About marybawden

As a dance educator, Mary Bawden loves dance and its researched benefits. In 2016, she founded DA:NCE which advocates for the protection of children, from hypersexualization in adult costumes choreography and music, as well as the art form of dance. In 2003, she founded Soul to Sole Choreography which provides concrete tools for communicating the gospel using the language of movement. Mary lives in Redlands, CA with her husband Richard. She loves to create children’s books for her grandchildren, eat Snickers, and watch Dodger games.

DA:NCE Connects with KOSA

2024-02-14T02:17:07+00:00February 14th, 2024|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

Did you watch the U.S. Congressional Hearings in Washington on January 31, 2024 concerning the lack of safety mechanisms on social media platforms for children? CEOs of Meta (notably Mark Zuckerberg), TikTok, Snapchat, Discord, X and others were called on to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the exposure of inappropriate adult material to

Add Your Voice to ‘My DA:NCE Why’

2023-12-05T16:43:29+00:00December 5th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

If you’re reading this article, you already know that there’s been a radical change from healthy educational dance to harmful hypersexualized children’s dance in adult costumes, choreography and music. Sociologist Dr. Gail Dines calls it ‘a pornified culture.’ Researcher Phillip Adams calls it ‘Corporate Paedophilia.’ Cultural transformation has come through exposure to on-going internet, media

2023: ‘A Very Good Year’ for DA:NCE

2023-11-22T19:48:23+00:00November 17th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

At DA:NCE, 2023 was a very good year. That line was made famous in a song sung by Frank Sinatra. It resonates with me. https://open.spotify.com/track/2ID3rNM3hFBjqrLcV0Wr0y?autoplay=true Now let’s look at how the song repeated 'It Was A Very Good Year' in the lyrics and personalize it. 2023 was a very good year for DA:NCE because you

‘She Loves to Move’ and move and move

2023-10-29T23:40:32+00:00October 26th, 2023|Benefits of Dance, Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

  It's time for healthy dance to get the spotlight with ‘She Loves to Move.’ It’s been a very special yearlong celebration…and we’ve found out what we already knew: a child really does love to move and move and move. The profound lyrics of the song demonstrate this: “She loves to move. Poetry in motion,

She Loves to Move Call for Choreography Reflection

2023-09-27T22:32:37+00:00August 23rd, 2023|Choreography|

By: Marlita Hill, Lead Adjudicator for DA:NCE’s $5,000 Call for Choreography With an aim to publicize DA:NCE Awareness’s mission and celebrate the healthy, age-appropriate dance happening throughout our communities, DA:NCE launched its inaugural choreography competition, ‘She Loves to Move.’ The ‘She Loves to Move’ Call for Choreography began with an October 2022 invitation sent out

‘My DA:NCE Why’: Reflections on Innocence

2023-09-27T06:09:07+00:00July 27th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

“A child's innocence is the one gift, that once stolen, can never be replaced.” ―Jaeda DeWalt Innocence: Ignorance, freedom from cunning; lack of worldly experience DA:NCE just released a new resource called ‘My DA:NCE Why’. In that video, along with others, I recorded a brief statement about why I founded DA:NCE: “There’s been a cultural

The Long-Awaited Marriage at NRB and a Yearlong Celebration at DA:NCE

2023-06-22T19:33:38+00:00June 27th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

So DANCE Team, what in the world do I mean by a DA:NCE marriage? Lean in. The nuptials took place in Orlando Florida from May 22-25. It’s a partnership that’s taken a few years to plan. But it was worth it. In 2022, DA:NCE conducted personal interviews through our ‘Share Your DA:NCE Story’ Campaign by

Learning About Childhood Trauma from SHAPE 2023 and Tik Tok

2023-04-28T18:44:59+00:00April 26th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

From March 28-April 1, I was invited to speak on  ‘Wholesome to Hypersexualized: What Happened to Children’s Dance?’ at the National SHAPE(Society of Health and Physical Educators) Conference in Seattle Washington. Enjoy the conference pics. Tons of interesting contacts and good conversations! Along with a special interview with Dr. Josh Trout of Chico CA who

Dance Studios & Children: 3 Survivors Speak About Hypersexualization

2023-03-27T16:41:52+00:00March 28th, 2023|Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited|

Are you part of ‘the grumble’? That’s somebody who distances him/herself from a cultural or personal trend that is uncomfortable. SILENT THOUGHTS: Maybe the problem will go away? Maybe we can solve it without addressing it? Many adults don’t see what’s happening to children’s dance because of the creeping internet and media connection to pornography;

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