The Certification Debate in the Field of Intimacy Direction, Choreography, and Coordination

Abstract As intimacy direction for stage and screen has rapidly burgeoned over the last decade, two strains of that development have established a debate about a potential, yet controversial, element of the training: certification. On the one hand, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) has established a certification program for which they claim to be “the premier organization for consent and intimacy training in the entertainment industry” (2023). On the other side of the debate is Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), who offer similar workshop training sessions, but believe that there are many approaches to intimacy choreography and direction and deliberately do not offer certification. Both organizations have made moves toward inclusivity and fully supporting practitioners in training—even since the writing of this article. This debate is evidence of the newness of the field of intimacy specification.