We’re thrilled to share our inaugural Healthy Dance Showcase, a celebration of dance studios and organizations across the nation showcasing the joy and wonder of creative, age-appropriate dance. Watch how these performances highlight the beauty of dance that protects childhood innocence while fostering creativity. Watch the Showcase Now.
Then, take a deep dive into the journey behind the Healthy Dance Showcase, exploring how new ideas are creating actionable solutions to combat harmful dance trends, with an invitation to join us in this important work.
Curious about our Dance Coalition and what it means to be a part of it? Join us for a virtual open house to learn more about Coalition membership and how you can contribute to the DA:NCE mission! Open Houses will last around 30 minutes. There are 3 opportunities to attend:
In being asked to write for the DA:NCE newsletter I thought long and hard about what the focus of this article should be. Of course, it should cover issues around the hypersexualisation of young people in dance, but the challenges of addressing this issue are vast, stretch across dance styles and contexts around the world.
As those who engage with the work of DA:NCE Awareness: No Child Exploited will know, there is a growing trend towards the hypersexualization of children’s dance in adult costumes and choreography. This article explores strategies that dance schools, competition organizations, and judges can employ to promote healthier, age-appropriate standards in choreography and costumes, ultimately creating a safer and more nurturing environment for young dancers.
At Christmas, the flavors we usually think of belong to goodies like cookies, fudge, candy canes and hot chocolate. But today, I want to flavor your heart with 2 gifts of goodness that DA:NCE personally attended: the 2024 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE) Summit (sponsored by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation) in Washington DC and the Dance for Life (DFL) gala in Salt Lake City.
One of the goals of DA:NCE is to highlight organizations we feel embody healthy dance. DA:NCE would like to present J’Adore Dance from Midlothian, Virginia as our Healthy Dance Studio.
The sexualisation of children in dance is an issue that has been growing exponentially in Western culture. The lack of regulation, combined with the influence of the media, has seen hypersexualisation of children’s dance spiral out of control in Australia in recent years.
One of the last dance eisteddfods (competitive festivals) I attended pre-Covid in Brisbane, Queensland (2019) demonstrated one extreme example of how the industry is failing to protect child dancers.
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 nominate that organization to be featured. We are hopeful that this will become not only a wonderful resource for concerned parents and adults, but also a place to celebrate all of the dance studios and organizations dedicated to protecting children in dance.
The 2024 NDEO Conference (Revitalize: Breathing New Life into Your Dance Programs and Teaching Methods) was a green light that never went red! DA:NCE attended the conference with a panel of dance experts that spoke on the hypersexualization of children in dance: Anne Green Gilbert, Lynn Monson, Marlita Hill and myself. DA:NCE also exhibited at the conference. That too was a WOW!
2024 NDEO Healthy or Harmful Children’s Dance: Solutions PowerPoint and Handout. Click Here to download
January 23-25 California Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Conference Pasadena, California (Cancelled because of fires)
February 24-26 National Religious Broadcasters Conference Grapevine, Texas
April 1-4 Society of Healthy and Physical Educators Baltimore, Maryland
April 30-May 3 California Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Conference Pasadena, California (Re-scheduled)
Want to schedule a Zoom with Mary? Use this link:
https://cal.com/marybawden
Click the button below to Donate to Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited to help end child exploitation through dance. DA:NCE is a program of Soul to Sole Choreography, a Section 501(c)(3) organization, EIN 20-0370145. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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The world of dance is so varied and offers incredible chances for creativity, physical health, confidence, and talent development when
Pegasus Dance Studios is a dynamic dance studio located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1986, they provide high-quality instruction
