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Once Just for Business, Virtual Meetups Offer Social Lifeline During Pandemic

Matt Dibble

   SAN FRANCISCO, CA'¯ - Madison Keesler clears furniture and pets from
   the living room, while Benjamin Freemantle chomps on a banana topped
   with peanut butter.The two, who live together, are preparing to dance
   with dozens of other membersof the
   San'¯Francisco'¯Balletcompanycurrently sequestered throughout the city
   and around the world.

   Since shelter-in-place rules'¯went into effectthree weeks
   ago,the'¯company'¯has met'¯virtually-by'¯videochat-for its daily class.
   Once used mostly for corporate meetings, video conferences
   havesuddenlybecome the lifeline connecting isolated friends,
   co-workers, andfamily members.

   "A'¯ballet company in particular, the people you work with and
   especially thedancers,'¯they become like family,"'¯says Keesler who is
   a soloist with the company. The abrupt cancellation of performances
   andloss of the daily ritual and camaraderie has been challenging.

   "So at least this'¯offers'¯waking up, turning on your computer and you
   still get to chat with them and see them a little bit,"'¯she says.

   The virtual classes, which the companyhas beensharingpublicly, havealso
   been a comfort to thousands of fans, deprived of aperformanceseason
   butnow given access to an intimate view of dancers at work in kitchens,
   bedrooms and hallways.

   "People really want to know who the dancers are, and you just
   don't'¯get to know that on stage,"'¯says Freemantle, a principal dancer
   with the company."So'¯even just this little glimpse into your living
   room or something where, I think you get to see a little bit of who
   that person is."'¯

   "You also get to see whoare the real ballet nerds, with the ballet
   barre bolted into the wall," chuckles Freemantle, whois improvising
   with kitchen chairs forthe moment.

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