The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Cover Stories

What Area Restaurants Are Doing for the Holiday Season In Light of COVID

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Editor’s Note: The challenges to restauranteurs continue as a new wave (and anticipated) spike in COVID strikes across the country, including New York, and here in Westchester County too. After we went to press with our editions with Stacey Pfeffer’s story which follows, Governor Cuomo issued a new order for statewide SLA, State Liquor Authority, licensed establishments (i.e. these are primarily bars and restaurants) to close their doors at 10 p.m.. “In theory, indoor dining, outdoor dining, you’re at a table, Cuomo stated, “You only take down the mask to eat or drink, but what happens is that setting is very hard to police; it’s very hard for people to maintain the discipline of sitting there eating and drinking and chatting and having a good time and laughing and keeping a mask on.” 

Will local restaurants be using yurts to keep worried diners eating outside as the weather turns cooler? Just as some New York City restaurants have done as the holiday season approaches, area restaurants are looking for ways to attract diners while keeping them safe and also offer enhanced catering/take-out options during the Thanksgiving-New Year period. The statistics for the restaurant industry have been grim since COVID hit with one in six restaurants nationwide shutting their doors according to the National Restaurant Association and more are expected in the coming months.

The restaurant industry in Westchester is under different guidelines than New York City with regards to indoor dining according to Natasha Caputo, Director of Westchester County’s Tourism & Film. While NYC restaurants cap indoor dining to 25 percent capacity, Westchester restaurants are allowed to host indoor diners at 50 percent capacity. But meeting that capacity is challenging even in times prior to COVID. The holiday season is traditionally a “win” or “loss” season with upscale dining establishments noticing as much as a 60 percent decline in profits during a holiday like Thanksgiving when many people choose to cook at home. In times of COVID, restaurants can also no longer rely on holiday office parties to boost revenue during the season.

So what’s a restaurant proprietor to do?

Beloved Chappaqua eatery Le Jardin du Roi has seen its share of challenges from construction downtown to devastating storms to COVID. Still they remain a popular restaurant with a loyal following and their outdoor patio area has always been a choice spot for dining during warmer weather. But as the weather was turning colder, General Manager Wendy Egan knew they had to act fast so they were lucky enough to secure a rental tent, which has been in short supply due to COVID. The tent has a special non-propane heater as well as two openings to ensure proper ventilation and the same rules for spacing out diners applies to the tent as it does to the indoor restaurant. We plan to have the tent out for as long as we can,” said Egan.

Tents do require town board approval which can be a timely process especially when your restaurant is housed in a historic stone train station like the Pleasantville restaurant, Pub Street. Chef/Co-owner Mogan Anthony is actively working to get a tent approved at Pub Street as of press time. He’s also busy planning special holiday menus for take-out that will be available to view online on the restaurant’s website at least ten days prior to the start of the holiday.

While restauranteurs have to cope with the additional costs of tents, sanitizer and heaters, indoors some have also had the extra expense of upgrading their HVAC systems to ensure customer safety. “We upgraded our system to include HEPA filters. Once more people realize that we have HEPA filters, we hope more customers will want to dine inside with us,” says Egan. In addition to dining on-site, Le Jardin du Roi has excellent catering capabilities to help customers get through the holidays including BBQ as well as seasonal favorites such as smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing and mashed potatoes. Menus are posted on their website.

Jay Patel, the owner of Indi-Q in Armonk, is used to a flurry of guests for office holiday parties with a location on Old Route 22 next to several office parks. A popular choice pre-COVID was their elegant lunch buffet but with COVID they have now created individualized lunch boxes which feature an entrée plus rice, a vegetable side and nan bread. They’ve also increased their catering and delivery options for groups and can provide medium or large platters for groups from 15 people to 50 people which can come in handy for holidays ranging from Diwali to Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The roomy outdoor space has heat lamps spaced throughout the entire area and Patel also reports that customers are now getting more comfortable eating indoors versus at the beginning of the pandemic as the restaurant follows stringent protocols set by the CDC, state and local governments.

