DA:NCE Newsletter – October 2024
DA:NCE Newsletter – October 2024 The Healthy DA:NCE Directory gets the Spotlight Do 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 yes, learn all about the first of its kind, FREE, national database we’ve created and then […]
Salome’s Dance: A Biblical Examination of the Dangers of Hypersexualized Dancing
For centuries people have been exploited in various ways. Sadly, this includes the hypersexualization of children in dance. What does this mean? This occurs when children are either coerced or encouraged to wear non-age-appropriate costumes, including revealing or sexualized outfits. Another aspect is when the child is made to dance to songs with sexualized lyrics […]
Suzanne’s School of Dance
One of the goals of the DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. Suzanne’s School of Dance has two locations, both located in College Station, Texas. They are featured on the Healthy DA:NCE Directory. Their motto is “Cultivating a Dance Community Marked by Integrity and Excellence. They seek to provide their students […]
Graceful Balance
Dance has long been a physical, mental and spiritual means for children to develop a healthy lifestyle through performing arts. However, we have seen a steady increase in the hypersexualization of children’s dance performances. Choices for music, choreography and instruction typically advance with the skill set of the dancers. To protect our young dancers from […]
Music, lights, action: The child dancer from India and the unethical expectations of its media
India is a land of dancing- at festivals, festivities and social events. For most young Indians, the initial settings for learning informally, are family settings, especially weddings. The family, a gaggle of aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, nieces, nephews, especially grandfathers and grandmothers, as preservers of culture, encourage the younger generation profusely. I remember being […]
Dance Deserves Better
Last September, I hosted a mini conference surrounding the conversation point, “Are Dance Competitions Disrupting the Power and Progress of Dance Education?” Based on my research, the answer is unequivocally yes. You see, in 2020, I wrote an infamous book called Trash the Trophies, which challenged the viewpoint that dance education had to normalize to […]
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 […]
Dance and Body Perception
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 […]
Nurturing the Innocence: A Father and Addiction Counselor’s Perspective on the Hypersexualization of Children’s Dance
Introduction: 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 […]
A Call to Create Beauty
Standing backstage, I hear the murmuring voices of the audience as they settle into their seats. My costume is on, my make-up and hair are glistening and I wait for the opening notes of the music to play. Butterflies float around in my stomach and continue to get faster until I step on stage. The […]