Consent in Ballet: are educators prepared to hear “no”?
Abstract:
Since the rise of the “me too” movement, consent and consent practices have been growing traction in the dance community. While research supports touch as holding many positive properties, these positive attributes can only apply when the touch is healthy, safe and consensual. With harmful touch coming under scrutiny and the concepts surrounding consent entering into ballet studios, the use of touch in our teaching practices is coming under review. In the ballet studio classroom, touch most often occurs between the teacher and the students, typically through the form of tactile corrections.
I am a huge proponent of touch, however, I am an even bigger advocate for the empowerment of dancers. Therefore, in this workshop, answers to the questions of how consent can enter into the ballet studio and what we, as educators, can do to foster the empowerment of dancers through consent based practices will be explored. We will primarily focus on how we, as educators, ask for and receive consent from our students. Are we modeling our beliefs surrounding touch? Do we actually mean the question we are asking, such as “may I touch you?” And are we truly prepared to receive a “no”?
Throughout the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to practice giving and receiving different consent responses. They will take time to explore their own reactions to “no” and to explore the opportunities that the word “no” can afford us as educators.