No matter what restaurants do to entice customers, COVID has been the most challenging time for them. “Local support is so important,” acknowledges Egan. “We always give back to local charities like the Chappaqua School Foundation with gift cards and such.” And now and throughout the holidays is the perfect time to show your favorite restaurant a little local love back.

Lonely Hearts Club: A Breakup Support Group

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Lexi Jooneph-Briedbart, founder, Lonely Hearts Club
PHOTO By Erica Berger

Surviving a breakup is an experience that no one can relate to unless they are currently going through it. The intense and dark emotions will not go away with advice like, “time will heal.” I know, because I’ve had my heart shattered in what felt like it was tossed in a food processor.

At the time, I had supportive friends and family, but none who could truly understand my struggle. The days that follow immediately after are disorienting. It’s like you were hit by a wave and you don’t know which way to swim. Without warning you are forced into a new chapter of your life. There is so much loss in such a short amount of time and it is a loss you have no control over. Many individuals going through a breakup, including myself at the time, feel like the breakup is so specific to them. It’s as if the breakup was not supposed to happen to their relationship, maybe to other people, but this relationship was different.

For me, searching the web to find others that could relate was a lifeline. This was years ago, but Lonely Hearts Club was founded on the idea that when women come together to share their breakup stories, they are experts in helping one another navigate the heartbreak process.

A significant moment from a group was when a woman confessed her fantasy of reconciling. She said her mind was on a loop replaying a scenario where her ex comes back. The group let out a synchronous sigh of relief. Knowing they were not alone in these thoughts gave them comfort and allowed them to recognize that their breakup was not so specific to them.

As these women continued talking through this fantasy, they guided one other to recall the bad parts of the relationship. It takes one woman to share her story for others to feel less alone.

Since May I have been running groups with women across the country. Currently, it is setup as a virtual support group. Members are given a different theme each session, such as impact of the breakup, forgiveness, and confidence. The bond these women form by the end of the first hour is noticeable. Often members will exchange phone numbers and set-up a group chat to engage before the next session. They rely on each other when the craving to contact an ex kicks in or they need validation that they are not alone in their experience.

The community these women have built is one I want to continue to help foster. My goal for Lonely Hearts Club is for it to become a known resource for women across the country. Giving members a safe space to be vulnerable has helped many process their breakup in a productive way. Heartbreak can and often does lead to depression. By facilitating a breakup support group, the risk of depression decreases. In addition to running the groups, I want the club to be an entity that makes women feel less alone in their heartbreak.

When members first join the group it is evident that their self confidence is low and their functioning is disrupted by emotions of devastation and memories of their ex. At the end of each session, members set an intention for the week. The most common intention is to get through the week without looking up an ex on social media.

Setting an intention gives members small attainable goals, making the breakup process less overwhelming. Members value the group to hold them accountable for their intention. Whether they can stick to it or have a slip up, they know the group is on their side. After completing all eight sessions, members feel they have made exceptional progress in moving forward. They also come out of the group with newfound friendships.

Loneliness is a feeling that many of us have experienced since the pandemic and it is a feeling that swallows individuals whole after a breakup.

When part of a group, loneliness is not so prevalent. Members express they feel like they are on a team and heartbreak is the opponent. These women are banding together to come out of their heartbreak on top. To inquire about joining the group, email nyclonelyheartsclub@gmail.com. Visit LonelyHeartsClubnyc.com.

Staying Connected with Elderly Family Members

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Photo courtesy of the Empire State Association of Assisted Living

For many people, the holiday season is a time filled with joy and gathering with loved ones. Now more than ever people look forward to what the new year may bring and to bidding a (not so fond) farewell to 2020. But for many families, the challenge and difficulty of safely visiting with loved ones who live in assisted living facilities continue. How can families stay connected to one another during this time and encourage togetherness while also keeping loved ones healthy and safe?

Lisa Newcomb is the Executive Director of the Empire State Association of Assisted Living (ESAAL) and the organization represents over 300 of the 545 licensed assisted living communities in New York State. The ESAAL advocates for these communities through legislation and providing education for member administrators, directors and other management personnel. Speaking with Newcomb one gains a sense of what life has been like for residents of assisted living facilities during the pandemic as well as the steps being taken now to regain some sense of normalcy for senior residents and their families, especially as the holiday season approaches.

