Integrating Consent Practices in Dance Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Utilizing consent practices in dance classrooms offers students greater control over their own bodies and increases accessibility, especially for those affected by sexual violence, racial injustice, and other forms of trauma and oppression. Increasingly consent practices are becoming critical tools for dance education. This article surveys literature on consent in dance and education and draws on the author’s experience incorporating consent practices in post secondary dance classrooms to offer a how-to guide. Explicit, consistent, multi-faceted, and power-sensitive approaches are needed to effectively create a culture of consent in dance classrooms. The principles and practices presented here address touch, as well as other acts of risk and vulnerability, making them applicable to technique classes and rehearsals, and other types of dance classes such as choreography, improvisation, anatomy, or dance history. Through effective use of consent practices, students can access the autonomy they need to care for themselves, be brave, and take risks.