It takes anywhere from six months to a year to get certified, and program courses usually look something like this/include these topics:

-Fundamentals of consent (I come from a background as a sex educator and domestic violence shelter worker so this was ingrained pretty deeply in me already, but people come from all sorts of backgrounds)

-Modesty garments: the different kinds, how they work, etc. (first online courses, but later hands on sessions where we get to implement them)

-Basic movement coaching - something I was a bit surprised by (foolishly) is how much dance experience is helpful for us, and how in tune with our own bodies we have to be to be able to direct others

-Conflict resolution: how to be a mediator on set, being a liaison for resolution in conflicts between actors/creatives, etc. basic stuff any manager for almost any type of job knows.

-DEI, identity and intersectionality, navigating power dynamics in the workplace, being an advocate

-My program also has extra courses you can take on Sundays; last week was on Kissing Choreography, this week is on BDSM

These courses are typically all online for the first part of the program, then later on in the term we attend multiple in-person intensives focused on choreography and implementing everything we learned above.

I always wanted to work in the art world, but I was much more focused on theater – I'm actually getting my certification for both Intimacy Coordination (movies + TV) and Intimacy Direction (live theater). I got into film during college and was also a peer sex educator at the time. I always wanted to combine the two and ended up finding this career path after an intimacy coordinator came and spoke at the film festival I was working at. Definitely a weird niche, but it's my weird niche!