Since June 22, 2020, as part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the practice of contact sports, including that of couples’ dances, has been authorized. Except for Coco bongo. If customers were seduced by the gipsy and Latin atmosphere, the night bar, which has opened rue de Buffon, in Rouen, since July 2020, is already forced to close its doors, temporarily.
In fact, following a decision by the prefecture, dance lessons and musical performances taking place in the establishment are canceled. « It happened on a Wednesday evening, around 21 h, tell Matthias malhe, owner of Coco Bongo. Seventeen police officers arrived. They blocked the rooms, the clients and the staff, and checked the papers. At first, we thought they were looking for someone. They said there were a little too many people on the dance floor, so I split the group. Then the police left. They had, I quote : “No offense to be noted”. The next day, the prefecture sent me a formal notice. I had to suspend dance lessons and concerts. »
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Not a dance hall but good
a bar…
Matthias Malhe employs three people, whom he had to put on partial unemployment. « I was not given a choice. I made the decision to temporarily close my establishment because it was not profitable without the dance lessons. I am not making enough revenue to cover my fixed costs, personal rent, etc. There were a lot of people during these evenings. It was always full. After five months of work, it felt good to fill the boxes a little. »
And the owner does not know when he will be able to welcome his customers again, who show him their support, in particular through messages left on the bar’s Facebook page. « It fell on us overnight. We are in the process of finding out. We even posted videos that showed the dancers with masks over their mouths. Because unlike dance schools, in which wearing a mask is optional, I made it compulsory. And a receptionist ensured that the sanitary rules were respected », he is indignant.
A decision that also deplores David Leroy, one of the Latin dance teachers who ran dance classes every other week. He specifies that it is in no way a dancing or a disco. « The dance parties organized at Coco Bongo are dance lessons, not a place where people rub and jump without masks and without distancing, he emphasizes. Participants had to respect sanitary measures. » Namely the wearing of the compulsory mask, the use of hydroalcoholic gel and no obligation to change partners … « This is confusing the free dance activity, which is prohibited, with dance lessons which are authorized, insists David Leroy. The classes had been taking place since July 4, that is to say from the time when the French Federation of Dance gave official authorization. »
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Customers must be seated
However, decree 2020-860 of July 10, 2020, which prescribes the general measures necessary to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic in territories that have emerged from the state of health emergency, provides for the conditions under which establishments receiving members of the public can exercise their activity. For restaurants and drinking establishments (the classification of Coco Bongo), it is in particular specified that the clientele must be seated, excluding, in fact, any dance activity …
Moreover, the prefecture indicates that the establishment had been informed by email on June 24, 2020, indicating that in view of the current health crisis, only its drinking business could be exploited, subject to compliance with health measures.
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What about dance schools?
Sarah Savoye, director of Danse Savoye school, located rue de Crosne in Rouen, is preparing for the start of the school year, scheduled in a few days.
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« The proximity required by couple dancing is a real problem for me, ethically and humanly speaking., she begins. We will therefore take preventive measures. For example, the number of participants will be restricted. People who do not come as a couple must wear the mask, and I will phone them to remind them that they will dance with a stranger, whose lifestyle they do not know. The learning of the variations will be done in a decomposed way, and the dancers will be spaced, in lines. No change of partner will be allowed. » However, she is awaiting decisions that could be taken by the government following the evolution of the epidemic. « We have a list with the names of the dancers. If there is a case, we can report it », underlines the director.
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“People pay attention”
To the Germain dance centers de Laëtitia and Nadège Blanchet, located rue de la Chaîne and rue de Cauville, the co-director Laëtitia Blanchet is more serene. « We have already resumed 15 days in July, and everything went very well, she describes. I have no apprehension. People pay attention. They wash their hands before changing partners. Although wearing a mask is optional, all dancers are aware of the risks. We have to show solidarity, and it will be for the best. »
It has also organized a free recovery course for members, so that they return peacefully to the practice.
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