Mask on the mixer – in some places you can dance again.
Photo: dpa/Philipp von Ditfurth
From this weekend you can dance again in clubs, at dance evenings and balls – although not yet in all federal states and not everywhere under the same conditions. How is the events industry doing after two years of pandemic? »We would all be dead if it hadn’t been for the relatively good help. In Germany, they were better than in most neighboring countries,” explains Axel Ballreich from LiveKomm, the association of music venues in Germany, when asked by “nd”. The industry association represents around 750 member companies nationwide, including clubs and event agencies that organize large festivals. Support flowed in the form of bridging aid or as part of the New Culture program. And there was also specific help in the federal states – Ballreich praised the programs in Berlin and Bavaria. According to the LiveKomm board and co-founder, most organizers have survived the crisis well so far.
Ballreich’s assessment of how business will get going again is somewhat more cautious. He cannot yet say whether the status of 2018/19 will soon be available again. The older age group in particular is very insecure, especially when it comes to indoor events. While younger dance and party lovers are already booking here again, the older ones are still holding back. So far, the advance sale for festivals in summer that take place outdoors has apparently been well received.
According to Ballreich, there are some business closures, but “not a giant wave yet.” It is also not clear how club and concert life, which is now possible again, will start because the requirements in the federal states are very different are. In Lower Saxony, clubs and discotheques are not allowed to reopen at all, elsewhere everything possible applies, including 2G++ (additional negative quick test also for those who have been boosted). While the clubs can get started quickly, a longer lead time is required for the concerts, as there have been many postponements in the last two years. “It will probably only start up again indoors in the autumn, probably with an overcrowded program,” assumes Ballreich, who himself runs a concert agency and a music club in Nuremberg.
The situation for the dance schools is a little more serious. According to Christian Götsch, managing director of the Swinging World dance school association, after two years of the pandemic, it is “difficult to dramatic”. In individual cases, it depends on how the schools deal with state aid. The first business closures are foreseeable, but: “The big wave of bankruptcies is yet to come,” fears Götsch. What has been lost in revenue over the past two years will not be easy to make up for. This also has to do with the cycles of the dance schools: “Participants for advanced courses come from the basic courses,” Götsch explains to the “nd”. If the basic courses cannot take place at all, there is no clientele for higher demands. The courses that are part of the basic business for many dance schools also had to be canceled for a long time: wedding or prom preparation lessons.
With the restart and the explicit permission to dance, various pandemic conditions still apply to dance schools in the federal states, for example the obligation to wear masks indoors. The mouth and nose protection can then be taken off temporarily, similar to in gastronomy or during sports – on the dance floor, but must be worn on the seat or on the way to the toilet. What that looks like when you put on make-up in front of the mirror has not yet been regulated.
Götsch and Swinging World President Christoph Möller agree that between eight and ten percent of the schools will give up. Your association has almost 600 member schools nationwide. One of the imponderables is how state aid can continue. Or what proportion of dance lessons that have not yet been redeemed but have already been booked and paid for have. For the dance schools, the classic wedding season starts in April, for which conditions are still to be expected. However, the main season for dance schools is the winter half-year.
Möller sees a fundamental problem: “Pandemic and socializing don’t go together, we’ve learned that in the last two years”. In view of the large halls and good ventilation technology, it should be possible to rebuild trust. Dance sport, no matter what level, is an important health factor for him. “It’s not just about exercise, it’s also about mental health.” And after two years of the pandemic, that should also be strengthened again.