Gender Construction in Competition Dance

by Heather Harrington As a mother, dancer, choreographer, and educator I want my daughters to go to dance class to learn about their bodies, explore connections between their mind and body, and find ways to express themselves. I do not want them to learn from dance how to worry about their appearance; are they thin […]

The 2021 Grammy Awards Performance and the Sexualization of Children

This is a post-truth era. We are living in a time where the idea of absolute morality is no longer in question. We are living in a time where individual autonomy reigns – whatever the viewpoint, whatever the circumstance. We live in a culture where what is right is defined by doing what feels right. […]

k2 dance

One of the goals of the DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. We are pleased to present: k2 dance, located in San Jose k2 dance is a creative dance center in San Jose that has been hosted by Willow Glen Yoga for ten years. It is directed by Kristin Kusanovich and […]

January 2021 Newsletter

DA:NCE Newsletter – JANUARY 2021 Share Your DA:NCE Story by Mary BawdenDid you participate in dance as a child? If yes, please consider joining our ‘Share your DA:NCE Story’ campaign. We need dance stories that are personal, authentic, and real. If you have a story you’d be willing to share, we’d love to listen. How did […]

Dancing For Donations

One of the goals of the DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. We are pleased to present: Dancing For Donations, located in Tampa Bay, FL. As a 501c3 nonprofit dance studio, our mission is to make dance more available to all ages and abilities in the Tampa Bay Area area and […]

Army of Survivors: From Healthy to Harmful Dance

by Grace French As a survivor of child sexual abuse, a dancer, an advocate, and the founder of a national non-profit focusing on preventing and responding to sexual violence in sport, DA:NCE’s mission immediately stood out to me. I started dance at 5, fascinated by the twirling ballerinas, tutus, and scarves I had seen on […]

DANCE101

One of the goals of the DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. We are pleased to present: DANCE 101, located in Tempe, Arizona. DANCE 101 takes great pride in offering quality dance classes at affordable prices to Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and surrounding communities. Our highly trained instructors are dedicated to fostering […]

‘Cuties’ is not Cute: DA:NCE Says Children Are Not Mini-Adults

‘Cuties’, a new film on Netflix, features hypersexualized 10 & 11year old girls with dance themes that groom youngsters for objectification in childification porn. It also emphasizes racial stereotypes that connect people of color to sexual exploitation. In 2019, Netflix developed the original teen series Sex Education that featured nudity and numerous explicit sex scenes. And its original animated comedy series Big Mouth followed […]

Dr. Brook Parker-Bello Is Happy to DA:NCE

Dr. Brook Parker-Bello was happy to be interviewed for the 2020 DA:NCE film: ‘Healthy and Harmful Dance: What Do the Experts Say?’ Although she did not dance as a child, she was abused and exploited in her early years. As a national expert on child abuse with a PhD, Dr. Bello knows that all forms […]

Nonpartisan Statement

DA:NCE is a nonpartisan, unifying organization that welcomes input from any individual that values protecting children from hypersexualization in adult costumes, choreography and music inside and outside dance environments.