What are we consenting to when we step into a dance class, rehearsal, or jam session?
Historically, many teachers and choreographers have assumed that dancers are tacitly consenting to any touch, partner work, or other vulnerable activity that is in service of the class or rehearsal goals.
As we understand more about trauma, neurodiversity, cultural differences, and identity-based power differentials (tied to race, gender, age, class, ability/disability, etc.), it becomes clear that this assumption poses barriers for many people.
How can incorporating explicit consent practices allow more equitable access to our dance spaces?
The role of consent practices in dance has become a central thread in my research over the past few years. Through experimenting in my own teaching/facilitating and through studying the consent work of others, I’ve come to believe that consent practices belong in all the spaces where I teach or facilitate dance practices.
Read about my personal journey in “Moving Towards Consent: An Auto-Ethnographic Case for Consent Practices in College Dance Classrooms” in Stories We Dance/Stories We Tell, gain practical tips for applying consent practices in your teaching in Integrating Consent Practices in Dance Education in the Journal of Dance Education, and explore applications of consent in contact improvisation in Risky Dancing and Consent Practices: Addressing Identity, Privilege, and Power in Contact Improvisation in the Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices.
Photo Credit: Sarah Puja Jones