Community Agreements
At Flower City Swing & Blues, we strive to create a space that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, sexuality, ability, experience, background, or other identifying features. We encourage respectful, considerate behavior and good communication. By attending our event you are agreeing to follow these values, and, if you make a mistake or create an unsafe environment, to be held accountable to appropriate restoration and repair. This set of agreements should be read as non-exclusive, and should be followed in spirit as well as letter to the best of your ability. Please read all of this page, as we expect anyone who attends our event to read, understand, and help support this policy.
If you have questions about this policy, or are not sure how to comply, please contact the access and safety team via our anonymous reporting form. If you face obstacles to attending this event safely or accessibly, please fill out our form.
Values
Lindy hop, blues, and balboa are Black American dances done to Black American music. We are committed to centering Black voices and Black history in our community. Those of us who are not Black commit to being informed, respectful cultural surrogates as we are guests in these art forms. Our policies and actions are there to amplify our belief that Black Lives Matter. Anyone who shares those goals with us is welcome in the space. We acknowledge that safety and access policies (sometimes known as “safe/safer spaces” policies) have historically prioritized white women to the detriment of Black dancers and other dancers of color. If you are still learning about Black history, Black culture, and the Black Lives Matter movement — and all non-Black attendees are assumed to be still learning about these things — we ask that you use this event as a place to keep your mind open, listen with empathy, and let your dancing and your presence support these values.
Behavior Expectations
By attending our event, you agree to:
● Celebrate the diversity of skills and styles in this community! Ask new dancers, experienced dancers, and dancers you don’t know to dance. Prefer using clear verbal/sign communication rather than behavioral cues when asking and responding. When you ask someone to dance, let them know if you want to Lead, Follow, or Switch, or ask their preference.
● It’s OK to say “No” to a dance, or any activity, without offering an explanation. It’s OK if someone says “No” to you. You can say “No” in the middle of a dance at any point and exit the situation. Support people taking care of themselves and respect their autonomy.
● Offer feedback ONLY if you’ve been explicitly asked to do so by your partner, or you are feeling uncomfortable/unsafe in the dance.
● Certain activities require consent, whether it’s verbal, non-verbal, or both. Make sure you have consent before touching anyone, dancing with someone, changing your embrace, sharing weight (dips,etc). You also need consent for social activities like hugging or photographing someone. If you are not sure whether you have consent, ask. If someone makes it clear that they do not consent to something, stop. Any explicit disrespect or disregard of consent will not be tolerated.
● While social spaces like this event are natural places for relationships to form and grow, it is critical that everyone involved approaches any sexual or romantic interactions with the utmost caution, especially with regard to consent, power dynamics, inebriation, and age disparity. This is the time to err heavily on the side of caution rather than pushing any limits.
● Practice good floorcraft. Take care of your partner and the other people around you. Check in if contact occurs. Do not perform aerials on the social dance floor.
● Use the names and pronouns that attendees give for themselves unless that attendee gives explicit permission not to.
● Do not bring firearms or other weapons into this space.
● We do not tolerate any form of harassment. Inappropriate behavior or harassment that occurs between members of our community outside of our dance events may be cause for additional policies, suspension, or expulsion from the event. Harassment might include offensive comments, sexual images, attention, or acts, intimidation, stalking or following, excessive photography or recording, sustained disruption, inappropriate physical contact, and more.
● Keep an eye out for each other. If you see someone who looks to be in difficulty, ask what the problem is. Let an organizer, Safety & Access team member, or other staffer know if you see a situation that you think is unsafe, uncomfortable, or that you don’t feel comfortable checking in on. We would rather react to a problem that isn’t there than miss one that is.
Sometimes, we do something that makes someone else feel unsafe or uncomfortable, even when that is not our intention. If you are asked to stop any behaviors, either by an organizer or fellow attendee, you are expected to listen respectfully and comply immediately.
