Is Role Rotation a tool towards safer spaces? with Felipe and Tiago

A dance lesson with two equal teachers. A mindset that expects respect and rejects stereotypes. A dance floor where sexualisation and objectification aren’t entertained. There are teachers and spaces that are working hard to create safer spaces and a huge contributor to that growth are the teachers behind Role Rotation in bachata - Felipe Ramirez and Tiago Adegas. We put Role Rotation to the test and unpicked how this tool is empowering dancers around the world and creating safer and more respectful dance spaces.

In this episode:
01:06 Finding the world of dance
02:46 What is Role Rotation?
05:48 How does Role Rotation encourage teachers to include etiquette into their classes?
13:20 Rough leaders and heavy followers - how can Role Rotation help with this?
15:20 Why do Role Rotation classes create more engaged learning environments?
23:50 Isn’t it time we ditched “may styling” and “lady styling”?
25:05 Not yet? Okay, what is masculine and feminine?
28:20 What are the limitations of sex-based styling classes?
34:04 How can we remove barriers to learning in our dance scene?
38:07 The responsibility of teachers - the key filter for dancers entering the community

About Felipe and Tiago
Felipe and Tiago are both professional dancers with rich backgrounds in dance styles such as jazz and ballroom. After developing as bachata dancers and teachers individually, they began teaching together in 2019. Felipe and Tiago teach through the method of Role Rotation, where dancers rotate within a couple at any given point during a song. Born in Spain and Portugal respectively, Felipe and Tiago are based in Madrid, where they run weekly bachata classes, teach around the world at weekends and organise the twice yearly Terra Livre Role Rotation festival. Through their work, Felipe and Tiago have brought Role Rotation teaching to more than 30 countries worldwide!

About Role Rotation
Felipe and Tiago are the teachers behind Role Rotation in bachata - a tool that seeks to empower dancers to learn faster, dance with more confidence and with more respect. A beginner of bachata starting out in a Role Rotation class can expect to start learning both the roles of leader and follower from Day 1. True Role Rotation values remove gender, sexualisation and stereotypes from dance and create a space where bad intentions become harder to hide and getting to know everyone in the room becomes easier and more fun.

Connect with Felipe and Tiago
https://rolerotationacademy.com/
https://terralivredancefestival.com/
https://www.in

About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer and empowerment coach in the salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene. Dancing is a happy place for Bobbie, as it is for so many. In order to foster safer dance spaces for all dancers, Bobbie is on a mission to promote more accountability and responsibility surrounding boundaries, consent and safety within the community through education and conversations that matter. Bobbie is a coach and advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and promoting respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a coach and public speaker, she focuses on boundary setting and respect in practice, both on and off the dance floor.

Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips to boost your confidence on any dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips
Practice saying NO on the dance floor: empowereddancers.com/no

Connect with Bobbie Miles
Follow me on Instagram @theempowereddancerspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/theempowereddancerspodcast

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