Катя

it’s important to remember that not all women & femmes want to follow and not all men & mascs want to lead. “well if they (women & femmes) want to lead they can still go on the side for leads!” - yes, but who’s to say their (the teachers) distinction between leads & follows is called out as “men to the left and women to the right”, makes them feel like it’s not an option or that they may be called out in a way that brings attention to them they don’t want simply because they want to lead. “they probably didn’t think anything of it! besides, it’s not that deep!” - I know of a teacher who used this language that spotted two men dancing together at a social, scoffed and express discomfort over them dancing. they even went as far as saying, “do they not see all the women wanting to be lead & yet they choose to dance with each other?”. I asked, “well what about the men who want to follow?” to which they responded, “I would never.” I asked them why it bothered them, and they just shook their head and left. this *does not* mean it’s the *same* case for every single teacher that uses this language, but it may not make those of us that are apart of the queer community feel as comfortable being taught by said teachers. had it been my first time ever out dancing, I would likely feel discouraged by this kind of language, especially not knowing anyone nor the dance scenes’ culture within my community. even aside from those of us in the queer community, some women & femmes just wanna lead too! men & masc presenting folk enjoying following as well! and by using inclusive language, we can continue to grow our beautiful dance scenes and move away from judgement and more towards connection, inclusivity, & just having a good ol’ time on the dance floor! 💃🏽✨ #bachata #latindance #dance #partnerdance #salsa

felt like sharing a few things I’ve learned since starting my social dancing journey :) #bachata #latindance #dance #partnerdance #salsa

Sharing in case anyone else in the dance scene can relate, and to also validate any woman or femme identifying person who may have dealt with or are currently dealing with this. 🤎 #Dance #PartnerDance #Bachata #Salsa #Safety

Seattle #throwback con @_lokithirteen at @reverie_ballroom !🪩✨ #bachata #dance #seattle

Tourist for the day in #Chicago :)

Who else can relate? 😅😂✨ #dance #cumbia #cumbiasonidera #latindance #portland

Always fun dancing with @sanchez_ssg07 ! 💃🏽✨ Gracias mí amiga @k.dancingal for the video! 🫶🏽✨ #bachata #bachatadancing #latindance #dance

✨Cumbia con amigas ✨ Collab your posts with us or send us your cumbia videos friends, we’d love to share! 🤗✨ 💃🏽: @let_itfi ✨ 💃🏿: @k.dancingal ✨ 🪩: @rustixpub ✨ 🎶: El Final De Nuestra Historia - Raymix & Grupo Quintanna✨ #cumbia #cumbiasonidera #dance #portland thingstodo

✨Cumbia con amigas✨ 💃🏽: @let_itfi ✨ 💃🏽: @ka_wren_ceballos ✨ 🪩: Portland ✨ 🎶: Tú Sí Sabes Quererme - Natalia Lafourcade ✨ #cumbia #cumbiasonidera #dance #portland #thingstodo

Another highlight of @beatzandculture weekender with @emilien.tehina.bachata was getting to dance with @emilienvvs ! 💃🏽✨ thank you so much @jstvprod for capturing this dance for me! 🥹✨ #bachata #dance #socialdance

✨Cumbia con amigas!✨ 💃🏽: @let_itfi ✨ 💃🏿: @k.dancingal ✨ 🪩: Oregon ✨ 🎶: Nunca Es Suficiente (feat. Natalia Lafourcade) - Los Ángeles Azules ✨ #cumbia #cumbiasonidera #dance #portland #thingstodo

✨Always dance with the DJ✨ 💃🏽: @let_itfi 🕺🏽: @renivillaral 🪩: @linesdanceacademy 🎶: Cumbia del Rio - Grupo la ley Siete #cumbia #cumbiasonidera #dance #portland #thingstodo