Spacial awareness as described is one of the skills/abilities NOT taught from the stage in a class or many workshops (I have attended anyway, to avoid liable and the rest!
). It may be given lip service but how do you teach it? You can ask from the stage until you are blue in the face for dancers to be aware of other dancers around them and show consideration, but it doesn't get through to the ones who should be listening, like so many other points like this one on here.
Being aware comes from consideration and experience. Once you start to be familiar with the moves you can worry less about your hands, feet and body and a little more about what is happening around you, walking into a larger free space, getting nearer the cooling fan and so on
! Familiarity with a venue and the crowd of dancers there will help too. But then some venues are just simply too crowded, which doesn't help at all!
How you groom people into this kind of awareness I am not sure? Unfortunately, it seems to take many of them becoming victims of it before they grasp the concept! I learned from a friend's broken ankle
(not the guilty party I hasten to add
), so managed to avoid experiencing it myself (so far?)! Maybe Bloch (or whoever) should create some padded ankle steelie-toed dance sneakers with built in shin-pads?
Would look great with a dress ladies? NO?