When possible, event staff will attempt to work with anyone who breaks a part of this agreement to correct the behavior before any punitive steps are taken. Extreme or repeated violations of our community agreements, or refusal to cooperate with access and safety team members, may be met with consequences up to and including expulsion from the event without a refund and suspension from future events. We do draw a distinction between community harm and social harm, and we do not get involved in interpersonal feuds.
Flower City Swing & Blues encourages you to take initiative in respecting, setting, discussing, and defending boundaries. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe confronting a situation, please talk to an organizer or safety & access team member. We take all complaints seriously and are committed to resolving issues to the greatest extent possible within our resources. Anyone who reports an access and safety concern has the right to request that their information be kept entirely anonymous, and no further action will be taken without the reporter’s consent, unless further reports of the same infraction are received.
If you have ideas about ways we could make our community safer and more inclusive, we welcome feedback on this form.
Sickness Policy
We expect everyone to take reasonable precautions before attending the event to help prevent the spread of communicable diseases such as Flu, COVID-19, and more. This includes getting vaccinated against common illnesses, as vaccines are safe and effective ways to reduce the spread of disease.
You agree not to attend the event if you are currently sick. You agree to voluntarily remove yourself from the event should you get sick during the event. You are encouraged to contact the organizers to discuss deferring your pass to a future year!
Masks are a great tool for preventing the spread of disease, and are encouraged for all attendees. Please respect everyone’s choice regarding masking, as you don’t know their health situation!
Photo Policy
As this is a public event taking place in public spaces, it is a reasonable expectation of your attendance that you may be photographed by event staff or other attendees during the course of the event. That said, anyone taking photos should be respectful and ask for consent prior to capturing photo or video of anyone where they are a main subject of the images. Flower City Swing & Blues will honor take-down requests from anyone present in any photo posted by our event staff - please send us a message via our contact form.
Let us know if you have any questions, or if you believe someone has taken or posted a photo of you without permission!
Scent Policy
Our community includes a number of folks with chemical allergies and sensitivities, therefore we have opted to be a Low-Scent Event. What does this mean for you?
Strictly no outside cleaning products, soaps, or hand sanitizer! . We'll provide plenty of safe, yet effective soaps and sanitizers for all attendees to use in the restrooms and at key locations.
Strictly no: perfume/cologne, scented lotions, scented body spray, hairspray etc. In general, normally available things like deodorant, shampoo, and laundry detergent aren't necessary to change, but where possible please select lower scent options.
Personal Cleanliness: A Low-Scent policy does not mean skipping showers and deodorant. Please keep good cleanliness to reduce body odor.
Service Animal Policy
Attendees (which also includes Staff, Organizers, Instructors, and DJs) are permitted to be accompanied by their service animal to every part of this event. If you will be bringing a service animal, we ask that you inform safety and access staff in advance if possible, using our safety and access form, so that we can make sure you are welcomed appropriately.
Attendees must not interact with a service animal without the explicit consent and invitation of the animal’s handler.
A “service animal” is an animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals to an impending seizure or protecting individuals during one, and alerting individuals who are hearing impaired to intruders, or pulling a wheelchair and fetching dropped items. While we love everyone’s cute pets, unless your pet qualifies as a true service animal in the service of an individual with a disability, please leave it at home.
Service animals must be vaccinated against rabies and other diseases typically found in that animal and legal to own in Rochester, NY. Service animals must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, when possible. If dancing, taking class or other activities at this event prevent an attendee from holding a leash or tether, the attendee must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal or other effective controls. The care and supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility of its handler.
A service animal may be removed from the event for one of the following reasons:
The service animal acts out of control or behaves poorly so as to cause a disruption, and the handler fails or is unable to take effective action to control the service animal.
The service animal is unclean, and/or not housebroken.
If the service animal consistently behaves improperly, the handler may be directed not to bring the service animal to the event until the handler corrects the service animal’s behavior. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed from the premises, organizers will attempt to find ways for the attendee to remain present if reasonably possible.
This policy created based on the Blues Muse Safety and Access Policies with their permission. Thank you!
Our Safety Team:
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