BUDDING dancers are calling for guidance from the Scottish Government on when they can open their doors again.

Pubs, restaurants, cafes and shops throughout the country have reopened their doors in recent weeks as the coronavirus lockdown has been eased.

However, gyms, swimming pools and dance studios remain shut.

Gemma Knight, from Knight Fever Dance, has joined more than 100 dance schools across Scotland in getting in touch with the Government asking for an update.

The 34-year-old said: “I’m on a chat on Facebook with more than 200 dance schools across Scotland.

“We all feel a wee bit let down by the Government.

“We’ve never been recognised – it is either gyms or sports places – but dance studios have not been mentioned.”

Knight Fever Dance is based at Haddington Golf Club and was set up in August last year.

Since then, the dance school has grown from 30 children to 100 youngsters.

The dance school offers youngsters aged between three and 18 the chance to learn a variety of styles, including jazz, hip-hop, street dance, contemporary and more, as well as taking part in a number of competitions.

Gemma, who is originally from Musselburgh but now lives in Haddington, has taught dancing across the county for more than a decade.

She was keen to see the dance school reopened and said: “I’ve literally had so many parents asking ‘what’s going on?’

“We’re trying to gauge it with what is going on in England, where their studios opened on Monday.”

The dance school has linked up with similar facilities across the country to write to the Scottish Government.

The letter states: “The majority of our businesses work with children – the lowest risk people in this pandemic.

“Many of our classes can be run contactless (not all but most) or with minimal interaction; physical distancing can be achieved and where we have studios of our own we can plan for systems and processes to allow us to resume business with increased hygiene, as is being considered in the sports industry.

“Our students are missing out greatly on the health and mental wellbeing benefits of attending our classes.

“Many of us would have put on summer workshops and camps, something that could have helped bridge the gap over the summer prior to starting school in August.

“If outdoor ‘contact’ sports for children can resume now then why aren’t indoor non-contact activities being considered now with adequate guidance and dates?

“Why are those sectors being favoured over ours?

“Children who engage in contact sports currently have routes to better physical and mental wellbeing but those children who prefer to engage in other non-contact physical activities are not being considered.”

The issue was raised during a coronavirus briefing with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney MSP, Education Secretary, last Tuesday.

Ms Sturgeon did not give a date for when dance schools could reopen but hoped to give guidance around safety measures as quickly as possible.

She said: “We obviously want to see those who have been shielded get to live their lives more normally again and that central objective of getting schools back full time.

“These are the absolute priorities.

“Therefore that does mean that we will take a very cautious approach to any further opening up right now.

“I know that is really difficult for people who are in the sectors that cannot open right now and we will try to give certainty as soon as we can and as much certainty as we can but we cannot do everything all at once or we will very quickly compromise our ability to do the things that I think most people accept are the priorities, which is to get young people back to school.”