In virus-hit eastern France, masked dancers get back to work

Dancers of the Ballet du Rhin wear protective face masks during a training session in Mulhouse, eastern France. Photo: AFP

In Mulhouse in eastern France, particularly hard hit by the coronavirus, professional dancers are getting back to work, practising pirouettes in their long-abandoned studio – but no pas de deux.

With an easing of France's strict coronavirus lockdown on May 11 after over two months of home confinement, ballet performers of the Opera National du Rhin must observe strict infection-busting measures, which include no contact or dancing in pairs.