Florida Intimacy Professionals (FLIP) is pleased to announce their launch of an online database for qualified Intimacy Directors and Coordinators in Florida. The organization was created by professionals in live (theatre, opera, and dance) and recorded (film and TV) entertainment to promote the use of Intimacy Professionals, and also to demonstrate best practices in the entertainment industry. These professionals, specially trained in movement for story-telling and creating moments of contact, uphold performer boundaries while fulfilling the creative vision of the director.
Read MorePreventing Harassment and Abuse in Dance Webinar Recording Now Available
Last month, Renee Redding-Jones and I, representing Intimacy Direction in Dance, joined a panel of dance educators, scientists, social workers, and mental health professionals on a panel for IADMS (International Association for Dance Medicine and Science) to discuss creating consent culture in dance.
IADMS has made the recording available, for free, for everyone. Watch it here.
2 Recent Podcast Appearances
In the past 2 weeks I’ve been on two podcasts-
Apolla Performance/Turning Point Creations’ “Beyond the Steps” talking about how, as dance educators, we can help students distinguish the difference between a boundary and a risk.
Audra Allen’s “Dance CEO Coach” talking about equity and professional development in dance.
Both of these are great resources for dance educators and dance entrepreneurs!
Power and Consent in Dance Writings from DanceGeist ezine
Sadly, DanceGeist ezine will be going away soon. DG was a great alternative to competition, commercial-based dance publications, with its focus on Somatics, disruption, and community. Unfortunately, that also means it was hard to sustain. But, I have been given access to all of my pieces from DG! I have link the power and consent series here, and the rest of the articles are all over on the Dance page, if you scroll to the bottom. Enjoy and share!
Creating Consent Culture in Dance
originally published in the Dance Geist ezine, Feb-April 2021
New Free Downloads
Over on the “Why Hire an Intimacy Choreographer” page, I’ve created 3 new, free, downloads that I think might be useful for theatre or dance companies or production companies or studios considering whether an Intimacy Choreographer is the right fit for the project, and what they can expect that to look like:
5 Questions to ask when Hiring an Intimacy Choreographer
Intimacy Coordination Overview
Intimacy Direction Overview
As this is my website, the views expressed on this page, that page, and in those documents are solely my own.
Urgency v. Efficiency
Clock-time is a colonial construct, followed to support capitalism. We know that is only a construct, and that time is much more spiraling than linear. And yet, we have agreed to live in society following this guideline.
As a teacher or leader, I can’t create more time, but I can shift how we feel about time.
Read MoreTalking about Intimacy Coordination as part of the Miami Film Festival Promos on WLRN's Sundial
I had the honor of being on South Florida radio staple Sundial today to talk about the intimacy profession and give a teaser of my conversation as part of the Miami Film Festival.
Hear the episode here. Get tickets to the conversation here.
Accountability is Not Punishment
I'm an MFA!
Finally, after a long road of graduate exploration beginning in 2016, I am excited to share I officially hold a Master (hate it) of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts with concentrations in both Decolonial Arts Praxis and Performance Creation Concentrations from Goddard College.
This wasn’t a journey I took alone. The following is my acknowledgements page from my thesis, Working Consent: Ethical Engagement with Collaborators, Audiences, and the Land in Dance and Theatre Pedagogy and Practice.
Read MoreAccountability is Necessary for Community.
Manifestation can be another way to absolve us of communal responsibility. Away to keep us ignorant of structural racism, patriarchy, and all the other -isms that shape our systems. It gives us an excuse to not be informed on our state and local policies, or vote in ways that support the people we say we love.
Read More2022 in Review
2022 was a big year of work for me. Here’s my year in review!
Read MoreThe Relationship of Consent and Power
Consent cannot exist if someone is under manipulation, influence, or coercion. Therefore, consent cannot exist when power dynamics are at play. Because power dynamics, whether social-structural or embodied, influence how we chose, behave, and speak.
Which is why consent does not exist for performers or students.
Read MoreAccountability: Connecting the Dots of Those Last 2 Posts
If you’ve read the last 2 posts, Bad Behavior in Theatre Communities and What’s the Point of Art?, read on! If not, scroll down and read those.
Ok. So these posts were in response to some specific events in my theatre community. But in conversations with folks around these events, and my responses, I’ve realized it’s not all they have in common. They may be in response to something, but both posts are actually about accountability.
Read MoreMy Thoughts after Watching "God Forbid" on Hulu
I got to see a preview version of “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal that Brought Down a Dynasty “ in Miami last week, about 5 days before it dropped on Hulu (it’s there right now! Go watch!). Afterwards, I shared some thoughts on Twitter. This post is an adaptation of and expansion on those thoughts.
Content Warning: Religion, Religious figures, January 6, 2020, Abortion, Sex
Read MoreAnnouncing Intimacy Direction in Dance!
I came to Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination because of my work in theatre. I came to work in theatre as a choreographer and a dancer. Dance has always shaped the journeys of who I am and what I do. Since I started learning Intimacy Direction in 2018, and particularly once I met Sarah Lozoff, I had a goal of bringing Intimacy Direction to concert dance- especially ballet and modern. And now, we’re one step closer,
IntimacyDirectionInDance.com
Sarah and I, with the fantastic Renee Redding-Jones are excited to launch Intimacy Direction in Dance! We are here to let dance companies know that Intimacy Direction is available to them! And that there are professionals specifically trained in both dance and intimacy. The power dynamics, vocabulary, and performance demands of dance are all slightly different than those of theatre of film. So we want dance companies to work with folks who are well-versed in the dance performance, creation, and teaching worlds, so that the application of Intimacy Direction to dance performances is beneficial to dancers, choreographers, and audiences.
We are excited to get to work!
January News Stories About Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination
Misuse of Power in Movie Sex Scenes. The Guardian. 31 January 2021.
To be clear, I find this piece HIGHLY problematic.
It’s presentation would suggest that women cannot abuse power- this is obviously untrue.
It invisibilizes non-binary intimacy coordinators, who definitely exist.
I include it here because it is getting shared a lot, and it does have a good summary of the role of an Intimacy Coordinator.
Phoebe Dynevor on Intimacy Coordination for Bridgerton. Backstage. 22 January 2021.