1 in 3 women. 1 in 4 men. At work, at the gym, in any social context, gender-based violence is present in our lives and you may not even consider it all that often. But what if you did? What if you stepped onto the dance floor or into your lesson with an understanding of what gender-based violence is, who is at risk of it and the questions you can ask yourself to ensure that you are not making someone else feel threatened or uncomfortable? Let’s find out. Dabney Evans focuses her academic research on gender-based violence and is also a salsa and bachata dancer. This unique combination of skills and experiences allows her to apply her knowledge of gender-based violence to our beloved scene in a way that can help each and every one of us show up in a healthier way for ourselves and for our fellow dancers around us.

What to expect in this episode:
01:03 From Capoeira to Salsa & bachata
04:22 What is gender-based violence?
06:35 Gender-based violence in the SBK scene
09:53 Loss of a community because of assault or harassment
11:16 What are the risk factors? The individual, the community and the structural
13:53 Abused and the abusers: the factors are the same, the gender-identity is the difference
15:43 Interpersonal risk factors
21:34 How dance increases the risk of gender-based violence?
26:43: Consent: Can I touch you?
29:48 Systems of oppression
36:43 Just how common is gender-based violence?

About Dabney Evans
Dabney Evans is an Associate Professor at Emory University in the US and an avid salsa dancer in the SBK community. Her research focuses on gender-based violence and this gives her a unique lens through which she can see the dance community. Not only does Dabney focus on gender-based violence in her work, she also uses survivor-centered design to develop programs to prevent and respond to intimate and interpersonal violence.

Connect with Dabney
https://bsky.app/profile/dabneyevans.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/dabneyevans/

About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer and empowerment coach in the salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene. Dancing is a happy place for Bobbie, as it is for so many. In order to foster safer dance spaces for all dancers, Bobbie is on a mission to promote more accountability and responsibility surrounding boundaries, consent and safety within the community through education and conversations that matter. Bobbie is a coach and advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and promoting respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a coach and public speaker, she focuses on boundary setting and respect in practice, both on and off the dance floor.

Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips to boost your confidence on any dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips
Practice saying NO on the dance floor: empowereddancers.com/no

Connect with Bobbie Miles
Follow me on Instagram @theempowereddancerspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/theempowereddancerspodcast

Find me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bobbiemilesbailadora

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8pcAq9lXttVf9w9lDb1bQ?sub_confirmation=1

A dance lesson with two equal teachers. A mindset that expects respect and rejects stereotypes. A dance floor where sexualisation and objectification aren’t entertained. There are teachers and spaces that are working hard to create safer spaces and a huge contributor to that growth are the teachers behind Role Rotation in bachata - Felipe Ramirez and Tiago Adegas. We put Role Rotation to the test and unpicked how this tool is empowering dancers around the world and creating safer and more respectful dance spaces.

In this episode:
01:06 Finding the world of dance
02:46 What is Role Rotation?
05:48 How does Role Rotation encourage teachers to include etiquette into their classes?
13:20 Rough leaders and heavy followers - how can Role Rotation help with this?
15:20 Why do Role Rotation classes create more engaged learning environments?
23:50 Isn’t it time we ditched “may styling” and “lady styling”?
25:05 Not yet? Okay, what is masculine and feminine?
28:20 What are the limitations of sex-based styling classes?
34:04 How can we remove barriers to learning in our dance scene?
38:07 The responsibility of teachers - the key filter for dancers entering the community

About Felipe and Tiago
Felipe and Tiago are both professional dancers with rich backgrounds in dance styles such as jazz and ballroom. After developing as bachata dancers and teachers individually, they began teaching together in 2019. Felipe and Tiago teach through the method of Role Rotation, where dancers rotate within a couple at any given point during a song. Born in Spain and Portugal respectively, Felipe and Tiago are based in Madrid, where they run weekly bachata classes, teach around the world at weekends and organise the twice yearly Terra Livre Role Rotation festival. Through their work, Felipe and Tiago have brought Role Rotation teaching to more than 30 countries worldwide!

