Poll: When Would You Be Willing to Go Swing Dancing Again?
In this era of COVID-19, I feel like partner dancing will probably be one of the last activities that will resume in a way that we remember it. It’s hard to imagine a worse activity in a pandemic: physical touch and moderate-to-heavy physical activity with multiple partners in a packed room.
Still, many of us are itching to get back out on the dance floor. No one can say when that will happen, but I thought it would be interesting to get a feel for how dancers feel about this.
This poll is specifically about when you’d return to Swing dancing in a large public venue while dancing with a lot of partners, and potentially some strangers, the same we we used to do before COVID-19.
So here’s how you responded:
When would you be willing go Swing dancing at a large public venue such as Clifton''s, PBDA, Rusty's, or Atomic Ballroom and dance with friends and strangers again?
- Never (1%, 5 Votes)
- Only after there's a COVID-19 vaccine, and there's been plenty of time for a lot of people to get it. (31%, 190 Votes)
- Only after there's a COVID-19 vaccine (22%, 132 Votes)
- By the end of the year (16%, 95 Votes)
- In a month or so (6%, 39 Votes)
- In a few weeks (4%, 23 Votes)
- I'd go now (20%, 120 Votes)
Total Voters: 604
Loading ...Some people have asked if the hypothetical conditions in my poll would include mandatory mask-wearing or not. Since I didn’t specify, please answer with the soonest that you’d go out, and put your mask or no mask conditions in the comments below!
Finally – please do not criticize people for their answers in the comments if you disagree with them. This is just a poll! – Brian
Please Leave a Question or Comment
I would probably start with line dancing in a huge parking lot with everyone wearing mask and gloves. The gloves could be vintage type not latex. When this is over I will probably still wear a mask and gloves until there is no more infections.
I’m going to make a mask of half my face! So I still look a little like myself
i miss Joe’s!!!
swing lives in my ‘girls just wanna have fun’ spirit!
solo jazz is huge than I ever knew! I like the idea of solo dance outdoors til vaccine.
maybe forehead temp checks wd help us before then.
we mostly need more data. who gets it, where? random or patterns? oddly tho I’m seeing zero good new helpful data since the early period when we were in dire times and data was hard to get. now its much quieter. data easy to get. yet nothing. how many outdoor transmissions in the US? zero data on all such questions! if they did their jobs we might see ways we cd safely dance.
Vaccines are not always that effective, especially in the area of colds and viruses, they can’t be relied on as a cure all at this point, some of the manufacturers have said as much. I was dancing with in crowded spaces 4 nights a week, all through the winter and got a strange flu late January, most people I knew got it, it hit the lungs and most people I know ended up with a lingering cough. And then we all got over it. Could this have been the corona virus? Many people think so and a study out of Santa Clara would back that up. If this is true, then maybe many of us could probably just go ahead and dance at some point. The longer we stay sequestered, the more at risk our dance scene is, our beloved bars, hangouts, musicians and venues will go of business permanently. I bring this up as a food for thought because in the act of trying to be “safe”, our culture, our small businesses, people’s livelihoods, the pleasure of living life is being sacrificed. At what point do we draw the line? Whatever decision you all make, you are going to lose something…losing the vibrancy of our swing dance scene is a huge loss to be considered as well. Maybe there is a middle ground…
Yes! Let’s live life again! You made some excellent points!
I won’t start my dances again until a proven vaccine and an overall consensus that it’s safe without a mask and people are comfortable HUGGING again.
Jonathan (Santa Barbara)
Thanks for commenting Jonathan! It’s good to hear the opinion of a dance instructor!
Best,
Brian
You forgot, “I don’t know.” ;)
If I end up testing positive for antibodies, I’d personally probably be ready now. For a local dance, if the new daily infection rate in the area goes way down, I might consider attending but otherwise, once I’ve received the vaccine.
