Our village dance rituals welcome children of all ages.

Our dances are playful and family-oriented yet focused in their intent and execution.

Children can participate in the dances granted that they can abide by the no-talking agreement that all participants make.

We ask that parents be responsible in managing their children so our events can unfold smoothly and benefit everyone.

Important Reminders

•    A circle with the children and parents will take place 10 minutes before the opening circle to remind the children and parents of their responsibilities and to establish agreements with the children.

•    We ask that the children participate in the ritual to the degree that they can.  If they need to leave the room because of noise level, bathroom break, etc., they must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.  We wish to avoid having children playing by going in and out through the doors, as it tends to disrupt the energy of the ritual.

•    No children unattended in the lobby or building.

•    No running or horsing around during the quiet phases of the ritual.

•    Children are welcomed to participate in the building of the end altar, carrying the candles and food offerings. This should be supervised by the parents so as to not damage the candles (they are not toys and they are expensive!) or drop food offerings on the dance floor.

•    Avoid having children run with candles.

•    Keep children off the altars and the food offering during the dance.

•    If the little ones can’t abide by the no-talking agreement in the end-sharing circle, parents must take them outside to the lobby so we can have a focused sharing.

We deeply appreciate your understanding and collaboration.

We are happy to accommodate children under 13 for free.  For children between 13-18, admission is $5 and we are delighted to involve children as volunteers as well.


Perspective from the Taos dance

 
CONSIDERATIONS


1.  Adults benefit from the presence of children in the dance.

“Kids add freshness and innocence and spontaneity to the environment.  Where else can an adult go for that?”

“Some people at the dance love to have children present for their fun, joy, gaiety, frolicking and laughter.  I find nothing more healing than the laughter of a child and I am truly sorry for the individuals who feel like it is bringing up some sort of childhood
trauma to hear or see children having fun.  I say get over it and then come back to dance.”

“I for one am in support of their participation because it allows them to bring healing for the people who have issues with it, I repeat, it allows them to bring healing for the people who have issues with it.”


2.  Children benefit from the dance.

“Kids are so often segregated in our society.  At Gypsie Nation, they get to participate in a mixed-age group.  They have to measure up to the behavior that is expected of them.  They can express themselves in an environment that says they are our equals.”


3.  Children are part of our community.

“I would strongly hope that people of all ages would be encouraged to be part
of community - on top of that it is an extraordinary support for those
mommas with young ones - they have so little support in this culture as it
is, I would hope that that is something that this community could help with.”

“I think villages include all ages:  children, parents, non-parents, and elders.  I’d like Gypsie Nation to reflect the life of a village.”

“I enjoy the kids' participation. Even when they talk a little and have to be reminded, etc.
 When I was in Moab for a week at the Contact Improvisation Jam, the facilitators made it clear to the circle that kids were welcome-- and invited the community to participate in protecting the kids' safety, raising our awareness of the importance of children in community, etc. Those who didn't want to dance near the kids simply didn't.
 To me, a healthy community includes kids, and it can only do my life good for the kids and their mommies, dads, etc. to be dancing regularly in a sacred, beautiful space!”

“I want to have fun, find healing and therapy on as many levels as possible and I want to send that healing energy to the pot for whoever needs to dip in.  I want to be with my partner and child and dance as if it were our last dance together, as it could be.  My vote is "yea" for kids and their parents and "nay" for the uptight party poopers who can't
get over not having had parents to dance with or don't have kids to dance with and are to afraid to have some fun in their personal healing process.  Don't take life too seriously folks and "liability" can be replaced with love, trust and caring.”


4.  Having to pay attention to / be responsible for small children can inhibit the experience of the dance.

“I don’t bring my children because I want to have my dance uninterrupted by the demands of being a mother.  I leave my kids at home so my dance can be free.”

“Parents need to know that if they are there to dance free of responsibility they can leave the kids at home.”

“Even though I like children and have enjoyed their presence, when they were running around, it was distracting for me.  I could not really get into my dance.”

"Dancers, especially men, may not feel it safe to completely let go if there are children on the floor.  This can result in a cautious/ unsatisfactory  dance experience for the adult dancers."


5.  How do we consider the legal “liability” of allowing children?

“It is a shame that we have to become so legalistic and have this need to be concerned with liability. What about if parents can just sign some kind of release form?”

