Cindy presents this sensitive and relatively new to the industry topic with clear, student friendly, yet industry appropriate language. Both students and teachers found Cindy’s workshop to be extremely valuable and easy to implement within the classroom.
Michelle - Drama teacher (student workshop review)
This should be shared far wider to all performing arts teachers and also private arts schools.
Tamara - Drama teacher (online webinar)
Presenter Vic Dance Festival - consent in Performing Arts
Presenter at the
Drama Qld conference
Presenter at the AusDance Qld conference
Content writer on consent/wellbeing
PERFORMING ARTS teacher professional development
As an educator, have you ever stopped to ask:
How do I facilitate scenes to honour boundaries—especially when touch and physical contact is involved?
Do your students know how to communicate their boundaries, or to say no if they’re uncomfortable with physical interaction or content before scene work begins?
Do I feel confident in my knowledge of new industry-standard consent protocols and how they work in my class?
If you said no, you're definitely not alone.
Take the guess work out of INDUSTRY STANDARD consent protocols. Up skill in
Psychological safety in Arts spaces
Consent procedures for touch, proximity, and emotionally loaded material
Power dynamics impacting consent
Consent-informed casting conversations for schools and youth contexts
Closure/derolling to transition out of character
Documentation to support risk reduction and compliance
Alignment with Child Safe Standards obligations
Get in touch to find out how you can ensure you, your staff and students get up to speed with consent processes.
This was the most amazing workshop for our senior students. So important and beneficial for them as they begin to work in the industry!
Kim - Company Director NAPA (student workshop)
Intimacy Direction for performance
Choreographic support for scenes of close physical contact
When it comes to close contact in performance ('intimacy' in professional contexts) , it’s essential for teachers to understand that choreographing these scenes requires specialised training. Just like staging a dance routine or fight scene, everyone involved needs to be clear on what to expect, especially when physical boundaries are part of the performance. While it's possible to integrate basic consent and wellbeing practices into your classroom following the teacher workshop, handling more complex scenes—such as masked kisses—requires professional guidance. As an experienced and certified intimacy director, I offer teachers the support they need to navigate these scenes, ensuring students know their boundaries are respected.
Following a script break down and consultation with the director, an intimacy director supports rehearsals, suggests choreographic subtleties, and much more!
Why You Need to Get On Board with Consent and Boundary Protocols (Even if You've Never Heard About it Before)
If you’re unsure about your own understanding of consent, you're not alone. But it's possible with some professional development you could have an understanding of how these new industry standards can be woven into your teaching practice. By doing this, you’re not only reinforcing personal boundaries in performance, but you’re also equipping your students with vital skills that will support their wellbeing in every area of life.
With just a few simple changes to your current processes, you can create a consent culture in your classroom—one that allows students to explicitly clarify boundaries, while still engaging in the creativity and connection that comes with performance. Let’s make this shift together.
Class should be memorable for all the RIGHT reasons.
ABOUT ME
Meet Your Facilitator
Cindy Ambridge is committed to bringing consent-informed and wellbeing-focused practices to the forefront of Performing Arts communities.
With over three decades of experience as a professional dancer, choreographer, and performing arts educator — including 18 years teaching in Queensland high schools — Cindy’s career spans professional contexts and educational settings, and now a specialist in consent, across stage and screen.
She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology, Education, and Creative Industries, alongside advanced psychological safety training. Specialist consent training has been undertaken internationally, with certification through Principal Intimacy Professionals, a SAG-AFTRA–accredited certified training program.
Cindy's credits include musical theatre, music videos, independent shorts and feature films, commercial concepts, and theatre projects. She has written for Ausdance Queensland (consent and wellbeing aspects) and presents nationally across Australia sharing consent and artist wellbeing processes for the Performing Arts.
A certified yoga teacher and Mental Health First Aider, Cindy created Class for the Heart — delivering mental health, mindset, and dance science–informed workshops for dancers.
Professional performance experience spans Las Vegas, Japan, the Philippines, China, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Toronto and Australia.
Choreographic work features on the QCAA website, with additional credits including Creative Generation – State Schools On Stage.
Across all contexts, the focus remains consistent: clear, industry-aligned processes that respect boundaries, reduce psychosocial risk, and support nuanced, high-impact storytelling.
Queensland University of Technology
Bachelor of Creative Industries (Dance) with distinction
Bachelor of Education (Secondary) with honours
Tertiary Qualifications
Griffith University
Bachelor of Behaviour Science (Psychology Major)
Certificates
Association of Mental Health Coordinators (USA)
Screen Well (AUS)
Mental Health First Aid certificate
Blue print
Certificate IV Training and Assessment
Byron Yoga
200 hour yoga teacher training
Professional Development Snapshot
Principal Intimacy Professionals
(SAG-AFTRA accredited certification program)
Intimacy Directors and Coordinators
Theatrical Intimacy Educators (TIE)
Key Intimate Scenes
National Society of Intimacy Professionals
Intimacy Professionals Association
Intimacy Professionals Education Collective
Consent Wizardry
International Conference Intimacy Coordination (2024)
Actor 360 (Kristina Arjona)
Association of Mental Health Coordinators
I believe ...
Industry standards are needed in class
Teachers need to maintain a connection to real world practice.
Consent is more than
just permission.
While parent 'permission' is important, we need to teach our young artists about having a voice in artistic pursuits.
Consent process is easy to embed into every lesson
Processes can become as known as 'be quiet backstage'.
Boundaries lead to greater innovations.
A constraint and an actor saying 'no' makes creatives think even more outside the box.
As a former professional dancer and Performing Arts educator, I am now an internationally certified Intimacy Coordinator. My extensive training, is leveraged with aligned tertiary qualifications and diverse transferable skills to attentively support productions. I take a collaborative approach to enhance intimate storytelling, while contributing to a dynamic, unforgettable on set experience.
