Hey dancers! This episode is a call to action: follows are not passive passengers, social dancing isn’t a one-way street and toxic masculinity is tiring AF. From the old dance tropes of “dance dummies,” and the idea of “don’t think, just follow,” the dance world has a lot to unpack. Treating follows like props is just the tip of the iceberg—and it fosters the darker, more psychologically and physically unsafe elements of dance spaces for some, especially women. We dig into how follows co-create the dance, why so many leads default to control of female bodies, and what true collaboration can feel like when both partners bring their full artistry to the dance. Lou gets into the Euro roots of partner dance, how patriarchy shaped the roles we inherited, and what’s shifting as dance communities face their own #MeToo movements. More and more people are speaking out—including our hero, Frankie Martinez (mentioned in this episode), one of the few men in the scene calling for change. This conversation is for everyone who cares about social dance—and we hope it inspires more men to start listening and speaking up too. Let’s go!

5, 6, 7, 8!