Code of Conduct

Dancing is a social activity and naturally you come in contact with other people and often get close to them during a dance. It is therefore important to pay attention to how you treat people around you, so that everyone can have a good time.

We generally believe that people know what is appropriate and what is not and we expect that everyone behaves respectfully, politely and in accordance with common sense and that we all aim to have a great dance experience, for ourselves and people around us. However everyone’s boundaries are different and we have drawn up a few guidelines to help us all do our best to create a safe space.

COVID-19

• We ask you to follow any Coronavirus measures that are in effect in the Netherlands at the time this event takes place. These measures can be found here.
• Sanitise your hands regularly during the event, and cough and sneeze into your elbow.
• Don’t attend the event if you are in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. You can read the isolation guidelines here.
• Respect other people’s choice to social distance or wear a mask.

Take care of yourself and others

• While dancing you are inviting people into your personal space and entering other people’s personal space. Be aware of it and treat your dance partners politely and with respect.
• Be aware of your own body. Taking a shower before dancing, a change of shirt or two and a deodorant can make dancing more comfortable and enjoyable for everyone. If you have eaten strongly flavored food, a mint will be your friend.
• Be aware of your physical needs. Remember to sleep, take care of your health and apply sanitizer to your hands or wash them throughout the evening and if you have to cough or sneeze please do so in your arm.
• Don’t feel obligated to dance with anyone if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Everyone has the right to say no for any reason. Be gracious whether you are at the sending or receiving end of it.
• Out of respect for fellow dancers do not give unsolicited feedback, even in class. If something hurts physically or feels inappropriate or uncomfortable, do tell your partner so that they know not to do it again. Do so respectfully.

Floor craft and safety

• Both partners take responsibility for protecting themselves and each other during the dance from collisions and injuries.
• If you accidentally collide with someone while dancing, apologize and make sure they are all right. If they require assistance let the team know.
• If you accidentally touch someone’s private areas, apologize.
• While there is always some risk associated with any physical activity, we are committed to preventing injuries before they happen. Unsafe dancing is any movement that puts anyone at an increased risk of physical injury. This includes, but is not limited to, grabbing, pushing, pulling, yanking or jerking your partner around or forceful movement when leading or following, bending over your partner during a dip when leading and sudden weight sharing when following. You may be asked to stop your dance if your movement endangers you, your partner, or any other dancers on the social floor. If you are unsure what constitutes unsafe dancing, please ask team members or any instructor.
• With the exception of jam circles, performances and dedicated classes, absolutely no aerials on the dance floor.

Inappropriate behaviour

• Any kind of intentional verbal of physical abuse is unacceptable.
• We have a zero tolerance policy on harassment be it related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religious affiliation, dance skill level, dance role; expressed either verbally or physically, through sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of workshops or other events, inappropriate physical contact, or unwelcome sexual attention.
• If you are being made feel uncomfortable/ uneasy, if you are being harassed or notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the team straight away. They will always be available if you wish to speak to them about any situation. If you feel uncomfortable in any situation feel free to excuse yourself.

We expect all attendees of the event – be it participants, staff or instructors – to follow these guidelines on the dance floor as well as during workshops. If the code of conduct is breached we reserve the right to remove the attendee from the present and future class, course or event.

Please contact the team if you need help: a Care Team will be a point of contact during the event – you will recognize them by the Lighthouse buttons. Be safe and enjoy Harbour Hop!

On a final note we would like to share an infographic created by Swing It: A Lindy Hopper’s Etiquette that we found very useful, and that was based on a post by Bobby White, Swing 101 – Etiquette & Floorcraft.

Last, but not least we would like to thank “Swing It”, “Swingin’ at the Savoy” and “Blues Dance Rotterdam”, whose codes of conduct and discussions thereof inspired our own.