Today on Anchored By the Podcast, I’m joined by Mary Bowden—dance educator, advocate, and the Executive Director and Founder of Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited.

Mary is also the founder of Soul to Sole Choreography and the author of Dance is Prayer in Motion, and this conversation is one every parent, caregiver, aunt, uncle, grandparent, and educator needs to hear.

We talk honestly about the growing trend of hyper sexualized children’s dance—why it’s not just a “dance issue,” but a mental health and public health issue. Mary explains how exposing children to adult sexuality before their brains and psychology are developmentally ready causes real trauma, confusion, and long-term harm.

As someone who danced as a child, I deeply resonated with Mary’s heart for healthy, age-appropriate movement—dance that integrates mind, body, and spirit and allows children to remain children.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The difference between healthy dance vs. harmful dance
• How culture, media, and competition have normalized inappropriate movement for kids
• Why adults must reclaim their role as the protective factor for children
• The connection between hyper sexualization and pornography culture
• Practical steps caregivers can take right now to protect and advocate for children
• Free tools, resources, and action steps available through Dance Awareness

Mary also shares the powerful moment that confirmed why this work matters—hearing from a young woman who didn’t realize the harm she experienced as a child until adulthood, and how it impacted her mental health and sense of self.

This episode is about awareness—but also hope. There are healthy dance studios. There are better options. And there are ways we can speak up respectfully, educate others, and protect the innocence and dignity of children.

Bio:

Dance educator and author Mary Bawden received a BA in modern dance from the University of California Riverside, a MA in worship (emphasis in dance) from Hope International University in Fullerton CA, and a California secondary teaching credential. Mary began choreographing dance within church services in 1994. In 2003, she founded Soul to Sole Choreography and released a book, Dance is Prayer in Motion, in 2016. Several years ago, Mary began to notice the culture around children’s dance moving toward an unhealthy trend: sexualizing children in adult-style costumes, sexually provocative choreography, and music with sexual content and/or themes. Many in the public arena have been slow to recognize this harmful form of child exploitation.

In 2016, she founded DA:NCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited), a non-partisan organization, to create awareness through the collaboration of credible experts with excellent research to provide free evidence-based educational materials for dance educators, parents, and concerned adults, inside and outside the dance studio.

She has spoken at numerous conferences from NDEO (National Dance Educator’s Organization) to CESE(Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation) Summits in Washington DC. Mary has also been interviewed and written for a wide range of TV, podcast, and radio hosts. In 2019 one article she wrote received over 250,000 views (Read Article). Her organization offers many resources that have researched the damaging consequences of hyper-sexualizing children in dance.

Anchor Verses:

Romans 12:21

Ephesians 5:11

Connect with Mary:

Website: https://www.soultosolechoreography.org

DA:NCE Awareness: https://www.danceawareness.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/dance_awareness/

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