ATLAS SOCIAL
Join the revolution.... help us and join our fight to restore your social health and the social health of those in our community. We are radicals for happiness and developing a spectacular sense of life through the art of "the Dance". If you join our fight understand that you will sweat, you will laugh, you will socialize, you will earn self-confidence, you will honor the virtue of benevolence, you will be challenged, and above all... you will dance, dance, dance!
DISCLAIMER
By participating in social dances or dance classes hosted by Atlas Health and Wellness, you are aware that you may be exposed to COVID-19, H1N1, rhinovirus, or other upper respiratory infections. By participating in such events you are aware that living in a free society has risks, and that you are attending an Atlas Social event where we assume that the benefits of dancing, exercise, and healthy socialization outweigh the risk of possible infection.
SWING DANCING
At Atlas Social we teach beginners east coast swing, AKA “the dance”, a.k.a. Lindy Hop. The point of Atlas Social is not to make money or turn our dancers into elite competitors- We at Atlas Social teach swing to get as many people on the dance floor as possible. Atlas Social is hosted by Atlas Health and Wellness to fulfill one of its missions in servicing one of the key components of health known as socialization. Atlas Social combines high energy partner dancing with laughter and good conversations. Atlas Social welcomes beginners to the dance as well as seasoned Lindy Hoppers. Atlas Social is not like attending a traditional night club. Upon arrival you are going to be meeting a lot of people, but these people do not come to hook up (at least not primarily); they come to Atlas Social to dance. While we’ll get you dancing faster than you think is possible, the dance we do here can take a lifetime to master and even the masters still strive to improve. The Dance is awesome to watch but even more fun to do. The Dance is a partner dance and that means you will be spending time dancing with a variety of people every class and every social event. Partner dancing is unlike other social outlets, the focus is on the activity itself and not the club or the people in the club. You will get to know new people in the context of a shared activity that you work to improve with other dancers, and, in the process, you will make lifelong friends and who knows maybe even meet your soulmate.
Following the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus we have seen the destruction of social relationships on a level no one could have predicted. Over the last 2 years we all have witnessed families, businesses, careers, finances, friendships, personal health, and social dancing ripped apart all in the name of safety and protecting the “health” of our fellow man. Atlas Social may not be able to make everything whole once again or provide you safety from all harmful things in the world, but we sure do plan to do our part in bringing people together for a great time for all those that attend our events. So, if you value freedom over safety, liberty over compliance, love over fear, and happiness over suffering we look forward to meeting you at our next event.
Atlas Social is about dancing, meeting people, and having a good time. Upon entering our events we don’t care about anything else. We aspire to keep an energetic atmosphere that is not only welcoming to everyone but is contagious in sharing that energy. We like meeting and socializing with new people as much as we enjoy dancing with new people. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a seasoned pro. We don’t care about your politics, your race, your sexual orientation, your vaccination status, your religion, or anything else, and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. Whoever you are or wherever you are from, if you come to dance you are at the right place.
EXPECTATIONS
Atlas Social is a public event, and it is intended to be a place that sometimes puts you outside of your zone of comfort. In that sense we want to create a social place for you to push yourself, learn new things, meet new people who will challenge you to grow in mind, body, and spirit. We believe in being lighthearted and benevolent to strangers and building a healthy and honest social network. We understand that the world is rife with micromanaging Karens, unrealistic deadlines, indifferent bosses, and irrational children (and adults). You ought to be able to unwind in an environment where you can see and participate in something tangible and real. In order to achieve this end, we have a small list of expectations from all those that attend Atlas Social. To put it simply, by attending classes or social events hosted by Atlas Health and Wellness, you agree that:
This environment is for everyone regardless of gender/gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, physical appearance, religion, or whatever. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. If you harass or discriminate someone and we determine that you are behaving in an uncivil or malevolent way you may be asked to leave; and you may be kicked out for life. It is at our discretion. So don’t do not test our policy.
In keeping with the above, don’t use racist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic, or discriminatory language. It’s not only wrong, but also embarrassing and in bad taste. Anyone who uses language of this kind may be asked to leave or banned.
Don’t treat Atlas Social like a pick-up joint. We understand that you may have difficulty meeting a potential mate but do not burn bridges. If you engage in behavior that make our patrons uncomfortable and we confirm said complaints, we will take pleasure in escorting you to the door to protect our culture.
