News item | 22-06-2023 | 12:30
Twelve parties from the dance sector signed a covenant today in the presence of Minister Helder (Long-term Care and Sport, VWS) and State Secretary Uslu (Culture and Media, OCW) to set up the Alliantie Dans Veilig. These organizations and unions want to work together more closely for a safe dance culture. They do so in response to the Verinorm report ‘Shadow dancing’ into transgressive behavior in the sector.
Transgressive behavior has no place anywhere, not even in the dance world. Nevertheless, the Verinorm report shows, among other things, that almost 40% of all dancers had been confronted with some form of transgressive behavior in the past year. One of the most important recommendations for improvement is the establishment of a single collaborative body for the entire dance sector. The fragmentation in the dance world is great. This is partly because different dance styles have their own organization, but also because dance has interfaces with many different other sectors, such as sports, culture and education. Without cooperation, this leads to problems in the coordinated approach to tackling transgressive behaviour.
Hands together
That is why Cultuurconnectie, Dancers Council, Dansbelang, Dansondernemers Nederland, Dutch Dance Sports, Royal Dutch Association of Dance Teachers, Kunstenbond, MBO Dans, the Dutch General Dance Sports Association, Dutch Breaking League, Dutch Danssport Organization and Platform Ondernemende Sportproviders are now joining forces: They jointly speak out against transgressive behavior in their sector and want to work together to increase safety. The Alliantie Dans Veilig (Alliantie Dans Veilig) must be a central place from which organizations can contribute to following up on the recommendations from the research report.
Minister Helder therefore wholeheartedly supports the Alliance: “I have great admiration for all dancers who have spoken out against transgressive behaviour. Who broke the silence. That takes courage. And the fact that the dance landscape is highly fragmented – in terms of organization, styles and culture – has made it even more difficult to seek help. I am therefore happy that the dance world is now uniting to do things differently.”
State Secretary Uslu agrees: “Dance is supposed to make people happy, dance is supposed to connect people. At the moment that is not the case for a lot of people in the dance sector. That is harrowing. The personal conversations I had with a number of dancers really moved me. With the Safe Dance Alliance, a much-needed cultural change is underway. Only in this way can we make the dance sector a safer environment. Dancers from the cultural sector can also always turn to the Mores hotline if they have experienced transgressive behaviour.”
Join alliance
The minister and the state secretary also invite other parties in the dance world to join the initiative. Bright: “We are all shocked by the findings of the report. The more organizations and parties that join the alliance, the stronger we stand for our dancers. This way we can make the dance school and the stage a safe, fun environment for everyone again.”