The mainstream world of Dancesport in the USA is trying to catch up with our d
ance community.
USA Dance, the amateur organization in the United States, seems to be on the forefront on this subject, having changed their rules over a year ago. This is currently reflected in their 2019 rulebook (page 10, paragraph 2.2.30) as "
Couple
is comprised of two DanceSport Athletes, one male (lead) and one female (follow).
" as well as (page 10, paragraph 2.2.30) "
Same Sex Couple
is comprised of two DanceSport Athletes, either a male/male or female/female partnership."
And, at this year's annual general meeting of
the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), as a member organization, USA Dance motioned to adopt the definition of a couple as simply two athletes dancing with each other worldwide, which though was tabled by the members until next year.
Then, the National Dance Council of America (NDCA), the professional organization in the United States, comprised of several other professional organizations, such as the ISTD, Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray chains, etc., announced this summer that, as of September 23, 2019, a "couple" is defined in Section II.A.6.a of the NDCA's Rules & Regulations as a leader and follower without regard to the sex or gender of the dancer. Purportedly, NDCA took this surprising step based on pressure brought forward by two lawsuits claiming gender discrimination. However, shortly thereafter it was clarified that a change of lead within a couple and one dance may not take place.
Therefore, it seems that same-sex and/or gender-neutral couples will be able to compete against opposite-sex couples in all dance genres included in championships, competitions, and events sanctioned by the NDCA and by USA Dance. In Canada, the Canada Dancesport (CDS), the amateur organization of Canada, still defines a couple as "
A couple is comprised of two Athletes of different sexes
" (page 19, rule 7.07) and the Canadian Dancesport Federation (CDF), which allows female teachers to dance with female students, as well as its member the National Dance Council of Canada (NDCC) both allow separate same-sex events. This naturally brings up the question of what does this mean for NASSPDA, its constituency and its future. Having already started to question the validity of its original organizational name and mission in view of prevailing understandings of gender, the Board has solicited the community's input on whether a name and mission change seems necessary to reflect more inclusion and open up to greater gender fluidity within a couple.
NASSPDA's current Competition Rules state that the main difference between these and rules in mainstream is based on the definition of a couple. Even though that is obviously no longer the case, other differences listed are still valid, such as "
A classification system for graded events facilitated at each competition
.", "No fixed function based on sex regarding leader and follower." and "No defined distinction between amateur and professional competitors." These differences, which are very much anchored within our dance community, as well as having events that are not just 'welcoming' us, but are actually organized and sanctioned by our community, still seem quite relevant. NASSPDA naturally welcomes any expansion of opportunities for our constituency. It still remains to be seen though how this 'inclusion' of the mainstream world will play itself out in the long run. NASSPDA sanctioned events are inclusive, welcoming and vibrant, typically praised by participants from the mainstream world of being fair and so much fun.
So, where does that leave NASSPDA as an organization? Do we indeed have to redefine ourselves? Change the name? We have always striven to be inclusive, as outlined in our mission and Competition Rules. Some have answered our call and voiced their opinions, which range from 'changing' to 'not changing' the name and from suggesting that 'queer' is limiting to that 'equality' is grammatically not correct. Prompted by the first-time inclusion of DanceSport at the Gay Games in Amsterdam 'Equality Dance' was formed in the Netherlands, which created a set of rules for that event and basically set the 'tone' for all following incarnations of competitions within our community. The term 'equality dance' has also since then often been used to describe partner dancing, where a
couple switches lead within one dance once or more times. The term 'queer' on the other hand seems all-inclusive to most in our community, except anyone that isn't 'queer' (as supportive straight folks tell us).
Considering all that, 'equality' as well as 'queer' seem both somewhat not adequate, depending to whom you talk, just like 'same-sex.' The Board has promised to tackle this issue by the end of this year but struggles with it. There are good reasons for changing NASSPDA's name (including that the acronym isn't easy to say) and expanding its mission (though that seems less necessary to all), but there are also good reasons to keep the name (if not just for historical context and as a political statement).
If you feel strongly either way, please let us know! And if not, just talk to us anyway!
Your opinion and thoughts count!
HAPPY DANCING!