For many of our customers, Atlas Social is the locus of their friend groups and social life. This is part of our overall goal, and we think it’s magnificent. Atlas Social does not belong to any one person more than it does to any other person. Our hosts work hard to ensure that all of you have fun and thrive as human beings. We expect our regulars to understand that the Atlas Social does not constitute their “turf” or a pool of people for them to cycle through dating. We expect our regulars to treat both newcomers and other regulars as people and dancers, not as potential dates. Rejection happens. Don’t ask someone out if you can’t be respectful after being turned down. Break ups happen. Don’t date someone at the Ballroom if you can’t respectfully share the space after a break up. It’s the responsibility of our regular customers to ensure that the Ballroom is an environment where people feel free from coercion, bigotry, discrimination, and alienation.
Whether you’re dancing, playing music, or finger painting, do not offer unsolicited advice to your fellow students. It is completely acceptable to ask if someone wants feedback, but we ask that you do not provide unwelcome commentary or complaints about your lead or follow as we deem this as being rude.
Generally behave like adult homo sapiens. We welcome every lifestyle and every flavor of person. But this isn’t your living room or a house party: Back-rub chains, cuddle puddles, and the like will make the staff uncomfortable. Please take pity on the hosts of Atlas Social.
Atlas Social deeply believes that it is best for the business and the world if staff, performers, and patrons are held to the standards above. Within the scope of these caveats, do your thing. Should you have any harassment-related or discrimination complaints, the staff will willingly and enthusiastically hear and monitor your complaints to ensure that Atlas Social is safe and enjoyable for everyone. We are not your parents and we will handle all complaints judiciously but we will not act to remove other individuals unless we can confirm a patron is acting in defiance of our rules. We hope that as an adult you have made a sincere effort to let your feeling be heard by those who have wronged you, as misunderstandings do happen and how said individuals respond to your concerns can influence our judgements. While the social risks of speaking up may feel high, your willingness to speak up can help create an environment of positive social pressure that is impossible for the hosts of Atlas Social to generate single-handedly.
Our goal in this context is to move as far as possible towards creating a culture that eliminates these issues rather than dwells on them. With that in mind, should someone raise an issue with your behavior, listen gracefully and be willing to hear them out. We may be listening to how you react to the concerns of other dancers. Hostility or indifference in response to the concerns your fellow dancers may present to you may reflect badly on your character and your ability to return to Atlas Social events. In addition, when making complaints, please be conscious that it is not our job to create an environment where no one will ever rub you the wrong way. This is our social event and harassment or discrimination is one thing and will be dealt with. However, personal issues or preferences in personality as to who attends our events is not your business and you may find yourself on the other end of being asked to leave.
Regardless of the severity, please feel free to bring your harassment-related or discrimination concerns to any member or hosts of Atlas Social (David or Anna Hartwig). We will treat these issues with the strictest confidentiality. Your courage in coming forward can keep incidents from being repeated. If you are not sure whether an incident constitutes harassment or discrimination, feel free to ask the hosts opinion. If we don’t know, we will find out. Please see our policies and procedures section for more information about how issues are handled.
LIMITATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As hosts at Atlas Social we can and will involve ourselves in all of the harassment/discrimination issues listed above, particularly if they occur on the premises.
We cannot, however, get involved in interpersonal issues and feuds. Furthermore, it is important for complainants to understand that, while we take action on issues of harassment and discrimination, we cannot act as a personal support network, we are not trained therapists or social workers, and we need to spend the bulk of our time running our Social events and Classes. Please do not bring us subjective or malicious complaints in attempts to cancel individuals that you don’t like or wish to remove from the social dance as you may be asked to leave yourself.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLAINTS
An initial conversation with the staff member away from other staff/patrons.
Complete confidentiality (unless we are sure that someone is in immediate/direct danger).
The staff member will fill out an internal and confidential incident report (description of the event).
You will be asked if you have confronted the patron about your concerns and how they reacted or didn’t react.
If the incident involves a violation of Atlas Socials Code of Conduct, the accused will be handled/not handled in one of the following ways: watched but not approached (we keep an eye on them), spoken to about their behavior, kicked out, banned, or reported to the police. None of these actions will be taken without the approval of the complainant unless it is a matter of immediate danger, or we witness similar behavior we find to be in violation of our code of Conduct.