As Newcomb states, it has been a rough road for everyone involved from the beginning of the pandemic when there was a major lack of PPE available and a struggle to get supplies.

“One death is too many, so getting PPE is critical to any ongoing on-site visitation,” said Newcomb. As infection rates decreased, visits began to resume but, as she says, it can still be a hardship for many. “It’s taking a toll on residents and family members too. The staff are doing their best to fill in for family members,” she said, adding that no one can take the place of your own child.

Assisted living residences are known as being very social places. Many residents are mobile, active, and like to socialize with one another, with their family and friends, as well as take trips out of the facility. By July, visitation was allowed with rules in place. If anyone tested positive for Covid-19, visitation was shut down for 28 days. By September, the rule changed to a 14-day shutdown, and this has had some positive impact on visitation rates. Residents are encouraged to conduct visits outside with some circumstances allowing for indoor visits in a well-ventilated room with supervised social distancing.

Facilitating Visits

As the weather gets colder, it may become increasingly harder to visit with loved ones in-person if the rules stay as they are. Fortunately, there are other ways families can keep connected. Staff can facilitate virtual visits (such as FaceTime) with residents and family–seniors who are grandparents especially love to see the faces of and talk to their grandchildren. But nothing can fully take the place of an in-person visit especially for residents who have dementia and trouble comprehending; they may feel abandoned or forgotten by family.

There are clever ways some assisted living facilities are handling holiday visits. One facility rented a construction trailer for the next six months: it is heated, big enough for one to two visits at a time and is ADA compliant. Seeing family in-person can be the one bright spot in a resident’s day. Newcomb said she is hopeful small gatherings for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah will be allowed so long as there are no cases of Covid-19. In the past, holiday gatherings have taken place in the dining room with visits from community and family members.

“The rates are so low, so hopefully clusters can be controlled quickly and stopped. It has an emotional impact on the elderly–assisted living is the place to be doing things.” Residents want to get out, visit with loved ones and do activities together. “Seniors move into assisted living to live–not to be confined to their room or apartment without visitors. Activities can be done safely keeping in mind that our residents’ mental health well-being is as important as their physical health.”

As the holidays approach, let’s all remember those in assisted living, and hope they are allowed the dignity of a visit with their loved ones this season.

Why NBC4 NY’s Lynda Baquero is Proud to Call Northern Westchester Home

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PHOTO BY CAROLYN SIMPSON

The burbs got Baquero! Recovering close to six million dollars for consumers since 2013, our very own Northern Westchester resident Lynda Baquero and her “Better Get Baquero” team have brought much relief to aggrieved consumers. The talented NBC4 NY consumer reporter, Baquero, along with her husband and two teenage daughters relocated from Manhattan, where Baquero was born and raised, to our neck of the woods in 2015.

Reporter as Empathetic Investigator

With an ambitious pledge on their website to answer every call or email, the “Better Get Baquero” team seeks to help consumers who feel they have exhausted all means to resolve a consumer issue. Living up to their promise, all complaints submitted by the public are vetted by their Consumer Investigative Center, who after a thorough review and allowing companies ample time to respond, attempts to mediate and resolve the issue at hand. Even when there is no resolution, Baquero strives to provide a takeaway for her audience of a lesson that can be learned from someone’s experience.

Oftentimes, “people just want to be heard,” says Baquero, and after spending time on the phone flushing out their story, they may decide they got something out of it and prefer not to go on television. Sometimes after talking to Baquero and her team, they may realize the law is not on their side and then they learn something.

Baquero feels lucky in her role as consumer advocate. “What I love about this is that it’s really an opportunity to be involved directly with the viewer, and do something positive, rather than just reporting on a situation,” she says.

She has even “saved a few lives and resurrected some people,” says Baquero. A woman needing oxygen equipment was having an issue with her health insurance and literally running out of oxygen until Baquero and her team stepped in and called the insurer. “I can’t even explain how that feels…it’s very gratifying,” says Baquero. As far as resurrections, they have had several cases in which the social security administration has mistakenly declared someone dead and they have assisted these people in proving them to be alive.