Its a fascinating sociological experience we are going through. It illuminates how average people with no medical expertise join hand in hand with some politicians and believe they are somehow qualified to disavow the rock hard opinion of medical specialists who have made a career of studying infectious diseases. You can call it the politicization of science – a very dangerous exercise. As much as I desperately miss dancing, I don’t miss it enough to risk catching or inadvertently spreading this nasty disease. I will jump back in the water when the medical experts say it is safe to do so.
For the safety of those debating this for themselves, something that should be made clear is that masks will not solve this situation. If you want to dance, that is your choice, but you should know the risks.
The only masks that work in that kind of close quarters situation is an N-95 or higher rating. Lower than that and the viral particles will escape in significant amounts. Most people don’t have that right now. They just have stitched cloth, bandanas, or the flimsy surgical masks that do not stop airborne micro droplets.
Even while wearing top rated N-95 and P-100 medical masks, doctors and nurses still are catching the virus and dying from it.
Also, these medical masks are designed for normal breathing conditions, not for intense physical exertion. For one, the virus is going to be pumped out the sides of the mask due to heavy breathing, even with an N-95. For another, the person wearing the mask will not be able to breath well, and will be tempted to remove the mask to catch their breath. I see it happen all the time when I am out. People pull it down from their nose because it’s uncomfortable, which defies the whole purpose.
That being said, a T-shirt in a blizzard is better than being shirtless. Any mask, no matter the quality, will reduce the amount virus expelled and inhaled. Research shows that a smaller initial dose increases the time for the virus to multiply to the point overwhelming the body. Just like with monetary investment, the larger starting amount determines how long till you reach a certain amount. This longer delay gives your body more time to analyze the virus and create more antibodies to neutralize it, which gives you a better chance at survival.
A common misconception about this virus is that it only affects the very old. Diabetics are at a much higher risk, regardless of age, as are those who are overweight, and many people in their 40s and 50s have died.
Additionally, most statistics bifurcate the issue into dead and not dead. “Survival” does not guarantee a good outcome. Their is lasting damage in some cases. Just this past week, a 20-year old had a double lung transplant because the virus basically melted her lungs and fused them onto her chest cavity. There are many reports of significant tissue damage to the point of there being literal holes in patient’s lungs because the tissue has died. This can result in reduced lung capacity, and consequently diminished capacity for physical exertion.
While this virus is transmitted via the respiratory system, that is just the gateway. Once inside the body, it migrates through the blood and infects the other organs, including the brain in some cases. It also attacks the vessels themselves, leading to cellular debris in the blood, triggering clotting cascades that plug the capillaries, leading to lack of oxygen in all the tissues so that the body slowly suffocates. The beginning stages are exhibited externally by something they have termed “COVID-toes”, where the tissue on the feet begins to die, much like frostbite.
Comparisons to the common flu are completely inaccurate. The variety of organs this virus attacks is unlike any respiratory disease of which I am aware. We simply don’t know the long term effects of this thing.
Most (80%) who exhibit symptoms seem to be “okay”. (Read that twice. I’m being specific with my language.) Of those who do show symptoms, about 20% will need hospital care. Some will never experience any symptoms at all, but that percentage of the total infected is still unclear. (Again, I’m being specific with my language.)
If you are in the “at risk” categories, I suggest you view it as if you got a sports injury and the doctor said you need to heal for a year. People do it all the time. They lived. Hopefully you will too.
*breathe well
IF everybody wore masks, there’s no reason not to.
Otherwise, unfortunately, it’s not safe.
I really wonder about putting any stock in any vaccine they come up with ;my friend that are actually in the field say this thing is mutating like crazy. so if they came up with vaccine A – it wouldn’t do anything for B-z.
If you are sick or taking precautions about getting sick… good for you. As for me LETS DANCE.
PS if it was REALLY all about social distancing and masks and it was REALLY that scary do you think the CDC and the WHO would have stood by ideally while those protests went on over the unfortunate death of that 5 time arrested guy? Talk about breaking all the rules, and if it’s true – those protesters single handedly forced the rest of us into complete quarantie as soon as that starts showing up this week and next.
I completely agree! We’ve been held hostage under false pretences for too long. Let’s dance!!!