At Swing Dance Calgary, we strive to be inclusive and provide a safer space for everyone to participate in our events. We recognize that this is a journey, not a destination, and as such we acknowledge that we will make mistakes along the way, we commit to learning from these mistakes so that we can improve and do a better job going forward.
We have included a few examples of clear expectations here for those who participate in events with Swing Dance Calgary. These expectations are grounded in kindness and respect for one another and are a condition of continuing to participate in events. Obviously, we are not able to outline every scenario that could take place at an event, we hope our philosophy is clear with the examples we have provided so that participants can apply our outlook to their exact situation and act accordingly. When in doubt, please ask one of the organizers. We will do our best to identify our key organizers at each event so you know who to talk to if you have any concerns.
Swing Dance Calgary is committed to a consent culture, participants are required to ask for consent to dance with each other and must recognize that consent can be withdrawn at anytime. If you are not sure you have consent, please do not assume it exists. Ask. Respect other dancer’s no, as much as you respect their yes!
We do not tolerate any form of harassment, violence, discrimination, bullying, abuse or solicitation at our events and we believe in and support people who have experienced harm. ALL people are equal in dignity, rights and responsibilities as codified in the Alberta Human Rights Act.
One of the ways that we demonstrate respect for other participants is by using their pronouns and when we make a mistake and are corrected, we apologize and change our language. Another example of how to respect other dancers and take responsibility for our actions happens on the dance floor when we bump into others; check in with the other dancers and confirm no one is hurt, apologize and help them if they are hurt. There are so many ways to demonstrate respect for others on and off the dance floor, we ask that as participants in a Swing Dance Calgary event you commit to being the dancer who takes responsibility for your actions and words. Safer spaces happen by design, we ask that all participants actively help us create and maintain a safer space to dance in and enjoy each other’s company.
Please remember that the reason we take safer spaces work so seriously is because we know that if we create a place that is safer for everyone then everyone can have more fun and be more creative. We all dance better when we aren’t worried about our physical, mental or emotional safety. We each get to show up as our authentic self and share with our dance community. We all WIN!
If you experience or witness any of these expectations not being met, there are several actions you can take:
Raise your concern with the party or parties involved if you are comfortable addressing the issue yourself – all participants are expected to comply with these expectations so you have a right to address any non compliance you observe.
Speak to a friend, someone you are comfortable with, and ask them to join you in speaking to the party or parties involved or that friend can speak to them on your behalf.
Speak to one of the organizers at the particular Swing Dance Calgary event you are at to let them know about your concern.
Please remember, your courage in bringing forward concerns can go a long way in helping to educate someone who might not realize their behaviour is inappropriate and it can keep the behaviour from being repeated or escalating. We work hard to make sure people understand the difference between intent and impact; so although someone may not have intended to do harm, there may still be an impact that they are not aware of yet.
Swing Dance Calgary will attend all concerns brought forward with care and discretion, according to the needs and wishes of the concerned party and the severity of the concern. Ideally any occurrence will be used as learning moments so that we can all improve our knowledge of how to treat each other with respect and dignity, however, some concerns may require more significant consequences up to and including removing a participant from the event.
If you see something that we could improve that isn’t urgent, you can drop us an email with your observation and any potential solutions you think we should consider at swingdancecalgaryca@gmail.com