Now, in the age of Covid-19, Baquero has provided essential information to her viewers about navigating our “new normal.” In recent segments, she has tackled applying for Paycheck Protection Program loans, obtaining mortgage relief, common mistakes made in unemployment applications, budget management, procuring refunds for canceled travel, and frequently asked questions for families during this crisis. She has provided vital information needed now more than ever.

Although back in the office now, Baquero quickly adjusted to covering stories based from home when New York State shut down in mid-March. Donning masks, utilizing boom microphones, and conducting interviews outdoors along with her cameraman, Baquero continued to work throughout the pandemic reporting mainly from Westchester and Fairfield counties.

The segment airs every weekday at 4:45 pm and Baquero also reports the consumer news of the day during the next news hour.

Baquero also hosts the weekly series Visiones which highlights issues that affect the Hispanic community by presenting informational and inspirational conversations with community leaders and newsmakers on arts, education and health. Visiones airs on Saturdays on Weekend Today in New York at 6:45 am.

A Career Born in High School

Baquero began cultivating her passion for investigative journalism as a young 12-year-old high school freshman. After winning a school competition involving producing a short newscast, Baquero “got the bug” and was drawn in by the opportunity to meet interesting people and have unique experiences. At 14-years-old, she had her own public access cable television show that aired on Paragon Cable and Manhattan Cable, the two cable outlets in Manhattan at that time. She did this for four years with her father as her cameraman, editor, lighting and technical director. Later, while attending New York University, she worked at Channel 47, now part of Telemundo, where she wrote and co-produced various Spanish-language specials. She then went on to work as an associate producer at WCAU-TV, Philadephia. Subsequently, at WCBS-TV, she worked her way up in the newsroom to associate producer of the consumer action segment Troubleshooter. Afterwards, she worked at the local cable news network, NY1 News, as anchor, consumer reporter, and video journalist responsible for researching, writing, shooting and editing her own stories.

Baquero joined NBC4 from NY1 and has been with NBC4 in a variety of prominent positions. She has co-anchored NBC 4’s Weekend Today in New York, “News 4 New York at 6 P.M. with David Ushery and “NewsChannel 4 at 6 P.M. with Chuck Scarborough. She has also served as host of the nationally broadcast business program, Hispanics Today.

The recipient of two Emmy Awards, Baquero received one in 1998 for “Religious Programming” for her coverage of the Pope’s visit to Cuba, and another in 2006 for “Best Evening Newscast” with Chuck Scarborough.

Discussing her inspiration, Baquero says she always looked up to Barbara Walters, who was a “no-nonsense, strong woman who was able to accomplish so much professionally and balance everything in her life.”

Striking a Balance

Baquero has managed to deftly balance it all, achieving professional excellence while creating a beautiful family. Television reporters are notorious for keeping odd hours and Baquero is no exception.

“We’re a 24-hour business, 365 days a year. I work holidays, late nights, and I’ve worked weekends for fifteen years. Thank goodness my husband is patient, wonderful and supportive. I can’t get to every family function or school production, but I knew that going in so I manage as best I can and take it as it comes.”

As far as being present for her daughters, Baquero admits it is challenging and she has to pick and choose her battles. “There are times I fight to leave work early to attend an event and other times I tell my daughter ‘I’m sorry I can’t make that concert but I promise I will be at the next one.’” To compensate, she has dedicated special days to each daughter to make them feel extra special and takes a “girls trip” with them every year.

Baquero is an inspirational role model for her daughters, showing them a real life example of how hard work can make one’s dreams a reality. “I hope they understand that if they set their minds to a goal and work hard, they can have choices and really shoot for the moon. I hope they realize perhaps what women like myself have gone through and what we’ve been able to do and they can do that and much more.”

As for the glamour, “I explain to them that not everyone has hair and makeup in their office. I love that they’re nonplussed and they know this is mom’s job, her passion, her way of helping other people, and something she had to work really hard for. I hope also that seeing me on television accepting an Emmy and then in my pajamas at home without makeup eating popcorn teaches them that people they see on the screen or on social media are presenting their public persona, but they are real people too,” says Baquero.