"Legally speaking, if Gypsie Nation provides any sort of child care, it is then potentially liable (despite the waiver) for any injury to the child from the caregiver.  If Gypsie Nation encourages people to bring their children to the dances, then it can be seen to be taking on responsibility for the safety and well-being of the children, despite the best crafted liability waiver.  This opens up the organizers, and even the volunteers, to a lawsuit"

“Liability is an issue if you let it.  Sure, you might step on my child.  If it is an accident, we deal with it. . .  Dancing is a dangerous activity?  So what, be responsible and take responsibility, accept co-responsibility and keep dancing even if in a wheel chair.”

“We may have to come up with new ways of handling kids and adults, so that we work cooperatively to reach a result we can all live with.”


6.  The studio space is too small for adults and children.

“If the number of children begins to be too overwhelming maybe there can be a separate children's version of the dance.”

“I say NO to kids at the dance.  I’m an older woman and I really need to feel freedom of the space to dance.  I wouldn’t want to hurt any child while dancing.  I don’t think the studio space is big enough.”


7.  Children may be exposed to dangers in the dance environment.

"Indigenous societies generally only allow a person to participate in ritual dances if they have reached puberty and/or have undergone initiation.  Indigenous societies also encourage children to take responsibility as soon as they can, building on this as the child grows.  Our society does not encourage this in our children, by and large.

"Adult dancers can release a lot of heavy, negative energy as they heal, which children are especially susceptible to picking up.  Once children enter puberty, they are much less susceptible to absorbing this energy."

“I believe the intention of Gypsie Nation is that each dancer is free to pursue their own internal process through the dance so in a sense it is a type of therapy. I think that in most therapies intrusion from outside sources is a distraction and a hindrance to the work. Though I am sometimes entertained by the kids, for me, I think they are better off left at home.”

"There is a  potential for damage to the barres from young children swinging on them."

"Children in the dance are at risk of physical injury, as are the adult dancers, especially if the adult goes into an ecstatic state.  Of the friends that I talked with who attend ecstatic dance in their communities, they say no one under the age of 14-16 is allowed to dance, for safety reasons."

“I do energy work, and part of my practice deals with helping  children who have taken on strong  negative energy and also working with adults who experienced energetic injuries as children.  Via the careful selection of music, Gypsie Nation encourages the dancers to go to places where they can bring up and release emotions that need releasing.  People can experience wonderful healing by bringing up sorrow, grief, anger,  hurt, etc.  This issue is especially important now when people are going through strong emotional upheavals due to the high vibration energy coming into our solar system that is triggering problem issues with people.  This energy dumping can cause an accumulation of dense, negative thought forms and energy - energy that adults have strong defenses against absorbing.  Children, however, do not have these defenses and are much more susceptible to taking on this negative energy.  Their defenses against energetic intrusions is weak up until a year or so before puberty, when physiological changes occur that will protect them as they enter puberty.  Most children store this energy in their bodies, which can cause some immediate health problems and other longer term energetic issues.  Of course, they can also be bathed in joy from the dancers, but we can't guarantee that all the dancers will be joyful, nor would it serve the dancers who need to release their negative emotions in a safe place so that they may move toward healing.”



SOLUTIONS

“The Embody Dance folks in Santa Fe have made Sundays kid-welcome time, and Thursdays kid-free time, after months of processing the issues and working toward consensus on it. I remember them trying an experiment of one-month totally kid-free as well. Perhaps Gypsie Nation could try something like every other week kid-free, or one night a month kid-free.”

“My input is to have the kids come and to have a Gypsie Nation coordinator be available to talk to the parent and kid before they sign in, and make sure they know that the parents are there to play/dance with their kid, not space out and let the kid run unsupervised. The image I see is that of a few weeks ago when Petra and Lester danced with their little 3-year-old, Indigo, all night long and it was very healing and beautiful for them as well as for us observing.”

“There should be an age limit . . . maybe kids over the age of 12 can dance, but younger ones not.”

“If having children makes the dance environment unwelcoming for adult dancers,  resulting in the dances failing, then nobody gets to dance.  Then maybe we will decide not to allow children.”

“Childcare must be the responsibility of the parents.  Parents who come to the dance should get together and decide how the children will be cared for – taking turns dancing and overseeing kids, coordinating babysitting at home, etc.”