Australia's dance industry is lagging behind in dealing with intimacy and consent, according to performer and intimacy co-ordinator Danielle Micich.
"The expectation and assumption is that dancers are fine," she told AAP.
"Dancers have been asked to do really challenging, boundary pushing things since they were children."
The discipline is changing slowly according to Micich, but co-ordinators like her are much less likely to be hired for a dance production than for theatre, television or film.
It's fitting then, that the latest show devised through Force Majeure, where she is the artistic director, uses dance and movement theatre to spark a discussion about consent.
It's called idk - that's text abbreviation for I don't know - and for Micich, the discussion sparked by the show is just as important as the performance itself.
"Everyone has their own take when they come to see my work because it's very visual, that's the bit that's exciting," she said.
idk doesn't tackle the black-and-white stuff people should already be familiar with following the #metoo movement, but rather examines the nuances of consent and shifting personal boundaries.
The show has its world premiere in at Carriageworks in Sydney on Wednesday starring Gabriel Comerford, Adriane Daff and Merlynn Tong.
For a serious topic, it's actually a funny show, with props including a giant bear, a ladder and a carpet.
There are panels, industry workshops and online resources programmed around idk as well as other performances on the issue of consent.
Micich has worked in theatre her whole life, and moved into intimacy co-ordination in 2012, making sure that touching and sex scenes on productions were done safely.
"It doesn't take much to talk about the way someone's going to touch you so you know what to expect," she said.
It's work she had already been doing on touring shows, she realised, for self protection.
There was no such thing at the job title "intimacy co-ordinator" back then, she said - that came with the global #metoo movement.
Micich believes a cultural shift is still needed around consent in the community, but at least the conversation has begun.
idk plays in Sydney August 23 to 26 and then tours to Melbourne from August 30 to September 2.
