Social distancing and ballroom dancing don't go hand in hand but this hasn't stopped intrepid dancers in Italy from twirling their way through much of the coronavirus pandemic, albeit with precautions.
Couples at the New Dancing Days hall on the outskirts of Rome are preparing for the Italian championships in July, having been granted special permission to practise by the Italian government.
The exemption was justified as being in the national interest, a principle which has allowed federally recognised competitive athletes in Italy to train throughout the pandemic.
“Yes, we can do it. Here we can keep on dancing,” said Raffaella Serafini, the 45-year-old owner of New Dancing Days and a 35-year veteran of competitive ballroom dancing.
In the huge hall with mirrors on the walls and multicoloured lights, couples wear masks during warm-ups but are allowed to remove them while performing traditional ballroom or Latin dances. Most dancers keep them on anyway.
“It’s something beautiful for us because we’re older but we can still put ourselves in play,” said Franco Cauli, a 70-year-old dancer who along with his 74-year-old partner is training for a competition at the end of April.
He said he felt safe with the health protocols taken by the school, measures that participants respect.
The Italian Dance Sport Federation said 34 athletes are allowed to train in a school the size of New Dancing Days, recognising that continuity in practice is necessary. There are 17 couples, aged nine to 76, who train up to five days a week.
From a viewing spot above the dance floor, Ms Serafini keeps an eye on her twirling students and shouts directions. If she sees something wrong, she’ll stop the music, go down to the dance floor and demonstrate the correct way to execute a step, pose or twirl.
“The school is my great pride. When I see them on the dance floor, it is like I am there,” she said.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
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