DA:NCE Newsletter – May 2024

DA:NCE Newsletter – May 2024

Nominations Now Open – Healthy DA:NCE DirectoryDo you know a dance studio or dance organization that is steadfast in their commitment to use age-appropriate choreography, costumes and music in children’s dance classes? If so, we need you to nominate them for our Healthy DA:NCE Directory! This database highlights those studios and organizations that are committed to teaching healthy, not hypersexualized children’s dance. We are hopeful that this will become not only a wonderful resource for concerned parents and adults, but also a place to celebrate all of the organizations dedicated to protecting children in dance. Please nominate a dance studio today.

DA:NCE Coalition Launch – Join UsWant the opportunity to grow your network and meet others who are also passionate about protecting children in dance? Join the DA:NCE Coalition! This volunteer group will be made up of individuals from all walks of life – dance industry experts, studio owners, dance instructors, concerned parents and caring adults – all with one goal: support each other in ending hypersexualized children’s dance. While the Coalition hasn’t yet launched, it will be soon. Register now and you’ll be the first to get all the info.Register Now

My DA:NCE Why Why is it important to you that our culture end the hypersexualization of children through dance? We want to know! Grab your phone, record a short video or voice recording starting with, ‘My DA:NCE Why is…’, and share it with us. Our collective voices have the power to change hearts and protect children in dance. Click the link below to learn more and see some of the submissions we’ve already received. We hope you’ll join your voice with ours!

Visit My DA:NCE Why

SHAPE: Dance is Good Medicine Mary BawdenAs DA:NCE traveled to Ohio to exhibit for the 2024 National SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) Conference, I was reminded of researcher Gail Dines who has coined the phrase ‘pornified culture’ to describe what today’s children are exposed to. Children from birth to 18 are growing up in a hypersexualized, toxic adult culture that has been normalized. Ugh.

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Call To Create Beauty Guest Article: Melody Mendoza As someone who both enjoys performing, creating productions, and attending performances, I have seen and felt the power of dance to transform hearts and minds. Dance is an art form that relies on the human body to communicate emotion and tell stories, and the human body is a powerful tool for this communication.

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New Rule: Quiet on Set | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Click Here to hear Bill Maher’s take on the explosive documentary “Quiet On Set” about the toxic and abusive environment inside ’90s kids’ TV. It doesn’t just expose a dangerous workplace, it also exposes Hollywood hypocrisy. (8 min)

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DA:NCE into Moving Conversations: NRB 2024 Mary Bawden The DA:NCE Team arrived at the NRB Conference in Nashville Tennessee and we DA:NCED into movement conversations with a lot of people. I attended the event accompanied by my husband Richard along with DA:NCE Development Director Tony Wilcox and his wife Celeste. We had a wonderful mission: the protection of children from hypersexualization in adult costumes, choreography and music.

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Nurturing the Innocence: A Father and Addiction Counselor’s Perspective on the Hypersexualization of Children’s Dance Guest Article: Matt Nalder As a father and a counselor, I have noted that the world of children’s dance has become a disconcerting arena where innocence often collides with adult themes—things like costumes, choreography, and music. For years I have had a growing concern about the hypersexualization of children’s dance, I’ve worried about the impact on the child dancers’ mental, psychological, and emotional well-being.

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Healthy Dance Studio One of the goals of the DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. DA:NCE would like to present Dancing for a Difference from Branton, Florida as our Healthy Dance Studio.

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Dance and Body Perception Guest Article: Jamie Logan As prior generations have come and gone, the ideal body has evolved. Ever-changing body perceptions also relate to external cultural definitions of beauty, perfection and sex appeal. This evolving landscape influences the way young people perceive, feel, think, and behave, regarding their body (National Eating Disorder Collaboration). Girls growing up 15 years ago desperately wanted liposuction in order to appear thinner.

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DA:NCE Connects with KOSA Mary BawdenDid you watch the U.S. Congressional Hearings in Washington on January 31, 2024 concerning the lack of safety mechanisms on social media platforms for children? CEOs of Meta (notably Mark Zuckerberg), TikTok, Snapchat, Discord, X and others were called on to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the exposure of inappropriate adult material to children.

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Donate

Click the button below to Donate to S2S Choreography to help end child exploitation through dance. DA:NCE is a program of Soul to Sole Choreography, a Section 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 20-0370145. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. DONATE NOW VIA PAYPAL

DA:NCE works towards bringing international awareness and education to stop the exploitation through hypersexualization of children in dance. Join our team as a volunteer to help us fulfill our mission through collaboration, advocating for change and educating the community. Volunteer opportunities are currently available in our Collaboration Department and our Education Department. VOLUNTEER WITH DA:NCE

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