16/09/2022
📜 Safer Space Agreements 📜
By attending Fusion Dance Night Toronto event you acknowledge having read and agreeing with the principles below.
✋RESPECT
🖤 Everyone is welcome, regardless of dance type, skill level, dance role, or body type.
🖤 Don’t injure yourself or someone else.
🖤 Don’t offer feedback on someone else’s dance unless asked—but if they hurt you or
make you feel uncomfortable give them feedback right away. If this is something you
would like support with, please get in touch with an organizer 💓.
🖤 Be aware of the space around you.
Unless invited, avoid encroaching on other dancers space.
🖤 Lifts and other big movements should be avoided if the floor is crowded—or if your
partner isn’t into that kind of thing.
🖤 Show respect for everyone in the community through actions of kindness.
🖤 We acknowledge and are grateful for the many dances we share which come from
the African diaspora.
✋EXPLORE
💙 Explore and be inspired by the many personal variations of creativity.
💙 Practice non-judgement, especially with yourself.
💙 Lead, follow, switch, and flow. Be creative and mess with gender roles.
💙 Practice open-mindedness and receptivity with music you are less comfortable with
—Remember that music is culture and music that you are less familiar with might be
meaningful to another person or group of people.
💙 Dance in partnership, on your own, or with multiple people.
✋CONSENT
💜 Physical and emotional safety are important and are everyone’s responsibility.
💜 If you want to dance with someone, ask kindly.
💜 If you don’t want to dance, say “no” kindly.
💜If someone says “no”, accept their “no” kindly.
💜 Practice listening to nonverbal cues to understand your dance partner’s boundaries.
💜 Practice asking about your dance partner’s boundaries, verbally and nonverbally.
💜 Practice expressing your own boundaries, verbally and nonverbally.
💜 Don’t assume someone’s gender pronouns, and use the pronouns someone asks you
to use.
💜 As we continue to navigate COVID-19, consider bringing a mask, and wearing it if it
will help your dance partner(s) feel more comfortable. Please don’t arrive at a dance
with symptoms of any potentially contagious illness.
🧡 These principles are here to make our community and our dances more awesome and authentic.
🧡 This is also a living document—please get in touch if you have suggestions or would like to talk about any of these things.
🧡 Thank you to Dance Alchemy for sharing their Principles. With permission, we used their well-considered language very directly in this document.
Big thanks to Kayla Chambers for putting this together!
