Dancer in the Pandemic

Nineteen-year-old Soraya Nathasya Dwinandry is a ballet dancer and teacher from Namarina Dance Academy. The ballet school, the oldest in Jakarta, is closed during the pandemic, but Miss Asya, as she is known by her pupils, continues to teach her classes via the teleconference app Zoom from her home in Cinere, Depok, just south of Jakarta. 

Asya has been teaching the online classes since the Jakarta provincial government started imposing a large-scale social restriction (PSBB) in the city in the beginning of April.

"At first we did the class on Instagram TV, but once the government decided to extend the PSBB, we started using Zoom," Asya said after finishing a session with her pre-primary class – young dancers between 5 and 9 years old – on Wednesday. 

"The online classes have been going very well. We give the children choreographies they can practice at home. The exercise also keeps them healthy," Asya said.

Asya, the first Indonesian ballerina to have entered the finals of the Royal Academy of Dance of London's Genée International Ballet Competition, teaches her online classes from her living room in Cinere with the same professionalism she always shows on stage.

She always wears a leotard and pointe shoes during class. She also decorates the room to resemble a Namarina classroom.

Asya teaches her online class several days a week from 4.30 to 5.30 p.m. Each class has up to 20 students. After a short break, Asya continues with her own online classes to practice her repertoire and keep herself in shape.