Downtown Dance

Covid-19 Studio Protocols:

• Face Masks Mandatory for Everyone

• Private Lessons Available.

10/10/2021 - Transition

Who knew this transition would be harder that we thought it would be… with that being said, we want to thank everyone who has reached out to us. For those with words of encouragement and for those reaching out for lessons, if we haven’t gotten back to you we are very sorry. We are in the process of finding another space to continue to teach private lessons only. There is still so much to do! We do want to let everyone know as time goes on we do want to have group lessons and dances. We miss everyone so much! We can not wait to see everyone out on the dance floor and will be keeping our website and social media up to date with any lessons/events of interest and places John Piper might be teaching as many have expressed interested in knowing. Thank you everyone for your continued support and patience!

8/18/2021 - Closing Current Space

We have been so fortunate to have been able to live our dream of dance over the last four years as owners of Downtown Dance Chico. It has been such a blessing to share something we love with a community of truly beautiful humans. We have now come to a decision as a family that continuing to run our partner dance studio in such uncertain times is no longer viable. With the raise in Covid cases, yet again, we can no longer guarantee the safety of our community. This doesn’t discount the support of so many people who vigorously gave of their time, energy, and resources. For the countless people who have supported us, we will always be grateful and filled with joy by the graciousness that you have shown our family. 

We know that dance itself is great for mental, physical, and emotional health. Partner dance, however, has a special way of bringing people from various backgrounds, ideology, and experiences together in such a genuine and disarmed way. This has been the central premise in our desire to teach partnership and build community. In a world with many reasons to be in conflict, dance has been a refuge of togetherness. To bring people together and to share a little more love in the world is our life's passion and will continue to be so as we move into the next stage of life. 

We will continue to hold classes until August 31st with limited class sizes, there will be no social dances. Through the month of September we will be open for private lessons and private practice sessions. For those of you who have purchased loyalty cards and will be unable to use them before the end of this month we will be accepting their use toward private lessons as well as private practice time. Feel free to email us at DowntownDanceChico@gmail.com to set up private lessons or practice times. This isn’t necessarily the end of our involvement in dance in Chico but instead the end of us running a dance studio. Make sure to follow our instagram and FB to keep up to date on dance opportunities moving forward. With a very heavy heart we offer the deepest gratitude and aloha. Thank you for this amazing ride.

8/13/2021 - Social Dancing Cancelled

As of tonight Social Dancing is going to be put on hold. We will come out with another announcement soon regarding social dancing.

7/30/2021 - Mandatory Masks for All

We have been following the advice of experts to determine the safest way to keep our community dancing for the duration of the pandemic and are committed to continuing doing so. Our County has been put into the substantial risk of spreading Covid category according to CDC metrics. We will be asking all dancers, vaccinated or not to wear masks for our activities. We appreciate all the support we have received in keeping dance alive in Chico and look forward to continuing to be able to do so as safely as possible.

6/21/2021 - Group Lessons and Social Dancing Galore!

We are opening up for social dancing and a opening up for a higher capacity in our group lessons. In order to help us maintain a safe dance space please do not come to the studio if you have recently had a fever or cough. Face masks are required for all unvaccinated participates. Fully vaccinated people may choose to participate in activities without a mask.

5/14/2021 - Group Classes Returning!

As we work to stay up to date on all the CDC, state and local guidelines we are opening to offer group classes! These group classes currently will be limited in size and will require pre-registration. Registration will be updated every week to sign up for that weeks classes. Masks are still required for all at this time. As we open up and offer more classes and hopefully dances soon we will continue to update our website and social media. We are still open for private lessons and dance practice. Text us at 530-518-9654; email DowntownDanceChico@gmail.com

1/13/2021 - Stay at Home Orders LIFTED!

It is with so much joy that we announce that the stay at home order has been lifted for Butte County and we are allowed to reopen at a limited capacity. We are currently open for private lessons and private dance practices! Contact us to set up private lessons or for a time slot for practice! Text 530-518-9654 email DowntownDanceChico@gmail.com

12/10/20 - Statewide Stay at Home Orders

With the recent statewide and county orders we are following CA and Butte County guidelines to shut down for at least the next 3 weeks. We are following the news closely and will alert everyone once we are able to reopen to our previous limited capacity. We want to thank everyone who has supported us this far. We could not have stayed open these almost 10 months into a pandemic without YOU. We will continue to fight as we see light at the end of the tunnel. The most important thing to us is everyone stays safe. We have been very blessed in our dance community with health. I know many others are struggling. We will be together again on the dance floor and stronger for it. We love you all and if you feel compelled to donate you can do so on our website> Pricing> Online Store. THANK YOU all again.

