The owner said inappropriate costumes were a growing challenge, and dance competitions were “the last line of defence” because they didn’t see the costumes until the performers walked on stage and then had three minutes to make a decision.

“They’re wearing less and less and less, and they’re getting shinier and shinier and shinier – and more see-through,” he said.

“The Dance Moms thing has made it far worse because people are watching an American-style, competition TV show, and they see all these things and they want to be that.”

He said some dance schools were more conservative and some were more “out there” and he thought accreditation might help to ensure common standards.

Dance Moms is a long-running reality show about a dance school in Pittsburgh in the United States.

Ausdance board director Dr Cathy Adamek said there were a number of American and European dance shows featuring “sexy dance moves and sequins and crop tops” that were influencing Australian dance culture, and social media was another big factor. She said the debate was also stoked in 2020 by Netflix’s promotion of the French film Cuties, which is about an 11-year-old girl but rated MA15+ in Australia.

One Sydney mother, who asked to be anonymous, said she loved her daughter’s dance school but was concerned about the “highly sexualised” costumes and choreography she saw on the competition circuit, worn by children as young as eight.

“These kids don’t have agency – they’re surrounded by adults saying it’s OK, and they’re surrounded by social media saying it’s OK, when it’s not,” she said.

“I’m really worried about the mental health aspects of all this, with eating disorders, body dysmorphia, alcohol and drugs, and self-harm – it’s rife.”

Sarah McMahon, a psychologist and director at BodyMatters Australasia, said these were valid concerns – adding that some dance studios also propagated “diet culture”.

“There’s a whole heap of things in dance culture ... that potentially might make someone vulnerable to develop an eating disorder,” McMahon said.

“They often adultify their outfits to make them look [older] than they are – they’re wearing make-up, they might be wearing fishnet tights … and they’re participating in choreographed routines that are highly sexualised.”

McMahon said young children might have no idea about the sexual connotations, while teenage girls might internalise it as a “sexual currency” and this could affect their ability to have healthy relationships.

Ausdance, the peak body for dance in Australia, is concerned about the trend and working on an accreditation scheme for dance schools, teachers and dance competitions that would address child protection and other safety issues including mental health.

“We’re not a regulatory body, so we can’t penalise anybody for this, but I think we have a duty of care to people who train in dance,” Adamek said.

”Dance is about how the body moves and interacts with the music and other people and because of that it can be quite an inflammatory conversation, especially around sexuality, and when you’re dealing with children it’s about where the appropriate boundaries lie and making people aware of what they are.”

Jayde Bond, studio director of Electric DNA in Marrickville, markets her dance school to parents as taking a down-to-earth approach to costumes, hairspray and make-up at the end-of-year concert.

Bond said most dance teachers are encouraging and nurturing role models, and young people who don’t play a team sport can gain “a wonderful team-building experience” through performing in eisteddfods. However, she does not enter her students at many eisteddfods.

Bond said “over-sexualisation is a huge issue” in dance, and while she has seen “many creative, beautiful and age-appropriate dance pieces” at eisteddfods, she has also witnessed both age-inappropriate and culturally inappropriate costumes and choreography.

Bond believes educators also need to be mindful about song choices and consider the lyrics, the imagery of the video clips, and who sings it. (For example, she refuses to use Chris Brown in her hip hop classes because he was convicted of domestic abuse).

“I think that collectively, as teachers, studio owners, choreographers, eisteddfod organisers, and judges we need to work together to protect our dancers and put harsher rules in place at these events and within our dance studios,” she said.

Bond believes accreditation could help, similar to how Gymnastics Australia regulates gymnastics.

Sydney Eisteddfod general manager, Annette Brown, said her event had strict guidelines for its dance competition, and communicated these clearly.

“We haven’t had to disqualify anyone because we’ve made it very clear what to expect – it shouldn’t get to that point, they shouldn’t even get to the stage,” Brown said. “Just because others have accepted something, doesn’t mean we have to.”

Brown, who is new in the role, said she would tighten guidelines for next year if necessary, but the only changes this year were to abolish gendered categories across all eisteddfod categories to ensure non-binary and trans children felt included.

At IRBD The Dance Challenge, the published rules state “all music choice and choreography must be age-appropriate and acceptable for family entertainment”.

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The IRBD organiser said the adjudicators were aware of the guidelines, but she herself was usually working front of house and did not interfere with the judging.

“For as long as I have been around the competition scene as a parent, there have always been routines and costumes that have come under question,” she said.

“However, the majority of dances I have seen are acceptable within the boundaries of age appropriateness.”

Kids Helpline: Kidshelpline.com.au; 1800 55 1800
Butterfly Foundation: butterfly.org.au; 1800 33 4673

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