Milwaukee Ballet
Please call the School & Academy Team at (414)-334-1114 to report COVID-19 related symptoms, close contact cases, or positive test results.
All absences should also be reported using our online Absence Report Form or by calling (414)-902-2150.
Milwaukee Ballet is committed to creating a safe and healthy training environment for our students, staff and families. These protocols are created specifically for Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy by Milwaukee Ballet’s Health & Safety Committee in accordance with medical advice, CDC and OSHA guidance, and other National, State and local advice.
Please carefully review our Health & Safety protocols which include general guidelines for attending classes, as well as our protocols in the event of COVID-19 symptoms or potential cases.
Arrival Procedures
Students may begin to enter the building through the main/front entrance no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the scheduled class time. Family, friends and visitors will not be admitted into the buildings. Parents are to remain in their cars during their student’s class. Exceptions will be made for one parent/guardian per family for students in Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes if necessary. All guests must properly wear a face mask at all times within the building and follow all health and safety policies, including social distancing.
All students are required to wear a mask in all areas of the building and during classes.
All students must use the assigned entry and exit doors, stairs, corridors, and studios for their class while remaining 6+ feet apart for social distancing. Specific arrival and departure details will be sent prior to the first day of class, and instructors will monitor entry and exits from then on.
Students will bring all their belongings (except street shoes) directly into the studio, as the locker and dressing rooms remain closed.
All students in Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, and Ballet I through IV will be escorted out by a MBSA faculty member.
Attendance Guidelines
Regardless of vaccination status, students should not come to class if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or if they are experiencing any possible symptoms of COVID-19, including:
Wearing a mask is mandatory at all times in the building for students, staff, faculty, and guests. Neck cloths and masks with valves are not permitted.
A minimum of 6 feet physical distancing will be maintained throughout, including on stairwells, in corridors, and in studios.
Students must arrive already dressed in their dance clothes under street clothes and wearing a mask.
If students are carpooling, they should wear a mask during the ride to and from the studio.
Parents/guardians are unable to accompany their students into the building, except for students in Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes.
Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy reserves the right to determine that a student is not able to participate in class if symptoms are present. The decision to admit a student to the building rests solely with Milwaukee Ballet faculty and staff.
Water drinking fountains will be closed, but bottle refill stations will remain open. Bring water in a reusable bottle.
If a student needs a mask break during class, they should ask their teacher to go to the designated mask break area.
Cleaning Protocols
Milwaukee Ballet is implementing CDC recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting a facility.
Surfaces are pre-cleaned with soap and water, then an EPA-registered surface disinfectant (List N) will be used, approved for use against SARS-CoV-2.
Staff will regularly clean high-touch areas.
Ballet barres will be cleaned between each class. Studio floors will be mopped with denatured alcohol between each class.
There are no soft surfaces in common areas. Chairs will be regularly disinfected.
Sanitizing stations are installed throughout the building, including at the entrance.
Use of the elevator is banned unless necessary for ADA purposes.
Our HVAC system is a Variable Air Volume (VAV) system that keeps our building at 40-60% humidity, allows additional in-flow and exhaust in our studios, and isolation of studios if required. Air filters have been improved to MERV13.
Response Protocols
If a student is identified as symptomatic during the program, they will be promptly isolated away from other students, faculty and staff.
The student’s parents/guardians will be advised immediately, and they will be required to leave the building as soon as possible (unless emergency medical services required).
The student and family will seek medical care on their own.
Those considered in “close contact” with the student will be advised, including their class group. Close contact is defined by CDC as being within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes total, regardless of masking. Close contact generally does not include brief interactions, such as walking past a person.
Classes may be immediately suspended as a matter of safety, pending further details.
Milwaukee Ballet will notify local health officials to determine a course of action, including duration of potential quarantine.
The student who is symptomatic cannot return to the program until they have completed a 10-day quarantine and are no longer exhibiting symptoms.
The building will be deep cleaned within the period of time deemed acceptable by local health officials.
Q&As
Q. When can a student return to MBSA after illness?
A. If a student has an alternate cause of illness that has been found and treated, such as strep throat, mono, kidney infection, asthma problems, etc., they may return to classes with a doctor’s note. COVID-19 symptoms require home isolation for at least 10 days from the start of symptoms, and to be symptom free for 3 days.
Q. What if you have symptoms but do not test positive?
A. Questionable symptoms with a negative COVID-19 test will require a student to isolate at home until symptoms have resided.
Q. How long does my student need to stay home if they tested positive OR a doctor said they likely have COVID-19?
A. If your student has symptoms they should stay at home and away from others until all four of the following have occurred:
Q. Can my child continue attending class with symptoms or after exposure if they are fully vaccinated?
A. The CDC defines people to be fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series (such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines) or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, (such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine). Regardless of vaccination status, all students, faculty, and staff are required to practice all of Milwaukee Ballet’s health and safety protocols listed above, including when tested positive for COVID-19, potentially exposed to a positive COVID-19 case, or when experiencing potential COVID-19 symptoms.
If you have a question that has not been answered after reviewing these Health & Safety Protocols, please reach out to MBSA General Manager Kristin Dimmer at kdimmer@milwaukeeballet.org.