[Callers] Creating a safe dance space (was Shadow Swing Disclaimers)

[Ron Blechner via Callers]

Erik,

I'm alarmed at reading your reply in the shadow swing thread.

I have seen, as a dancer, caller, and organizer, at a variety of dances,
far too many incidents of inappropriate behavior. I refuse to simply wash
my hands and say "oh, it's not the caller's place to worry about this." A
caller is the MC, the coordinator, and often from the stage we can see
everything happening in the room. It absolutely is our paid job to help
create a safe dance space.

I want to focus on what seems to be the crux of your statement from the
shadow swing email:

" that interpersonal conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are
required. They understand how to make everyone work together. Family
schisms are inevitable."

How many "conflicts" does it take before we take responsibility and address
inappropriate behavior at a dance? I have seen many occasions where *one*
conflict means a dancer who is new never returns, or an experienced dancer
never returns, or they wind up having to spend every night avoiding *that
creepy dude*. I know first hand what having a *single* bad experience can
mean for a dancer.

So if we leave these as "inevitable", then the people we lose aren't the
people doing the inappropriate behavior - no, those jerks stay, stubbornly
- we lose the nicer people who were victimized, harassed, made
uncomfortable.

Is that the kind of dance environment you want to promote?

I don't believe so.

Instead, asking questions, as Maia did, about things a caller can do to
create a safe dance space, is essential to long term community building.
This doesn't mean we are "dance police" or do anything extraordinary. But
it does mean that we should be considerate to dancers and not write off
their bad experiences as things that they need to merely tolerate and "be
an adult" as you put it.

Sincerely,
Ron Blechner
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