Note from Brian: This article was written by a friend of mine and a fellow square dancer.  Thanks Dale!

WHY DO WE CALL IT SQUARE DANCE “LESSONS”?

 I have talked to many, many non-square dancers about taking “lessons,” and the majority of the time I get the same answers:  ”don’t have time,”  ”had that in school”; but the most consistent answer I get is “LESSONS, I’ve had all the lessons I can stand, all the way from kindergarten through college, and I do not need more lessons.”

   I have read many write-ups on this subject and talked to several major corporations about advertising. Corporations spend thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars finding ways to package their product to appeal to their customers.  Look at some of the ads on television; they are tailored to appeal to the customer from children to retired people and everyone in between.

   Yes, we as square dancers have a product to sell to the non-dancing community: square dancing, good/new friends, exercise both physical and mental, no alcohol, and no drugs.  We have everything society is looking for in this day and age.  I believe it’s time to change the way we package our product.  We have to sell to the non-dancing community.  Make it look like and sound like FUN.  When did it change from “Come join our fun activity and make new friends” to “Take LESSONS. You will grow to like it”?

   Do we actually have lessons or is it progressive dancing? Starting from the first night of lessons, we progress through basic to mainstream.  OOPS, the new dancer/s never know the difference unless an angel tells them.  Once they have graduated, it’s their choice to dance the mainstream level or progress to the next level of dancing.

Note from Brian: This is another article from Ken and Dee.  Some of what it talks about is about Minnesota square dancing but it will work anywhere.

Recruit and retain? Like any good business, square and round dancing needs to keep its current dancers (customers) as well as attract new ones.  As we all know, it is much easier and less expensive to keep current dancers while everyone tries to recruit new ones. Can you imagine how large clubs would be if they had retained all of the members they lost, losses not related to health issues or death?    Let’s compare it to church membership. Most people join a church largely because of the friendliness or friends that are there.  Many people leave a church because the church no longer seems friendly to them or they switched memberships to a church where their friends belong.  If “friendship” is an important factor, then we need to shepherd, mentor or befriend new people, all the while striving to make the atmosphere for current dancers friendlier and more fun.    To retain dancers, every enthusiastic dancer needs to help. Call other dancers (it doesn’t matter if they’re in your club), carpool to dances, and make sure everyone who wants to dance is at the dance and on the ?oor. Make everyone feel welcome and needed. The dancers who want square and round dancing to have a bright future need to act now!

• Keep square and round dancing so much fun that dancers won’t want to miss a dance or a convention. Have a theme for dances; ?nd a way to make each dance special, to make each dance “fun,” something that people don’t want to miss.  

• Coordinate scheduling of callers and cuers so every week and every month has a variety of callers in every region. Keep the calendars of dances up-to-date on the websites.

• Relax the dress code so dressy casual, prairie or poofy are all acceptable. Be ?exible.  

 • Maintain an up-to-date, statewide list of “special” dances. Currently the CE Region has a “Special Event Planning List” that is a good idea but under utilized by most CE clubs. Maybe there could be a similar, statewide list in The Roundup.  • Keep the websites up-to-date.

• Explore colleges and high schools for opportunities to teach dancing. U of M Duluth has square dancing as a PE class. 

• Start classes (or whatever euphemism one can create) more often. 

• Make national callers a special treat, not an everyday event.  • Offer more workshops for current and returning dancers. • Offer Square Dance ABC to attract people to square dancing.

  Let’s all share our smiles, our yellow rocks and our friendliness so the fun and friendship of square and round dancing has a long and bright future.

Last Saturday I was calling with Mike Driscoll at TTT’s dance and when I was calling the singing call “Next Door to Alice” I got to thinking, how did I wind up standing in front of 5 squares of dancers.

I always call the song “Next Door to Alice”, which the original was written by Chris Norman, the song that launched my calling career.   I got this song in my head while on a trip to Branson, MO.  One of the other people on the trip and I got to trying to name songs that you could not get out of your head, when I looked at her and said “Alice, who the heck is Alice?”  That song did it. For the rest of the trip it was non stop,  “Alice, who the heck is Alice”.

Every dance we went to that week I asked the callers if they had it and would they call it?  Nobody did.  When I got back I was talking to Mike and when I told him about the song he pulled it up on his laptop and played the music for me.  By this time he and I had talked about me becoming a caller.  Mike told me he thought it was a good song for me to learn so he got me a copy that I could pratice with and two weeks later he brought me up on stage and I performed it.

And as they say, the rest is history and I must say I am having a great time.  So, if your ever at one of my dances then by all means ask me if I can do it.  I probably will.

Note from Brian: This is another article written by Ken and Dee.

Are you out promoting square dancing? Round dancing? How do you promote square and round dancing?  When and where do you promote dancing?

Are you promoting the WHOLE activity?  Square or round dancing in general or just your club?  Do you dance everywhere or just your club?  All club’s lessons or just your own?  Do you dance at least once a week or just once a month at your club’s dance?

