CONSENT CULTURE at ECSTATIC DANCE CORVALLIS
There are hundreds of Ecstatic Dances around the world, and each one has its own way of holding this sacred movement container. We at Ecstatic Dance Corvallis are holding it as practice of movement meditation, to drop out of the thinking-judging mind and into the feeling body. It's not a mini-festival, a tribal hoedown, nor a party.
Most of our community members prefer to dance solo, while there are others who enjoy contact dancing in pairs or even small groups. So, while our meditation practice has interpersonal aspects, we do not consider it to be "social dance" (where making physical contact with others is fundamental to the form). It's certainly not about looking for people to date or “getting some” physical affection—if that’s your intention, then your energy will feel unsafe to others and is not welcome here.
At Ecstatic Dance Corvallis, we place a very high value on consent and safety. We ask everyone to be aware of others' personal boundaries, considering the wide range of comfort to being approached and/or touched. We have a community agreement to only give attention or contact to whom enthusiastically welcomes it.
Many who come to dance are working through trauma, and only want attention from people they've learned to feel very safe around. Therefore, following someone on the dancefloor who has not shown any interest in engaging with you--or even just staring at them--constitutes unwanted attention. It feels predatory, no matter how innocent the intention. The responsibility for keeping things comfortable and safe is on the person offering/requesting/giving attention, not the person receiving the request or attention. If in doubt, keep your attention and energy contained to yourself.
You may see people dancing in intimate contact dances, and you may want to explore that here too. Please understand that those relationships are built on trust that has developed over the course of months or even years. If you are new to our community, it is best to focus on your solo movement practice for the first month or two, thereby giving people a chance to get comfortable around you. When you do start approaching people for contact dance, do it very conscientiously and gently—and pay careful attention to body language. If someone dances away from you once or twice, it means they are not interested, and you should not give them attention for the rest of that dance.
It's also important to know that consent for one type of contact does not imply consent for another. For example, someone may share a fun, dynamic contact dance with you, but that does not mean they are comfortable with you embracing them, lifting them, or grabbing them in any way. It's best to whisper a request before taking any contact to a new level of connection. And if you feel their body freeze up at any point, it means they likely feel threatened, and it's best to move on from that dance.
If you or any of your friends feel you are receiving unwanted attention, any nonconsensual behavior, or inappropriate requests to connect outside of dance, we encourage you to seek out Kara Bartlow at the door, Jeanette Hardison on the dance floor, or even PJ (Baron von Spirit) while they are DJing. We will make sure it gets addressed right then and there
Most of our community members prefer to dance solo, while there are others who enjoy contact dancing in pairs or even small groups. So, while our meditation practice has interpersonal aspects, we do not consider it to be "social dance" (where making physical contact with others is fundamental to the form). It's certainly not about looking for people to date or “getting some” physical affection—if that’s your intention, then your energy will feel unsafe to others and is not welcome here.
At Ecstatic Dance Corvallis, we place a very high value on consent and safety. We ask everyone to be aware of others' personal boundaries, considering the wide range of comfort to being approached and/or touched. We have a community agreement to only give attention or contact to whom enthusiastically welcomes it.
Many who come to dance are working through trauma, and only want attention from people they've learned to feel very safe around. Therefore, following someone on the dancefloor who has not shown any interest in engaging with you--or even just staring at them--constitutes unwanted attention. It feels predatory, no matter how innocent the intention. The responsibility for keeping things comfortable and safe is on the person offering/requesting/giving attention, not the person receiving the request or attention. If in doubt, keep your attention and energy contained to yourself.
You may see people dancing in intimate contact dances, and you may want to explore that here too. Please understand that those relationships are built on trust that has developed over the course of months or even years. If you are new to our community, it is best to focus on your solo movement practice for the first month or two, thereby giving people a chance to get comfortable around you. When you do start approaching people for contact dance, do it very conscientiously and gently—and pay careful attention to body language. If someone dances away from you once or twice, it means they are not interested, and you should not give them attention for the rest of that dance.
It's also important to know that consent for one type of contact does not imply consent for another. For example, someone may share a fun, dynamic contact dance with you, but that does not mean they are comfortable with you embracing them, lifting them, or grabbing them in any way. It's best to whisper a request before taking any contact to a new level of connection. And if you feel their body freeze up at any point, it means they likely feel threatened, and it's best to move on from that dance.
If you or any of your friends feel you are receiving unwanted attention, any nonconsensual behavior, or inappropriate requests to connect outside of dance, we encourage you to seek out Kara Bartlow at the door, Jeanette Hardison on the dance floor, or even PJ (Baron von Spirit) while they are DJing. We will make sure it gets addressed right then and there