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Shadow Dance Rules

You may also be interested in the Shadow Dance FAQ.

People who are interested in Shadow Dance might be interested in these Shadow Dance Guidelines.

Do No Harm To Yourself Or Others.
Physical safety is primary. Keep you and those around you safe. The dance is about consciously using metaphor. If you are called to act out a violent side of yourself, don't deny that part, but develop a metaphoric expression, perhaps beat something with a foam stick.

When you are dancing by yourself or with others, it is your responsibility to respect the space of other dancers. They shouldn't have to change their dance to protect themselves.

If there are injuries, attend to them right away. Tell a leader.
Just like any sport, there is a chance of some injury, although this is very rare. If there is a problem, tell a leader. We'll have a first aid kit, too.

Safe word.
We have a safe word that means "Stop!" Respect that, and stop instantly if someone says it. The safe word is a word like "boomerang" or "cactus" that would be unlikely to be used in any one's process. With that in place, people are free to play with the parts of themselves that want to say "Stop!" and "No!" and not have the other person stop. This creates more possibilities for the improv.

Don't flip yourself out.
There's no point to flipping yourself out on the dance. If you think you are going "too far" with something, pull back. Treat your fears and resistances with respect. We had good reasons to put some parts of ourselves into shadow. These edges are to be explored, learned from, and appreciated.

Avoid "Real" Interactions.
Shadow dance is NOT a place to work our real issues with another person. It is not an excuse to "really tell someone what you think of him."

You can, however, do stuff "ritually." For example, if one dancer is angry at another, he should get someone else to play the person he is angry with and then act out as he wants to, away from that person.

This applies to sexual and intimate contact as well. Play the parts, exaggerate, and metaphorize these interactions. We work with our genuine feelings but in deliberately metaphoric ways.

Invite Your Present Experience Into The Dance. Exaggerate, Amplify, Be Outrageous. Have Fun.
    Let whatever feeling you are having come fully into the dance. If you are angry...dance your anger...if you are afraid...dance your fear. Whatever is going on in us, be it resistance, denial, joy or grief, it is all grist for the mill. Any physical or emotional state or mental image can be brought into the dance and played out. If you are feeling a pain in your right hip, hobble around, make it look obvious, find something to use as a crutch, scream and complain to everyone about it.
    Even your inner commentary about the dance itself can be played out. Many dancers have spent time walking around stamping their feet saying, "This is stupid, what am I doing here, these people are crazy! " and doing it with great fervor and self-righteousness.
    The idea is to use dance time as a way to let it all hang out, really let go in a way that has no real-world consequences.

Avoid Non-Ritual Talk.
During the dance, have all talk be dance talk. No standing on the sides, talking about baseball, or remotely critizing what people are doing. If you want to talk about sports, become a total sports nut. If you want to criticize people, do it to their face in a totally exaggerated manner.
Almost nothing takes us out of their process faster than hearing others having "real time" conversations along the sidelines.

If you judge someone is having a problem, tell a leader.

Stay Until The Dance Is Complete.
    We ask that everyone that starts stay until the end. If an emergency arises or someone gets the agreement of the group prior to the beginning of the Dance to leave, then the container is not jeopardized. When people leave without notice the energy field of the Dance is disturbed perceptibly.

Respect Confidentiality.

You may also be interested in the Shadow Dance FAQ.