12/2/2020 - Keeping Moving, Keep Dancing!

We haven’t provided much of an update because honestly not much has changed! We have continued to schedule private lessons and rent space out for practice time. We plan on continuing to be open for these options until there are mandatory shutdowns which due to a recent update on the numbers for Covid-19 in California and in Butte County we do expect to happen. We will continue to put our community first and will follow any guidelines that are put forth to keep everyone safe. We are keeping a close eye on Butte County Health and CDC guidelines. We would like to urge everyone to do their part to get through this winter. We do see a light at the end of the tunnel! We can not wait to see everyone on the dance floor again. The best way to get ahold of us to schedule private lessons or practice time is via email DowntownDanceChico@gmail.com. You can always call/text message us at 530-518-9654.

07/23/2020-Online Content, Moving Forward!
Let’s Practice!

Since the roll back of opening Butte County and being put on the Governor’s watch list we have been struggling with online classes. We explored different platforms for displaying our online content and ultimately some sort of Patreon just isn’t for us. We have settled on weekly uploaded videos to YouTube/Instagram/Facebook across different dance styles. We will be supplementing with fun interactive zoom calls where we do get to connect live, answer any questions from the previous videos and get suggestions on other videos/dance styles/moves you would like to see. All announcements/links for our live Zoom calls will be located on our schedule on our website and will be announced via social media. We are open for studio practice time and private lessons! Please take this time to work on and take care of yourself and if that means dance let us be apart of that. This all happens because of you. Your feedback is much appreciated. We will be in touch and see you on the screen soon! - The Pipers

07/16/2020 - Closing Group Classes, Opening Up Practice Time and Private Lessons!

We have made the hard decision to move to online group classes only until further notice. We are anticipating Butte County to end up on the governors watch list any day now and with everyone’s safety in mind we felt this was the only responsible decision. We are taking through the weekend to roll out an online platform for our group classes that will have solo and partner dance lessons for all our dance styles. Tonight (Thursday 7/16) and Tomorrow (Friday 7/17) we will have zoom lessons. Those links will be released soon for those interested in participating through social media and our schedule on our website DowntownDanceChico.com. We also want to reach out and say thank you. This isn’t an easy time for us to be honest. Times are uncertain of course and as a Small Business we feel very vulnerable. We want to make this transition to online classes as smooth as possible and provide joy and support through our online content. We will still be open for private lessons and practice time. Reach out to us for information and scheduling.

6/09/2020-WE ARE OPENING & Have some great news!

(We know this post is long but it is packed with some really good information)

These past few months have required us to all care for each other by self quarantine and social distancing. This has meant that for so many of us who find friendship, joy and meaning through partner dance that we have been missing something that we hold dear. Downtown Dance has received authorization, through our County and State health authorities, to reopen.

This of course is not the same dance world that we left behind on March 12th 2020. We are required to follow protocols on physical distancing and sanitation. Downtown Dance and more specifically the Piper family are dedicated to providing the safest possible environment that we are able to which means that we will be implementing new protocols to ensure we accomplish this goal. We will be requiring masks for all students and teachers as well as an entirely different schedule (link to schedule) and reduced class sizes to accommodate spacing. Please bring your own mask as we do not have enough to pass out to those that do not bring one.

Currently we have measured enough space to accommodate 8 students (4 leaders and 4 followers) and our instructor(s). This means that all classes will require online pre registration (link here) to help ensure people aren’t showing up to classes that have already filled up. Due to our need to preregister online we cannot accept Loyalty Cards or All Access Passes but will of course honor them once stage 4 has opened. (Thank you to those who supported us and bought Loyalty Cards on our online store while we have been closed.) We are currently working on a Patreon for those that are not yet ready to leave the house but still want the class information and/or would like to help support us.

Finally we are so happy to announce that we are moving to a new location! As of July 1st Downtown Dance Chico will be moving to a larger location which is located on the corner of 3rd and Main above Woodstock’s Pizza. 240 Main St. It is an absolutely beautiful space with lots of windows! We have been looking for the past year for a new location which will better support our growing dance community and we have found it. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and reached out, it has meant so much. We look forward to being a part of the Chico dance community for many years to come.

Side Note: Please be patient with us as we know these are not ideal circumstances. We will be working out the kinks of online registration as we go and will add classes if necessary. Not accepting Loyalty Cards at this time we know will be frustrating but we appreciate the support during this difficult time. We will be making announcements/updates on Facebook and Instagram but our website will be the place to find all the current and up to date information as a whole.

-The Pipers