She Loves to Move Call for Choreography Reflection
By: Marlita Hill, Lead Adjudicator for DA:NCE’s $5,000 Call for Choreography With an aim to publicize DA:NCE Awareness’s mission and celebrate the healthy, age-appropriate dance happening throughout our communities, DA:NCE launched its inaugural choreography competition, ‘She Loves to Move.’ The ‘She Loves to Move’ Call for Choreography began with an October 2022 invitation sent out […]
‘My DA:NCE Why’: Reflections on Innocence
“A child’s innocence is the one gift, that once stolen, can never be replaced.” ―Jaeda DeWalt Innocence: Ignorance, freedom from cunning; lack of worldly experience DA:NCE just released a new resource called ‘My DA:NCE Why’. In that video, along with others, I recorded a brief statement about why I founded DA:NCE: “There’s been a cultural […]
The Long-Awaited Marriage at NRB and a Yearlong Celebration at DA:NCE
So DANCE Team, what in the world do I mean by a DA:NCE marriage? Lean in. The nuptials took place in Orlando Florida from May 22-25. It’s a partnership that’s taken a few years to plan. But it was worth it. In 2022, DA:NCE conducted personal interviews through our ‘Share Your DA:NCE Story’ Campaign by […]
Learning About Childhood Trauma from SHAPE 2023 and Tik Tok
From March 28-April 1, I was invited to speak on ‘Wholesome to Hypersexualized: What Happened to Children’s Dance?’ at the National SHAPE(Society of Health and Physical Educators) Conference in Seattle Washington. Enjoy the conference pics. Tons of interesting contacts and good conversations! Along with a special interview with Dr. Josh Trout of Chico CA who […]
Dance Studios & Children: 3 Survivors Speak About Hypersexualization
Are you part of ‘the grumble’? That’s somebody who distances him/herself from a cultural or personal trend that is uncomfortable. SILENT THOUGHTS: Maybe the problem will go away? Maybe we can solve it without addressing it? Many adults don’t see what’s happening to children’s dance because of the creeping internet and media connection to pornography; […]
CDEA/ New DA:NCE Resource: 8 Steps
February 2023. I really like to eat chocolate hearts on Valentine’s Day. It’s a month to lift up the concept of love that includes various kinds of candy and often, a special dinner with a special someone. But the meaning of love goes far past the color red, wonderful desserts and romantic evenings. Wikipedia says […]
A Gift of Goodness: the CESE Summit
I am lucky. It’s Christmas time year ‘round. So many ongoing gifts of goodness. I love presents. I spotted my first gift in 2013 at the inaugural CESE(Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation) Summit in Washington DC. The Summit is sponsored by NCOSE (National Center on Sexual Exploitation) and it is an amazing experience. There are countless […]
Sign Up for Cultural Change
She wrote me because she was a concerned parent. “My daughter got invited to try out for the (dance) competition team, made it, became captain of the team, and was doing amazing things. Then I started feeling uncomfortable with song choice and costumes. After I voiced my concerns, they (the studio) told me that my […]
AND THEN…. A Personal Invitation for ‘She Loves to Move’
It’s time to restore the wonder of childhood dance! “DA:NCE Awareness invites everyone – from choreographers and dance studios to individuals, families and groups of any size – to choreograph the song ‘She Loves to Move’. Help us celebrate healthy, age-appropriate children’s dance all around the world! It’s easy: 1. Download the song ‘She Loves […]
A Personal Story of Hypersexualized Dance and Self-Objectification by Jaime Logan
This article is dedicated to the girls who haven’t had a chance to know better. “My job required one thing of me, to be an object for arousal and consumption. I started dancing my heart out in the studio, but I ended up coddling the fancies of a stranger bent on using me as an […]