'More energy in a group:' Dance studio hopeful as Washington state moves closer to fully reopening

RENTON, Wash. - Governor Jay Inslee said Washington State could go back to almost normal in a few weeks, as we move forward to fully reopening. For some local owners this means they can finally get back to business.

On Thursday, Governor Inslee announced the state is on track to fully reopen by June 30th. While many businesses have been able to maintain semi-regular operations under the pandemic, others have had a much harder time.

"Big, huge, dance floor facility, just completely empty," said Dave Serfling.

Serfling is the owner of Rockin’ Horse Dance Barn in Renton. For the majority of the pandemic his business has sat closed.

"Losing out pretty much our whole life, our social activity that we did was gone," he said.

Recently, Serfling has been able to welcome small groups back for dance lessons, but it’s nowhere near what he’s used to.

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Before the pandemic, he said his dance floor used to be packed on Fridays with more than a hundred people grooving to all sorts of different styles of music.

He knows things won’t be the same until he can welcome back crowds into his business.

"There is so much more energy in a group," he said.

Serfling said with the possibility of fully reopening just a few weeks away he is looking forward to the very near future.

"My hope is that everything will open up and people will just line up at the door and come back the way it was before."

While Inslee said the state is on track for fully reopening by June 30th, he also said it could happen sooner if the state can get 70 percent of Washingtonians, 16 years old, and up vaccinated.

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