About Role Rotation
Felipe and Tiago are the teachers behind Role Rotation in bachata - a tool that seeks to empower dancers to learn faster, dance with more confidence and with more respect. A beginner of bachata starting out in a Role Rotation class can expect to start learning both the roles of leader and follower from Day 1. True Role Rotation values remove gender, sexualisation and stereotypes from dance and create a space where bad intentions become harder to hide and getting to know everyone in the room becomes easier and more fun.

Connect with Felipe and Tiago
https://rolerotationacademy.com/
https://terralivredancefestival.com/
https://www.in

About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer and empowerment coach in the salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene. Dancing is a happy place for Bobbie, as it is for so many. In order to foster safer dance spaces for all dancers, Bobbie is on a mission to promote more accountability and responsibility surrounding boundaries, consent and safety within the community through education and conversations that matter. Bobbie is a coach and advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and promoting respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a coach and public speaker, she focuses on boundary setting and respect in practice, both on and off the dance floor.

Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips to boost your confidence on any dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips
Practice saying NO on the dance floor: empowereddancers.com/no

Connect with Bobbie Miles
Follow me on Instagram @theempowereddancerspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/theempowereddancerspodcast

Find me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bobbiemilesbailadora

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8pcAq9lXttVf9w9lDb1bQ?sub_confirmation=1

How do you protect dancers across the SBK scene? You take their safety into account when planning your event. You talk about safety at your event. You give people knowledge about how to keep themselves safe. You take their experiences seriously when talking to them. That outdated line of “If I don’t hear about it, I can pretend it didn’t happen” is not going to cut it anymore - Jason Potell has been an active part of safer spaces for over 20 years and has combined his work and learning in that space with the dance space: his events in LA are attract less inappropriate behaviour. Why is that? Because he takes safety seriously. Isn’t it time everyone did?

What to expect in this episode:
(01:06) From Michael Jackson, to swing, to salsa!
(03:00) Reports of abuse + misconduct: there is something different in the water this time
(08:08) Safer spaces overlapping with dance spaces
(09:59) The role of Safer Dance Spaces for organisers
(13:22) How Jason and his team protect his attendees: from getting safely to your car to reporting inappropriate behaviour during the event
(14:38) Zero tolerance MEANS ZERO TOLERANCE
(16:29) How Jason deals with false reports - erring on the side of safety
(23:53) Safety beyond the dance floor - it permeates the lives of everyone
(27:19) It’s hard to hold people accountable
(30:42) Moving from conversations to action: surround yourself with people who are trying
(33:42) Organiser or social dancer - vote with your feet and your money

About Jason Potell
Jason Potell been dancing for around 25 years, as well as being a part of safer spaces conversations for about the same amount of time. In terms of style, Jason dips into a little bit of everything: from swing to salsa even. Jason spent many years as a full time instructor and organiser, and as a result of the COVID pandemic, Jason, like all teachers in affected countries, took a step back. Now Jason is back to running the Melty Micro microfusion event, and teaches and DJs around LA. Also a big board gamer, singer and movie enthusiast and safety is a core value that permeates all aspects of Jason’s life.

Connect with Jason
https://www.facebook.com/fuseandmuse

Connect with Safer Dance Spaces:
https://www.instagram.com/saferdancespaces/

About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer and empowerment coach in the salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene. Dancing is a happy place for Bobbie, as it is for so many. In order to foster safer dance spaces for all dancers, Bobbie is on a mission to promote more accountability and responsibility surrounding boundaries, consent and safety within the community through education and conversations that matter. Bobbie is a coach and advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and promoting respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a coach and public speaker, she focuses on boundary setting and respect in practice, both on and off the dance floor.

Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips to boost your confidence on any dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips
Practice saying NO on the dance floor: empowereddancers.com/no

Connect with Bobbie Miles
Follow me on Instagram @theempowereddancerspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/theempowereddancerspodcast

Find me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bobbiemilesbailadora

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8pcAq9lXttVf9w9lDb1bQ?sub_confirmation=1