Choosing Westchester

Although a city girl at heart, Baquero has really embraced country living. She enjoys her large vegetable garden, frequents the farmers market, takes advantage of the hiking trails, and enrolls her daughters in horseback riding lessons.

When choosing the perfect locale in the suburbs, the Baqueros were drawn in by Northern Westchester’s top-notch schools, a major priority for them, the easy commute to the city, and the beauty and tranquility here.

“I’m so grateful we have the best of both worlds; the hustle and bustle of the city during the day and then we get to come home to this peaceful environment that still feels cosmopolitan with great restaurants and a very vibrant community.”

Baquero feels blessed to have ended up in this small community. As appreciative as she was with everyone’s warmth and neighborly reception when she first moved here, she truly felt the support of her neighbors throughout this Covid crisis. “Everyone reached out to see if we needed anything, if they could get us anything from the market, and just to check in on us.”

Baquero and her husband have made the best of the commute to the city. His interior design business, Richard A. Baquero Interior Design, is located close to her office. Driving together whenever they can, they use the time to catch up, make plans, and de-stress after a long day.

“He has been my biggest supporter, even with my crazy schedule. He is really my rock and we have fun together. People see us yapping at a restaurant and think ‘you’ve been together 29 years–what do you still have to talk about?’” laughs Baquero. “He’s my buddy.”

“We have been more grateful than ever for moving out here, even though we love and miss our city. We’ve been trying to do our part in helping the local restaurants through this pandemic by ordering out at least once a week and giving them some business. We were so happy to support our local hospital and frontline workers by donating to a meal train for the doctors. It feels really great to be part of such a small and caring community.”

Serving the greater community has always been important to Baquero. She serves on her local school board’s foundation and has also served on the Board of Directors of Let’s Get Ready, an educational non-profit. She has also worked with NBC and Telemundo on their Clear the Shelters pet adoption campaign, where they partner with shelters in the tri-state area to try and find forever homes for the pets. Close to home, she has reported live from Adopt-A-Dog in Armonk showing the available pets. This year, Clear the Shelters had a virtual campaign throughout the month of August to practice safe social distancing.

She has also worked with NBC on their annual Feeding Our Families community project, one of the largest multi-state food drives in the northeast that partners with food pantries and Stop and Shop supermarkets. Baquero has always made an appearance at the Stop and Shop in Mount Kisco to support this event. This year, food banks were particularly hit hard due to Covid, so NBC and Baquero’s efforts were crucial. To practice social distancing, the event was made into an online giving event, supporting nine tri-state food banks, including Feeding Westchester. Baquero promoted the event through social media.

Baquero is always “on the go.” Asked when she finally felt like “I’ve arrived,” she responds, “Never. Life is always about having the next goal or the next dream so I don’t take anything for granted. I’m grateful but I still think there’s more to do. I don’t know what’s ahead but I’m ready to take it on.”

A Star is Born… in Chappaqua: Meet Skyla

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A still from Skyla Schreter’s film, Unbecoming

During these difficult times, it’s important to come together–even when coming together is/must be a virtual reality. As a community, we can support one another and share the beauty; finding solace in that beauty, we can still enjoy our world. Enter Chappaqua’s own Skyla Schreter, dancer and choreographer, most recently with the San Francisco Ballet Company.

Skyla, daughter of Sena Baron and Daniel Schreter and older sister to Brice, grew up in town and, like most Chappaqua children, attended the local schools–in her case, Westorchard Elementary School and Seven Bridges Middle School. But, there and then, the similarities ended. Skyla, who “knew early-on what I wanted” chose and pursued a self-determined dance path when she was but ten years old.

She recalls, “I started with jazz, and I loved it. My mom suggested ballet as she understood it to be a foundation for many kinds of dance, and could provide the tools I needed to enhance the local jazz classes I was taking at the time.” Skyla says she tried a few classes here and there, but nothing felt somehow “right”, until she found Diana White in Scarsdale. With Diana, things “felt serious, structured and classic. It was like a light bulb went off for me.” So, at ten years old, she auditioned for and was accepted into the School of American Ballet (SAB) in Manhattan.

