Values & Code of Conduct
Our Values
Lindy Hop and Solo Jazz are African-American dances that we all love. However, most of the members of our local community (and by the way most European dancers) are guests in this Black American art form. Therefore, it is our responsibility to make sure we learn to respect and appreciate its history and culture. All participants of the Bottoms Up! Festival are welcome to contribute to this by exploring the culture and history of these dances. Apart from the information you will get in class, the festival will offer the opportunity to experience the richness and depth of these Afro-American art forms through video streamings and an exhibition that will be hosted in our venues.
Also, we would like to create a space in which we can explore jazz music and jazz dance in an open, respectful, and safe environment while appreciating the personality of our fellow dancers, regardless of their background, health, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical appearance, religion, or dance level.
By participating in the festival, you agree to read and adhere to our Code of Conduct. During the festival, you can always reach out to our care team if you feel uncomfortable for any reason or observe unpleasant/inappropriate behaviour. We will handle your issue confidentially and will be there for you.
Code of Conduct
If you ask SOMEONE for a Dance
If you’d like to dance with someone, ask kindly and don’t just grab their hand. When asking someone to dance, tell them if you want to lead/follow/switch or ask them which role they prefer. Avoid making assumptions about dance roles based on physical characteristics or identity traits. If someone declines a dance —even without giving a reason— that’s perfectly fine. Please do not feel offended by this.
By the way: If someone dances solo on the dance floor, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have a partner and would like to be asked to dance.
If someone asks you for a dance
Remember: You can always say no. If someone asks you for a dance, it’s okay to decline. The other person will certainly appreciate an explanation, but you are not required to provide one. If you want to dance with the person asking you, accept the offer kindly and don’t hesitate to mention anything you don’t want to experience during the dance, i.e. if you don’t want a part of your body to be touched.
your own well-being is important
If during a dance you don’t feel well for any reason, please feel free to tell this to your dance partner or to stop the dance at any time, for example, if you are feeling pain, if you don’t want to dance too closely or if you don’t want to be touched at any part of your body. Your own well-being and your personal safety are more important than politeness.
No Lifts, Dips OR Aerials
Please never do any lifts or aerials on the dancefloor. As space is limited, you may only perform small dips, and only if you have agreed this beforehand with your partner.
Filming AND TAKING PICTURES
Please do not film or photograph other people without asking them for permission. If you would like to film class material, please ask the teachers if it’s ok to film a recap video after class. A photographer will be taking photos which will be made available after the festival (please see our T&C).
Bumping into each other
During class and during social dance, the dance floor can be quite crowded. No matter which role you are dancing: Please pay attention to what is happening around you and try to avoid collisions by stopping or moving out of the way. If the dancefloor is crowded, downsize your movement by dancing ‘small’, i. e. keep rock steps and kicks below your body and make small steps. If something does happen: Please apologise and ask the other person(s) if they’re okay!
giving Feedback in class
In class sometimes exercises don’t work out perfectly. In most cases, both dance partners are equally responsible for this :) Please don’t assume automatically that the other person is making a mistake. Here’s an example of how you can address such a situation: “I feel like this move isn’t working out so well. Perhaps it’s my fault? Could we try that again?” Or: “This move doesn’t feel quite comfortable for me. Could we try this again slowly?” Please never correct another person in class without being asked, even if you have been dancing for a long time. If you and your partner feel something isn’t working and you aren’t able to fix it yourselves, just ask your teachers: It’s their job to help you and they are the best suited to find a solution. Also, if a move doesn’t feel good, if you feel that your partner is moving too rough or in other similar cases, you can say so at any time.
IN CASE OF illness
Please don’t go dancing if you have cold symptoms or other signs of illness! Just remember the etiquette that we have all learned in recent years.
OUR Care TEAM/Safer Space
Our care team will be present throughout the event. Our aim is to make the event as pleasant and safe as possible for everyone. This team can be approached at any time during the event. Their members are instructed to intervene in cases of discrimination, assault and/or sexual harassment. They will always be easily recognisable as members of the care team and their presence is also intended to have a preventive effect. The care team will report inappropriate behaviour to the organisers. In such cases, we reserve the right to permanently exclude the person involved from the event. Taking such action is very rarely necessary at most Swing Dance events, and in the best-case scenario the team members will have nothing to do at Bottoms Up! because of all guests and participants adhering to our Code of Conduct.
What makes us queerfriendly?
CELEBRATE QUEERNESS
Cologne is considered one of the queer capitals of Germany, with a large community identifying as LGBTQIA+ (= lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual). A number of our dancers, helpers and artists identify as LGBTQIA+ and we’d like to celebrate this community by creating and fostering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere at BottomsUp! To this end, we will follow the “Guidelines for Awareness – a guide to mindful events” (link in German) drafted by the Diversity Arts Culture consultation office (which is part of the Foundation for Cultural Education and Cultural Consulting).
An important part of celebrating queerness is increasing the visibility of queer dancers and musicians. One way of doing this is inviting queer artists to join our lineup and be part of our festival. Also, the exhibition created by a local fellow dancer will feature queer artists in jazz and blues.
our care Team
As stated above, there will be an care team in place throughout the even. Of course, an care team is not exclusively in charge of issues that might concern queer dancers, but obviously this matter is an important part of their job and team members will be ready to help in case they are needed.
QUESTIONING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT DANCE ROLES
The question ‘Would you like to dance?’ is often still linked to the assumption that the person being asked will dance a certain role assigned to them by their appearance. For example: Because of our upbringing in a patriarchal society, many of us tend to assume that women follow and men lead, and this unconscious assumption surfaces when we ask others to dance. However, the person being asked may feel offended by this assumption and/or not dare to say that they would actually prefer to dance another role. That's why at Bottoms Up! we would like to encourage our guests to ask about a person‘s dance role when inviting them to dance. For instance, you could just let them know first which role you’d like to dance: “Hey, I am a follower/I would like to follow — do you lead and would like to dance with me?” Or you could ask for their preferred role, e.g. “Would you like to lead, follow or switch?” Lindy Hop in particular offers the opportunity to switch roles during the dance.
In order to make this question easier for everyone, we’ll be selling small badges and/or stickers with the different dance roles (lead / follow / lead & follow / switch) printed on them at our workshops and parties. This way, you can pin your favourite dance role to your clothing right away.
our community
The Cologne Lindy Hop community is lucky to have the ‘Queer Lindy Cologne’ association, which aims to increase the visibility and empowerment of LGBTQIA+ dancers and, in their own words, “want to create a community, resources and events for other Queer Lindy dancers”. Among other things, they regularly organise a ‘Queer Meet Up’ before dance events, where all queer dancers have the chance to meet and chat near the venue shortly before the party. If you are interested, you can find more information in our schedule or contact the association directly, either via their website or on Instagram.