Code of Conduct

Retaliation Dance Productions, LLC, is all about contributing to a dance community that is a fun, friendly, and safe place where everyone can enjoy learning and dancing. This Code of Conduct is meant to outline some ways that we can work together to keep everyone safe and happy. 

Retaliation Dance Productions events believe that dance is for everyone, regardless of race, age, level of dance ability, competitive level or lack thereof, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, disability, physical appearance, religion, or anything else. We do not tolerate harassment, bullying, or threats of any kind. Any situation that makes another person feel unsafe or uncomfortable to the point of being unable to enjoy the event is unacceptable and may be considered harassment. It is the responsibility of every attendee to read and understand this Code of Conduct, as we will be enforcing it at all of our events!

Guidelines

• Try to dance with as many people as possible. Make sure everyone who is social dancing has the chance to be included and enjoy their time at Retaliation events. 
• Never teach or give technique-related feedback on the social floor or during classes. Provide your partner with a fun dance. It is neither your job nor place to give them a lecture or talk them through patterns. 
• Be considerate of your partner’s physical comfort and limitations when dancing. Someone’s previous injuries, dance experience, height, or other factors may influence what your partner can or cannot do. Err on the side of caution and respect.
• Be mindful of how you “show up” to any space you are in. This can include refraining from excessive amounts of cologne/perfume, bringing a change of shirt if you sweat profusely, avoiding substances that create lingering odors that might create discomfort in others, and more. Err on the side of caution and respect.
• Clear communication is important. If at any time you don’t wish to dance, you can say “No thanks” with no further explanation. If someone says this to you, don’t be offended or try and talk them into dancing. Just move along without offense. If you are asking someone to dance, ask for their consent clearly. (“Hey, would you like to dance?”) and make sure they give clear consent to dance with you. (“Yes, I would love to.”) 
• Feel free to choose whatever dance role you prefer. We invite everyone to choose their own role, lead or follow. We expect people to dance with leaders/followers of any gender/gender identity without bias. 
• Respect people’s boundaries. Keep in mind that for some, dancing in public feels potentially vulnerable; everyone enjoys themselves best when they feel physically comfortable and safe with their dance partners. We do not tolerate any kind of verbal or physical harassment of our dancers. Again, err on the side of caution and respect.

Alcohol and other altering substances can make it harder to judge boundaries accurately. Be mindful of your limits so that you can be mindful of others. Retaliation Swing reserves the right to remove you from the ballroom, competition, and/or the event (without refund) in the event that you are obviously intoxicated and deemed a risk to the fellow attendees.

Behaviors that might make a fellow attendee uncomfortable include:

• Physical contact that is unnecessary and inappropriate to the social dance or social class. Sometimes mistakes happen, and that’s OK—just make sure you apologize to your dance partner and give them their personal space afterward.
• Inappropriate comments/jokes about people, clothing, dance lyrics, dance style, or otherwise.
• Sexually suggestive dance moves.
• Using leads that are uncomfortable and/or dangerous or overly familiar (like neck or head leads).
• Contacting someone on social media with unsolicited and explicit advances.
• Inappropriately following (“stalking”) someone on the ballroom floor or in other event areas for any reason.

Consequences of unacceptable behavior: 

Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior or behavior that is interpreted as harassing—even if that was not the intention— is expected to stop immediately. Actions that compromise the safe and respectful environment of this event are not acceptable from any member of our community: attendees, teachers, judges, performers, volunteers, or staff. Depending on the severity, event organizers’ interventions in response to a problem may range from talking to the offending person and asking them to do or not do something, disqualifying someone from a contest or other component of the event, to asking them to leave the venue immediately without compensation or refund. These conversations or actions may take place in private if that seems appropriate to the situation. When a situation is significant enough that we decide to take follow-up action, we may share information about the situation with our fellow event directors or others in decision-making positions.
 

We expect that none of these responses will be necessary. We truly want this to be a place everyone can enjoy. We are grateful for your help and commitment to making our shared environment safe for everyone.

Reporting a problem
 

• If someone makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, or if you see something which appears inappropriate, we encourage you to report it. This can be done in strict confidence. No specific level of behavior needs to be met to justify a report. 
• Please alert the event director (Laura Hunter), Head of Staff (Elizabeth Wyke), Safety Coordinator (James Wyke) or anyone wearing a green safety arm band.

Retaliation Dance Productions, LLC reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone.