Painting: "Dancing the Blues Away" by Graham McQuade
grahammcquadefineart.com
grahammcquadefineart.com
Ask me to dance...Askmetodance.org aims to foster consent culture within dance communities.
Our first project is a collaboration between artists, dancers, and artistic dancers! Here, you can learn more about the project, print your own pages to color and share with others, and help fund the project. What is consent culture?"Consent culture is a culture in which asking for consent is normalized and condoned in popular culture. It is respecting the person’s response even if it isn’t the response you had hoped for... Consent culture is understanding that each person knows what is best for themselves... [and it] isn’t exclusive to sex or sexual activity."
|
What does consent culture look like on the dance floor?

Consent culture is about showing your partner that you care, and want for them to have a great time dancing with you!
You can read more about all of these suggestions here!
- Asking, "Would you like to dance?" and showing you're ok if the answer is, "No, thanks!"
- Asking role preferences; for example, "Would you like to lead, follow, or switch?"
- Checking in about injuries or physical limitations, especially those that might not be visible.
- Checking that lifts, dips, and flourishes are safe, and wanted.
- If your dance style involves the possibility for additional closeness, such as close embrace in blues, or "blues swings" in contra, checking in before initiating.
- If your partner brings up something that would make them more comfortable during your dance, enthusiastically accommodating them to the best of your ability.
- Asking for feedback on your dancing, and being open to making changes.
- Ask before touching someone else's body in ways that aren't part of the dance, especially when it comes to tattoos, hair, and other body adornments.
- If you like to hug your partner at the end of your dance, asking verbally first.
- Remember that dancing can be an intimate experience, but it doesn't imply consent for sexual contact on or off the dance floor. If you're wondering if a dance might lead to something more, check in verbally and clearly with your partner before proceeding.
You can read more about all of these suggestions here!
How can I help foster consent culture as a dance organizer?
- Educate your dancers! Ensure that instructors include desired community norms as part of their lessons. Have a code of conduct that is easily accessible to all. Share reminders during announcements, on posters at your venue, and on your social media and website.
- Talk to your regulars and instructors about modeling behaviors that fit your values.
- Have an easily identifiable person on site who dancers can go to to express concerns; someone who is familiar with your code of conduct, your action plans for dealing with problematic behavior, and most ideally, has training in best practices for supporting folks who report problematic behavior. You can check out our suggestions here.
- Book dance instructors and callers who are strong advocates for consent culture, and demonstrate a commitment to these values in their behavior on and off the dance floor.
- Keep a private record of reports of problematic incidents that protects the anonymity of the reporter, and allows you to note patterns of problematic behavior. Have plans in advance for how to deal with a variety of problematic behaviors, and be transparent about what those plans are. Be in contact with organizers from other dance communities and share information on folks who have been red flagged.
- Be proactive! Ask for feedback from your dance community!
- Check out Safer Dance at http://spontanement.org/saferdance/ which has compiled resources from a variety of dance communities, including codes of conduct, posters, and more!
The Coloring Page Project
Askmetodance.org partnered with several amazing dancer-artists to bring a fun way to learn about consent culture to dance events!
If you've colored a page, be sure to share it on social media #askmetodance!
You can print your own pages to color or share with you dance community here.
If you've colored a page, be sure to share it on social media #askmetodance!
You can print your own pages to color or share with you dance community here.