Healthy Dance. At first thought these two words as written appear simplistic and self- explanatory, but with more critical thought and further examination the term, healthy dance reveals a far more complex meaning. Healthy dance is in fact made up of many layers that are not apparent on the surface.
Many years ago, when I began my dance training as a tiny toddler of three years, my mother, who loved ballet, had a dream to expose me to the art, but thankfully also had the wherewithal to seek out a teacher who was properly trained and a qualified professional. She did this in order to ensure that I would receive the best possible healthy dance training. Originally healthy dance was assumed to have meant safe training to prevent injury and body distortion and to expose one to the culture of each respective genre. Historically, many years of ballet training even on a professional level had often resulted in injuries that at times were debilitating and left dancers unable to fulfill their careers, hence the implementation of safe dance training.
Fast forward to present day (about 60 years) where dance training has evolved and morphed into something quite different than most could not have imagined all those years ago. I find it simply amazing, gratifying and inspiring to have witnessed the growth and expansion of dance training globally with the incorporation of the study of medical dance sciences in the physical and now mental health areas. The volume of studies and research that has been conducted and published available to dance educators, dancers, parents and dance enthusiasts is paramount.
Not only does dance training have many health benefits (which dance teachers and dancers are instinctively aware,) but it has also been recognized and supported by a well-researched base within the academic community. As an experienced dance teacher of over 40 years, I have seen many changes throughout my career, many of which have been extremely beneficial to the dancer but I have also witnessed some “not so good” changes, one being the hyper-sexualization that has slowly crept into most aspects of children’s dance training. In fact it may well be the most concerning “not so good” change that has occurred in recent years.
As I think back over the decades when I was teaching dance I realize now that the hyper-sexualization was slowly dripping in for many years. As a teacher of many genres, I witnessed this across the board but it was most prevalent in jazz and hip hop. Today this trend is well engrained not only in the dance training of children in many regional after school dance studios but also in our media culture, including social media, movies, and television shows seen on many streaming platforms. Children today are overly exposed to social media in which images of hyper-sexualized dance are abundant. It has become normalized to the point where even the parents and dance educators often seem to be oblivious.
As I witnessed this, I began to wake up from my naïve slumber and recognized that this had become a very serious issue. It was at this point that I began to wonder how I could as a dance educator become part of the solution rather than the problem. I began researching the topic of how hyper-sexualization in dance and images affects a child’s mind. To my surprise I found quite a number of studies which spurred me on to initiate discussion on this topic with a few of my colleagues. Through these discussions I became aware of a healthy dance competition put on by DA:NCE Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited. A colleague of mine wrote to the organization and set up a virtual meeting with the founder, Mary Bawden. One could say that “the rest was history” as I was very impressed with their work and immediately delved into what they had to offer to bring awareness to the public and the dance community.
From Mary Bawden’s lips to our ears and I quote, “If you peek into my heart, you’ll see that I founded DA:NCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited) to educate parents, teachers, and dance professionals about the stark differences between healthy and harmful dance. The goal is not to attack dance but to protect its integrity-and, most importantly, to protect children.” This sums up nicely what the organization endeavors to accomplish, which is what resonates in my heart.
Mary developed the definitions for healthy dance and harmful dance to help make it easier for everyone to understand the concept.
“In healthy dance, which is educational dance, children look like children and are dressed in age-appropriate costumes, choreography, and music, usually accompanied by a wonderful sense of joy.”
“In harmful dance or hyper-sexualized dance, children look like adults and are dressed in adult costumes, choreography, and music, usually accompanied by adult hairstyles and makeup.”
She then moved forward addressing the possible solutions of putting an end to the hyper-sexualization of children in dance by bringing awareness and taking action by founding DA:NCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited),in 2016. A non-profit, non-partisan organization which provides free evidence based educational material for dance educators, parents and concerned adults from a collaboration of credible experts and their research.
Today the organization has grown to an expediential level and has been hugely successful in bringing awareness through education by providing sources of evidence-based research and tools to help the dance educators and studio owners educate colleagues, parents and students of the harmful effects on children by the exposure of hyper-sexualized dance in costumes, choreography and music. These tools and sources are easily accessible on their website, www.danceawareness.com
The website provides a directory of dance schools globally that offer healthy dance training, a dance coalition member base of dance educators and enthusiasts with action committees who actively address various initiatives, a quarterly newsletter providing updates on their activities and accomplishments and articles written by dance professionals, members, students, parents and medical professionals, a monthly beat or brief of educational articles, educational presentations, various interactive activities such as “Share Your Dance Story” and “What’s Your Dance Why”, eBooks, blogs, social media challenge, Healthy Dance Showcase and a virtual healthy dance competition, “She Loves to Move”, and more. Dance Awareness No Child Exploited is also supported by 50 organizations, medical and dance professionals alike.
Overall, the website is a comprehensive compilation of information on hyper-sexualization in choreography, costumes, and music and its negative effects on child development and offers real world solutions derived from evidence-based research by mental health and dance professionals. For instance, topics dealing with how children and their parents are becoming increasingly vulnerable to predators through social media, the corporate profit aspect whereby the commercialization of children (often through dance images) are used to generate profit, and the neurological stress that is caused by exposure to adult themed hyper-sexualized content on a child’s brain. These are just a few of the many researched topics, articles and presentations that can be accessed on the website.
During the past four years that I have been involved with DA:NCE I have had the pleasure of working with Mary Bawden and the many volunteers who make up the body of the organization who are dedicated, concerned and passionate individuals who work tirelessly to bring awareness to the world about healthy and harmful dance. More work needs to be done but the pathway to enlightenment is wide open and as awareness becomes more prevalent the task to protect our children in dance and beyond will become easier with each passing day.
Remember, it takes a village to raise a child.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1458&context=dignity
https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjUvLIzO7Yk https://www.danceawareness.com/resources/beneath-the-surface-of-hypersexualized-dance-in-children/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327324990_Sexualization_of_Prepubescent_Girls_in_Dance_Competition_Innocent_Fun_or_’Sexploitation‘
Bio: Joanne Gibson Menzies has been dancing most of her life with a teaching career that encompasses over 40 years. Her training spans from England to LA California with repertoire in ballet, modern contemporary, jazz, tap and National dance. She is a graduate of Ryerson Polytechnic University/Canadian College of Dance in Toronto, where she obtained a Diploma in Theatre and Dance, her Royal Academy of Dance Teacher Credentials in ballet and her Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing credentials in Modern and National Dance. She holds the Licentiate designation with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, London in ballet and the Advanced Teaching Certificate RAD. She is an experienced adjudicator, choreographer and producer of dance productions and dance festivals. Joanne has taught in Toronto and in the Vancouver area for the past 40 years at many schools as well as her own and ran a ladies dance group, Dance Divas in Abbotsford. She has danced professionally in Toronto with Dance Breakers, Folk Ballet Theatre and Capricho Español. Joanne also holds her Pilates Level One certification and the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Certificate, International Yoga Alliance.
Joanne owned and operated her school for 8 years and currently guest teaches at various schools in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley areas (Vancouver BC) and teaches ballet and yoga at Abbotsford Dance Centre. She has recently started a Dance Teacher Training program offering coaching and mentorship for teachers of all levels. Joanne is a Member of the DA:NCE Advisory Council. She resides in Abbotsford with her husband and has two grown children, Cale her son and her daughter, Marissa.
