We are currently examining the need to have competitions be a part of Recess Massive.
Stay Tuned.
Previous Recess Ethic Behind Competitions
Why do we have competitions?
We at Recess believe that the way many events run competitions is often counter productive to the health of our community. Many events leave competitors upset with themselves and each-other, codifying the "dancocracy" (social hierarchy based on dance ability) that we are trying to deconstruct. So why have competitions at a Recess event? The answer is to inspire, to bring one another up through mutual support, and to set an example of social change in partner dancing. How do we do this?
To inspire:
We believe that watching our peers "bring it!" on the dance floor inspires us all to work harder on our own dancing. It also encourages any dancer who decides to compete to take a risk, to be an inspiration to their community, and to take their dancing to the next level.
To bring one another up through mutual support:
Competition should look a lot like cooperation. We run our competitions and events with an ethic of mutual support and empowerment, which allows each competitor to perform at their highest potential without worrying about whether they "win" or "lose".
To set an example of social change in partner dancing:
Historically, "good dancing" means men leading well and women following well. Such a restrictive idea of gendering in dance pigeon holes dancers into preordained and often oppressive cultural roles. The deconstruction of restrictive gendering paradigms in partner dance has been a long standing project of the Recess community. So, with the idea of social progress firmly in mind, our Strictly competition is specifically designed to showcase dancing outside of your traditionally gendered dance role. We require Strictly competitors to dance their non-dominant dance role during the majority of the dance. We want to show the world what dancing outside of a gender binary looks like: skilled and inspiring dancing!
We at Recess believe that the way many events run competitions is often counter productive to the health of our community. Many events leave competitors upset with themselves and each-other, codifying the "dancocracy" (social hierarchy based on dance ability) that we are trying to deconstruct. So why have competitions at a Recess event? The answer is to inspire, to bring one another up through mutual support, and to set an example of social change in partner dancing. How do we do this?
To inspire:
We believe that watching our peers "bring it!" on the dance floor inspires us all to work harder on our own dancing. It also encourages any dancer who decides to compete to take a risk, to be an inspiration to their community, and to take their dancing to the next level.
To bring one another up through mutual support:
Competition should look a lot like cooperation. We run our competitions and events with an ethic of mutual support and empowerment, which allows each competitor to perform at their highest potential without worrying about whether they "win" or "lose".
To set an example of social change in partner dancing:
Historically, "good dancing" means men leading well and women following well. Such a restrictive idea of gendering in dance pigeon holes dancers into preordained and often oppressive cultural roles. The deconstruction of restrictive gendering paradigms in partner dance has been a long standing project of the Recess community. So, with the idea of social progress firmly in mind, our Strictly competition is specifically designed to showcase dancing outside of your traditionally gendered dance role. We require Strictly competitors to dance their non-dominant dance role during the majority of the dance. We want to show the world what dancing outside of a gender binary looks like: skilled and inspiring dancing!