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. Moving conversations were accompanied by promoting the art of healthy dance and its benefits to children with educational materials advocating for their safety and protection in all dance environments.

Of course, the problem of harmful dance is connected to the internet, media and porn industry. Without awareness, it’s hard for people to connect those dots.  We had a lot of moving conversations. Remember, hypersexualization is not just about dance. It overlaps and reinforces the pornified challenges that confront children in our culture: child trafficking,  child prostitution and unlimited exposure to adult sexuality through media channels. Summary: Bad actors want to use children to make money. And they’re doing it through the portal of children’s dance. Caring adults like YOU need to stand up to confront this appalling pattern. Last month I wrote about KOSA. Can I remind you to support KOSA(kids online safety act) pending in congress? Beyond allowing hypersexualized dance into dance studios across the country, children in dance upload their hypersexualized dance videos to social media platforms and end up being exploited by predators(FBI Stat: 750,000 predators are online daily looking for victims to exploit).

Back to the conference😊 For starters, we decided to create an ad in the official program.  We also had an exhibit booth. And a candy bowl. It helped to welcome people to us through their stomachs😊 Then, as usual, I was scheduled for tv, podcast and interviews. Tony & Celeste had their first interview experience as well!

         

After Tony, Celeste, Richard and I set up the DA:NCE exhibit booth, we got nothing but positive responses. Attendees appreciated knowing the differences between healthy and harmful dance so they could make informed choices and communicate the connection between the public health issue of dance and the hypersexualization of children in adult costumes, choreography and music. It was a win, win.

The end result? Moving conversations. Many booth participants signed up for the DA:NCE newsletter and several of them recorded a personal video for ‘My DANCE Why.’ Can I encourage you to do the same thing? We also took the time to share that DA:NCE is the first ever organization outside the dance industry standing up for the protection of children in dance.  Read the wave of DA:NCE ‘first ever’ initiatives:

  • 2016 – First ever organization with the mission to define healthy harmful dance with evidence-based resources
  • 2017 – First ever researched presentation of healthy harmful dance
  • 2018 – First ever presentation at National Dance Educators Organization (NDEO)
  • 2019 – First ever 20-minute video of national experts speaking to the topic of hypersexualized children’s dance
  • 2020 – First ever articles going to national venues about protecting children from hypersexualized children’s dance
  • 2021 – First ever additional resources & research created to educate adults for hypersexualized children’s dance
  • 2022 – First ever creation of ‘She Loves to Move’ – A Call to Choreography for healthy dance with a $5000 and $3500 prize
  • 2023 – First ever creation of National Trust DA:NCE Board; release of video: testimonies of 3 women hypersexualized
  • 2024 – First ever creation of the DANCE Coalition – a bi-partisan group of dance teachers, dance studio owners, dance artists, arts enthusiasts, and caring adults who want to stop the hypersexualization of children in adult costumes, choreography and music accompanied by an International Healthy DA:NCE Directory

Because of DA:NCE, thousands and thousands of caring adults are now being educated about taking action to stop the hypersexualization of children in adult costumes, choreography & music.

Just this week, as a result of a connection at NRB, I received a phone call from a dance program based in Arizona. When the director found out about DA:NCE, she was delighted to hear about our evidence-based resources and the planning stages of a State by State Dance Directory of Healthy Dance Studios.

Just this week, our website went live with a way to nominate healthy dance studios in the USA and Canada. We’re gearing up to get the word out.

Just this week, I talked to a dance educator and encouraged her to speak out on this issue. She downloaded a 35 minute taped talk and handout from our website.

Just this week, I got another call to speak to an interested parent about DA:NCE.

Just this week, I finished an application to a national dance organization with 3 wonderful co-presenters!

Do you recognize the hope in my words? Friends, we activate hope with an action plan and moving conversations: Educate Yourself, Equip Your Family, and Engage Your Community.

Share our DA:NCE website with 5-7 friends
Record a video for ‘MyDANCEWhy’
Sign up to receive information about the DA:NCE Coalition
Nominate a healthy dance studio
Receive the DA:NCE newsletter
Volunteer
Watch and share our videos
Donate any amount

2024 looks to be filled with more and more moving conversations that will change the landscape of DA:NCE!