What’s the hand hygiene policy at your dance studio? Has it changed in light of recent news stories?

Many types of clogging dances call for holding hands and sometimes switching partners repeatedly.

Tuesday night class for Fancy Free Cloggers includes dances like this one with a big group finish.

We sometimes throw on the Virginia reel for a fun and easy social dance and in preparation to travel to Hoedown Island.

Can’t leave out those fun partner dances like “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Twist and Shout.”

Evie’s year-round policy requires cloggers to visit the hand sanitizer station following every dance with direct contact. She keeps the station fully stocked, making this a quick and automatic process.

At the time of this writing, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ohio. However, local stores are limiting purchases of certain products to avoid running out. A major event that draws huge crowds each year in Columbus is canceled this week amid health concerns. A conference I’m attending next month is already advising participants to avoid shaking hands at the event.

Until further notice, there is no hand-holding in recreational clogging class at Fancy Free Studio.

Evie made the announcement Tuesday. Dancers spent the rest of class creating fun methods to comply with the new policy. “Cotton-Eyed Joe” was a hit with arms crossed in front.

Dinosaur arms kept us smiling through “Twist and Shout.”

Teapot arms and a cool wave motion also made an appearance. This creative bunch is sure to develop more variations next week.

For the cloggers out there who detest hand motions, my teammate has a solution for you!

(ALL the expected disclaimers apply to this post: I am NOT a physician, this is NOT to be taken as medical advice, etc., etc. I am merely reporting the measures my team is taking at this time and wondering what other teams are doing.)

What is the hand hygiene policy at YOUR dance studio?