I was recently invited to join another tribe whose primary purpose is to alert dancers to a man who is exhibiting stalker behavior toward some belly dancers. This started me thinking about the larger subject of safety for dancers. It seems like a subject a lot of dancers don't think about.

Some years ago I wrote an article about this for my web site - see www.shira.net/safety.htm . In researching that article, I asked a friend who used to run a singing telegram company what tips she might be able to share, and I was VERY surprised to learn that she had never really given the issue much thought, and really hadn't taken any precautions with her own safety when delivering messages.

So here are some questions that I'd be interested in people's thoughts on...

Is personal safety something that YOU have considered as a dancer?
Do you take an escort with you when you dance at private parties?
What measures do you take to guard your own personal safety?
What kind of behavior from callers or people who approach you at gigs triggers your "weirdo alert"?
Do you publicize your home address or phone number as a way for people to contact you?

I'm always surprised when people sign up for my teacher/performer directory and provide their home telephone numbers and mailing addresses. (I list my cell phone number instead of my home number, because once someone knows your land line phone number, it's a simple matter to find your home address from it. Anyway, even though my directory says, "Most people who don't have a P.O. Box leave this blank because they don't want to put their home address on the Internet. It's up to you," it seems like a lot of people provide their home addresses for the directory. Then I get annoyed when a month after I post the information they provided they send me URGENT emails INSISTING that I delete their home addresses IMMEDIATELY.

The registration for my web site domain, www.shira.net, gives a PO Box address, not my home. I teach my classes at a studio, and will continue to do so even after my current remodeling project of adding a new dance studio to my basement is done because I have no intentions of publicizing my home as a location that strangers are invited to come to.