In regards to unwelcome behavior at a dance, our community has a middle-aged man who zeros in on the (very thin) young women (we're a college town), and lifts them off the floor, swings them around, drops their heads towards the floor, etc. I watched him drop a first-time dancer, TWICE in one night. I saw her go to the restroom and followed her. She was unhurt but badly shaken and in tears. As a member of the organizing committee, I had a talk with him and he denied vehemently everything I saw, saying that she "fell." I told him someone cannot "fall" if their feet are in the air to start with. As lead, his job is to take care of his partner. On his behalf, let me say that many of the young women enjoy his moves, but many do not. Because of this dancer, another local community passed a policy that requires dancers to keep one foot on the floor at all times. I felt that policy was a message to young people that they didn't want young people coming to their dances as dips and aerials (done carefully and well) are how they like to dance. After much discussion our Board passed a policy that clearly outlines our requirements regarding moves which lift someone off the floor, but the thing I like best is that it outlines behavior for ALL dancers to follow. It is a personal peeve of mine when women (and sometimes men) complain about a dancer behind his back but will not tell the dancer what he is doing inappropriate. That sometimes makes it hard to confront the person because he will say, "I've never had any complaints." Our rambunctious dancer has been following these guidelines very well for several months now. Here is a link to the full policy: http://godsdance.org/GODS/New_to_Contra_files/safe%20dancing%20policy.pdf
JoLaine
