Momentum Stage has just launched a new course I wrote combining my training in intimacy choreography, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System and my years as both an educator and creator of movement.
This is to offer teaching options for those who are either encouraged or mandated to not touch in teaching. This is not a class about touching students. It is a class to consider IF touch is necessary, HOW do we teach without it (or very little of it), and WHEN/IF it IS necessary, to make very specific choices in our type of touch in order to be as effective as possible with that touch.
This is a topic I am really passionate about and hope a lot of movement teachers take us up on our summer professional development. And, the coronavirus has given us a really good reason to take this summer to examine our pedagogy. Some dance studios are already reopening. Some studios live are holding classes outdoors. Many school programs are currently planning to resume in the fall. A current document being widely shared in dance groups on social media does not address these guidelines at all. In fact, it seems to take for granted that teachers will indeed be touching their students (and that students will be touching each other). Summer break could be a time for teachers to be proactive, prepared, strategic, and safe.
The time for teachers to think about ways they may be able to teach with NO touch or LITTLE touch is NOW, when we are not yet in the studio, not once we are back. And the reason is two-fold: 1. For health and safety in our current state, and 2. A general reworking is needed in how the dance world (and really a lot of movement methodologies) uses touch. Consent and the student’s personal agency should always be a priority! In fact, that’s initially why this course was created!
Frankly, a policy of no-touching out of fear (whether it's of a virus or of a lawsuit) will harm relationships and trust. However, a pedagogy, built from a considered practice of consent and power dynamics, creative options, and best practices, will result in not only a safer room for our dancers and teachers but also an empowering one that values the humanity and agency of each person in it.