By middle school, Skyla was going in three times weekly; her parents took turns driving her in to the city and back home until she and they were comfortable with her taking the train by herself. In eighth grade, she was invited into SAB’s advanced training classes. This was another watershed moment in her young life, as the additional training time meant that her academic/dance balance would need to be revisited.

In order to make both work, Skyla transferred to the Professional Children’s School on the Upper West Side. For two years, she “took the 6:35 a.m. train with all (my) friends’ dads on Wall Street.” She’d attend academic classes from 8 a.m.–10:30 a.m., then take dance classes for two to three hours, followed by afternoon academics and then a return to dance. She’d finally take an evening train home in the 9 p.m. hour, starting her homework immediately on the return commute. Then she’d get up and do it all again.

This grueling pace finally slowed and became more manageable when she moved into the city at age sixteen, sharing an apartment with fellow dancers. Still, she’d come back to Chappaqua on weekends to spend time with her family with whom she has always been very close.

At her parents’ urging, Skyla took the SATs and completed the Common App in order to have options after high school graduation. However, as her 2013 graduation approached, she was offered a contract with the Boston Ballet in their second company and immediately accepted.

Skyla danced one season with Boston and, “almost on a lark but based on their first-tier reputation” attended an open audition for the San Francisco Ballet which was held in New York City. To her complete surprise, she was not only offered a position, but a contract with their prestigious corps de ballet. She admits that she had never thought of leaving the east coast for the west, but made the leap (or grand jete if you will) and quickly settled in to her new life there.

Skyla danced with the San Francisco Ballet for six seasons. While she had planned to retire this year to focus on choreography– “one of the things that most intrigues and inspires me about choreography is that it is self-made whereas dance is trained. Choreography is something I feel privileged to be able to share”–and move back to New York where she said: “performing arts is still best and most diverse.” The pandemic stepped up her schedule.

Pandemic Pivot

Skyla allowed that her biggest challenge is the “lack of collaboration available, at least physically.” She loves and misses the “real-time energy and ideas that happen and flow in the studio, working together with the dancers.” But creativity won out; Skyla used the initial lock-down period as one of introspection for herself and work. She began experimenting with different ideas, “taking a lot of time to explore details and nuances in my own personal movement that I normally would not allow myself the time or attention for.” She also began creating new outlines for future dance works, choreography she is “ready to translate to real bodies when the time comes.”

All that said, another challenge is the lack of audience. Skyla believes dance to “be a powerful experience not only for those who dance and create it, but for those who witness and watch it.” She found herself questioning the “point” of her work if it was no longer accessible, and determined that she must find a way to adapt dance to the virtual world. She had doubts about the power of dance on camera vs live, but “dove into creating dance that would end up not just on camera, but created for camera.” She was pleased to discover that “dance on camera can be very interesting and powerful in ways that differ from its live self.” One such dance of which she is quite proud is titled Unbecoming* and explores the many inner voices we all have, whether contradicting or difficult to face, and working to respect and ultimately accept them as part of our whole identity as individuals. It is about how these inner voices shape who we become.” Skyla also felt that Unbecoming was inspired by increased pandemic “alone time”, and the idea that alone time could provoke “a certain level of curiosity in the multi-faceted self.” She adds, “especially with all of the racial and social injustice that is finally coming to light, I feel that artists have a responsibility to speak to and mirror the times that we live in.”

Skyla rehearsing her choreography with fellow dancers of San Francisco Ballet
PHOTO BY ©Reneff-Olson Productions

Identity, Community and ‘In:Between’

Speaking of new choreography, prior to the pandemic, Skyla had planned to bring new dance works to New York: “I knew I wanted to launch my choreography by bringing it to a New York audience, and when I heard that the new Chappaqua Performing Arts Center was interested, I thought it would be the perfect anchor and springboard…In:Between was born out of much of my work which explores and deals with the space in between what we know and what we’re told. Dance can tap into a place that words can’t approach. This choreography explores the grey area between our thoughts.”

