There won’t be any boot scootin’ at the new Mews Centre in St. John’s once it finally opens to the public.
Participants of the hugely popular line dancing classes offered by the City of St. John’s have been told that they won’t be able to wear their cowboy boots on the floors in the new Mews Centre.
Helen Escott has been participating in the program for the last ten years and says the news just doesn’t make sense.
She says consultations were held when the new facility was being developed and their requirements were well understood.
Or so she thought.
“To ask line dancers to not wear their cowboy boots, is like asking tap dancers to not wear their tap shoes,” says Escott. “It’s just such a ridiculous request. We can’t dance in bare feet or running shoes, it’s dangerous to do that.”
Mayor Danny Breen says the city is looking at alternative locations, but Escott says that doesn’t make sense.
“What you’re saying to me,” says Escott of the suggestion, “is that you took our tax dollars to build a recreational facility that now we’re being told we can’t use. You’re going to find some older facility for us to use. What was the point in building it?”
Mayor Breen knows the line dancing program provided by the city is popular, and while it will continue to be offered at the new facility, hard-soled footwear can’t be used on the hardwood laid in the double gymnasium.
Instead, Breen says, the program will be offered in an alternate space in the new Mews Centre.
Danny Breen (File Photo)
He says the four classes can be held in one of the centre’s multi-purpose rooms which has flooring on which cowboy boots can be worn.
If those rooms aren’t big enough to accommodate the classes, then they’re looking at other possibilities and configurations.
“As part of the commissioning process, we’re looking at the configurations of that there…it looks like there will be room for about 20 in each of those spaces,” says Breen.
