TEACHING ~ AN ACT OF SERVICE

Dear friends, thank you for tuning in. This blog is a follow up to my very personal video I shared on my FB platforms a few weeks ago addressing the recent outbreaks of information about sexual assault in the Kizomba community. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support I received from you all, it was very heartwarming.

Beyond this I have been thinking more broadly about how we collectively could create a scene and an environment where this kind of sexual assault and abuse of power is less likely to occur. So Let’s talk about it in a few parts.

Number one, and extremely potent is this statement. Teaching is an act of service. When I first started with Kizomba I already had a professional dance background and 20 years of dance training under my belt. When I was first asked to teach I refused, and continued to refuse for a long time. I had never felt drawn to teaching, I always saw myself primarily as a dancer, and moreover I knew that all of the teaching I had received in toxic dance environments was very damaging, I didn't not want to transmit this to other people. And of course teaching is completely different to dancing, I would not even know where to begin.

Fast forward to the first class I ever taught. I remember it so clearly. It was a class as part of a red tent women's circle in Sydney in a beautiful yoga studio. I remember that I entered in flow, and somehow all of these words and concepts were coming out of my mouth, I was reading the room, sensing what each person needed and how they responded to the information, and adapting as I went. It was magical. From that moment I had it crystal clear in my mind, whilst dance is my number one love, teaching was an act of service, a way to give back, and a way to actively practice light work in the world. From then I became just as dedicated (or more) to my teaching practice as my dance practice.

Since that moment I have fallen completely in love with the art of teaching. I am humbled and honoured every time someone chooses to place their trust in me and allow them to guide them through a process. And this is really what I am getting to…

To be a teacher of something is an honour, to have the trust of someone is a privilege, and something very sacred. To be able to use your skills to create a transformational experience for someone is magical. Teaching is an act of service. Teaching is about giving, holding space and holding the highest interest of your student. It is about connecting to your source, your light codes and getting in flow with what needs to be taught through you in the moment. Teaching is not a platform to stroke your ego. Teaching is not about you. Teaching is not about proving a point. Teaching is about the experience you are creating for your student.

I feel that in many places, this core appreciation for teaching as a separate skill set, and as an act of service gets easily lost in our Kizomba world. Many times it seems the decision to become a teacher is for ego, or the illusion of money or status. How many times have you been in a class and listened to the teacher talk non stop about themselves? How many times have you attended a festival workshop and found the teacher completely disengaged/ bored to be there? How many times have you done a private class a recognised straight away this teacher has no investment in your needs? How many times have you realised further down the line that what you were taught was actually very low grade explanation or even unsafe techniques?

The web of “celebrity” culture that encircles the greats of this dance creates a dangerous dynamic between teacher and students. It becomes a guru and follower culture. I am a strong believer than anything, ideology or person that takes your power away from you, is not serving you. If your journey within Kizomba or any arena of your life leaves you feeling codependent on something and detached from your own wisdom, it is not in your highest good. No one has the answers, joy or pleasure that you seek except for you. A good teacher will help you get there and guide you along the way, but they will not station themselves above you, and they will not in any circumstance use their power to harm you. Because a good teacher knows they do not have any power over you, there is a mutual balance of respect and sharing and in many ways the student is always teaching the teacher.

Collectively if we can come back to balance with this view I think we will be in good stead to create a more mutually respectful and honouring scene where the teacher student dynamic does not have a seeming ocean in between. The prevalence of celebrity culture is a direct link to high levels of sexual assault in Kizomba. It is this culture that allows many teachers to continue this behaviour and continue with their career and lifestyle intact. Lets even out the playing field and remember what being a teacher is really about.

The second red flag I see in this Kizomba relationship is a lack of professionalism and standards for our scene. I absolutely love that our scene is not competition based like salsa and latin styles, however I think we could all do better in maintaining and setting a really high standard for our dance. Kizomba is hard! All of the subgenres are hard ! Being a professional dancer/teacher is a full time and full on occupation. Being a professional dancer / teacher doesn't only mean teaching a class. It means training your dance, cross training other dance styles, training your body, experimentation and artistic development. It means upskilling, collaborating and creating works. Teaching means practice teaching, pedagogy development, teacher training, mentorship, syllabus creation, experimentation, marketing and professional development and so so much more. If we truly held up this standard of professionalism in our scene there would be a huge decrease in sexual assault and a huge increase in the quality and consistency of dancing and teaching.

If you were a lawyer and started sexually assaulting your colleagues I would assume that you would lose your job. If you only started practicing law with the intention of having sex with your collegues, I would assume your career will be short lived. If you found out that a certain lawyer was accused of sexual assault, you would call a different lawayer. Unfortunately because of the celebrity culture and the lack of professional respect for the dance this is not the case in Kizomba.

I truly believe that if we collectively set a high standard of what it means to be a working professional in this industry and a very clear code of conduct, i.e, if you are contracted to work at an event if goes without saying that if you commit a crime you will lose your contract (and hopefully be reported to the police.) And that if you are a teacher you are committed to your professional practice and respect it as such. Then the culture around our dance would truly improve.

Disrespectful behaviour can only thrive in an environment of disrespect. I am not saying we can stamp this out 100%, but with a little re frame of Kizomba as a dance and what it means to be a teacher I feel we can all get a little more empowered with our choices. Suss out who you are learning from. Your choices are powerful :) Be an ethical consumer of Kizomba if you will. And if you're already on the teacher train, do a regular check in with yourself. Is your work representing the best version of you? and are you practicing your light language?

It all comes down to one key concept, where do I make my decisions from? Ego or heart? Service or self service? Love or fear?

Thanks for reading me this far!

Of course this is a purely opinion piece based on my own experiences, learnings and mistakes made along the way (and still going)

As always I love to hear your thoughts, send me an email, Dm or comment and share this blog.

Words ~ Genevieve Rogan