The plans included six pieces; five of Skyla’s own and one from guest choreographer and principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, Wei Wang. Skyla emphasized the team-effort involved with the creation of In:Between which, in addition to featuring dancers from the SF Ballet Corps de Ballet, also included 13 new costumes created exclusively for the show by both San Francisco–and NY-based designers.

In addition to dance, Skyla had lately been turning her creative energies to other artistic media–specifically, both film and painting. Her short film, A Flower, which was an official selection of the San Francisco Dance Film Festival in 2019 and the Utah Dance Film Festival in 2020) shows the journey of a flower through dance, and had been planned as part of the In:Between performance lineup. She had also planned to display her painting at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center. “Ballet can be thought of as inaccessible or elite, but it’s really just another form of artistic expression,” she said. “I enjoy emphasizing a multi-faceted approach to artistic expression as more inclusive overall.”

Finally, and because art doesn’t just inform and inspire but can gather people for a cause, Skyla has devoted time to the New York-based non-profit Dancers Responding to Aids (DRADance.org), which is a part of the larger Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids program. DRA was founded in 1991 by Denise Roberts Hurlin, former Paul Taylor Dance Company member and mother of Skyla’s school-friend and fellow dancer Catherine. Skyla recalls attending annual DRA benefits at SUNY Purchase and “feeling the power, even as a kid, of everyone on stage and in the audience coming together.” She notes that “AIDS is very relevant to the performing arts community” and feels it’s important to do her part to support her community.  When audience members and dancers can safely congregate again, Skyla hopes to move forward with In:Between and DRA, perhaps, even as originally planned, at ChappPac!

Encore, Encore

It was impossible to resist asking Skyla many questions, or sharing them further here:

Skyla, you’ve accomplished so much in your young life, kudos to you! People must wonder if you ever felt you were missing out…on a more typical or normal childhood?

Skyla: No, I do not. I feel privileged to have known from an early age what I wanted. My thinking was “I just love to dance!” I recognize what I gave up, but I’m ok with it. There really is no “normal.”

Have you stayed in touch with Chappaqua friends?

Skyla: I left right before high school, and high school is a time when most kids find their paths and deepen friendships, so I don’t really have those friends. But I do keep in touch with my elementary school friends; these were real childhood friendships and they have lasted.

Do you have any advice for today’s kids who, like you, discover a passion early in life?

Skyla: Don’t be afraid to take an unconventional path. It’s not scary, it’s exciting! And, with specific regards to ballet, I think kids should know that you don’t have to be a “tutu ballerina” but can also go in with gym shorts and no makeup. There is no one way to do ballet! Whatever it is you love, go for it!

Finally and before you go–though you’ve graciously shared how you’ve personally pivoted with the pandemic and found new outlets for your creativity, can you briefly discuss your thoughts on how things have changed for the dance community at large?

Skyla: Not being able to train, rehearse, and create together in person has been a huge challenge for the dance community, and not being able to perform for an audience has been such a heartbreaking loss for all of us during this time, on many levels. But dancers are creative, and determined to keep working on their craft in one form or another. I have been taking and teaching dance classes online, virtually. One good thing that has come out of the pandemic is that it has broadened and connected the dance community. What used to be clusters of dancers, kept more or less isolated in their own companies, schools or cities, has spread to become a worldwide community. For example, right now, I am teaching a long-distance “Choreography Workshop” from my apartment living room. Though teaching class over Zoom has its many challenges, I wouldn’t normally be able to connect with these students otherwise at this time! This virtual dance community has so many opportunities for new and fulfilling connections that it takes a bit of the sting away from the physical collaboration we have lost during this time.

I also think what many people miss most, other than working in-person with their friends and dancers, is having the space to move freely. I can’t say that dancing in my living room is anything like an open ballet studio or stage. It is limiting in many ways. I personally have been trying to find ways to dance outside when possible, which is why I chose to shoot my film in various places around San Francisco, all of which were uncrowded enough to be safe for Covid-19 restrictions. Dancers like to be free and expansive with their movements and I think for those who can, finding time to spend in nature in some way or another, is a common choice for helping ease that feeling of being stuck or stagnant.