey.pedroza

Stephen Sayer and Chandrae Gomez

https://www.lajitterbug.com/…

Jovon Millar
https://www.facebook.com/jovonmillerproductionsdancecompany/

Chester A. Whitmore
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=769039249

KSENIA PARKHATSKAYA

https://secretsofsolo.com/

BC HEALTH ORDERS