Frontline health-care workers join virtual National Ballet of Canada class

Health-care workers learn ballet on their break Health-care workers are just some of the people watching and taking part in virtual classes being broadcast by National Ballet of Canada.

TORONTO — Like so many others during the COVID-19 pandemic, dancers from the National Ballet of Canada are staying home and learning how to work in a new space.

“We converted our guest bedroom into sort of a small dance studio,” Brendan Saye, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada said.

“We’re used to dancing in big open rooms, with 50 or 60 other people,” added Donald Thom, a first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada. “But the National Ballet has been really supportive and offers us dance classes every day.”

Before long, Saye and Thom were livestreaming dance classes of their own on the National Ballet of Canada’s social media feeds, allowing hundreds of fans to watch and dance alongside them.

Later, they learned that a group of medical professionals was participating in the lesson from one of the city’s hospitals.

“Someone we know is a respiratory therapist at Toronto General in the ICU, and he played our livestream,” Thom told CTV News Toronto. “That was kind of amazing, the frontline workers to be joining in with us that way.”

Philip Ma, respiratory therapist and head of the critical care response team at Toronto General Hospital, shared a few photos of the frontline health-care workers enjoying the ballet class on their break.

“It was a fantastic time,” Ma said. “It was a good way to just in your downtime decompress from the things that you’re working with in the intensive care unit.”

Ma said he also took the class, which led to a few laughs.

“I actually tried a plie and split my pants because scrubs don’t stretch very well!” he says.

When Saye and Thom caught wind of the fact that the staff at Toronto General were dancing with them, they said it was “emotional.”

“It’s a really nice way to share our two things in this really hard time,” Thom said.

“It’s nice to know that they were able to take a break,” Saye added. “And just dance and enjoy themselves and laugh.”

The National Ballet of Canada says they will be providing gratitude classes for frontline workers, as well as first responders.

Saye and Thom said they will take a short break and do an Instagram baking session live on Friday night, they say it’s the dancing that has established community and togetherness during this COVID-19 pandemic.

“Dance is, by nature, it just sort of releases endorphins and brings joy,” Saye said. “It’s amazing to see the impact that dance can have, even in these bizarre circumstances.”

As for Ma, he said he and his colleagues will keep taking the Instagram lessons as long as they are offered, as they bring his team positivity in a difficult time.

“There’s definitely good days. There’s also some bad days,” Ma said. “But we’re really good at taking care of each other.”