Are you recruiting for dancing in general or just for your club?  If your club’s lessons don’t fit the person’s schedule, do you try to find another club and and night that does work?  Do you know which night other clubs in your area have lessons?  do other clubs in your area need more angels?  Are you an angel at more than just you club?  Does that club welcome you when you come as an angel?

Do you hand out the statewide lesson flyer or just for your club’s flyers? (note from Brian: in Minnesota, we produce a brochere that lists every club and the contact information) Do you encourage new dancers to attend lessons at more than one club?  Do you raid the new dancers that come for their second lesson that week because another club leader suggested they try twice a week?  Do you “raid” other clubs to get more members in your club?

When you go about your daily life, do you wear square or round dance t-shirts,  jackets,  shirts, caps belt buckles or pins?  How often do you tell others that your favorite pastime is dancing?  How often do you tell others about the physical and mental benefits of square and round dancing?

Do you encourage your dance friends to dance at other club’s dances or just your own club’s dance?  Do you offer to pick others up when you are headed for lessons or another club’s dance?

When your club picks the time for lessons, do you consider what the clubs around you are doing?  How about your dances?  Do you consider the other clubs in your area?  Or when you schedule callers or cuers or weekends, do you consider the other clubs that are dancing also? Do you attempt to avoid conflicts for the dancers as well as the clubs?

How does your club treat solos?  Do you make sure they are dancing?  Do you make sure they are welcome at lessons?  Do you make sure they get out dancing?

Are you dancing at other clubs besides your own?  Are you participating in banner raids?  Are attending special weekends and the conventions?  Is your club a friendly club?  After the greeter at the door, are you also greeting all the dancers at lessons or at the dance?  Do you dance with the same people all evening?  do you make sure you mix with everyone at the dance?

Are you concerned about the future of square and round dancing?  What will it take to get everyone concerned about the WHOLE activity?  Can we ALL work together so square and round dancing has a bright future?  Will you help?

I got this in an email today so I wanted to share it with the world

Choose your partners, one and all, Aspirin, Advil, or Tylenol! Now fling those covers with all you’ve got, One minute cold, the next minute hot, Circle right to the side of the bed, Grab the tissues and Sudafed. Back to the middle and don’t goof off; Hold your stomach and cough, cough, cough. Forget about slippers, dash down the hall, Toss your cookies in the shower stall. Remember others on the brink; Wash your hands; wash the sink. Wipe the doorknob, light switch too, By George, you’ve got the it, you’re doing the Flu! Some like it cold, some like it hot; If you like neither, get the shot.

Note from Brian: Dee and Ken are friends of mine and they are also the 2009-2010 Promotion Directors for the Square Dance Federation of Minnesota.  Every month Dee writes an article for The ROUNDUP, which is our monthly magazine.  This is one of her articles.  My thanks to her so that I could publish it.

The first square dance convention in 1952 in Riverside, CA attracted 6500 dancers; the largest national convention in1976 in Anaheim, CA attracted 39,796.  In 2002, in St. Paul, MN, attracted 8828 dancers; this year Long Beach, CA attracted 4912-the smallest number ever!

Reasons? “Change” everywhere: the global economic crisis, the prices, the H1N1 Flu, unemployment-the list is endless.  Ironically, the only thing “certain” in this world is that there will be “change”.

Change causes anxiety.  When we’re not sure how to change, we revert to the “old ways”, the supposedly tried-but-true ways that worked in the past.  The problem is that change is occurring so fast toady that what worked last year probably won’t work as well this year.  What worked in 1952 or 1976 or even 2002 is history!

As your clubs are trying to attract new members, consider some of today’s “changes”.  People have short attention spans; the world serves instant gratification for the body and mind: prepared food and electronic communication-texting, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.  What does this all mean to square dancing?

• Traditional “demos” square off new recruits.  They watch you respond to 60 or more calls and say, “I can’t learn all that”.
• Square dance outfits turn off many spectators. Often heard is “I’m never going to wear the getup!” Many women today don’t even have a skirt in their closet!  Flyers with graphics that show the “traditional outfits” go unnoticed

Change! What changes can square dancing make?

• Do Square Dance ABC.  Involve your audience from the moment you start!  Ask them to dance with you, not just watch you.  Every dancer should go into the audience and get a partner.  Learn their names, Use them.  When the ABC dance ends, the participants will they can now “square dance”.  And they can!  Let them dance at the ABC level until they request the opportunity to move on.  If they want to become a “mainstream” or “PLUS” dancer, they will ask for details. 
• Wear casual clothes-neat, clean, dressy casual.  Clean jeans, nice slacks or skirts, dressy shirts, t-shirts or blouses.  Mike Seastrom detailed “new dancer fun night” in the August 2009 issue of American Square Dance Magazine: “Your club members should not dress in square attire at these events because it will separate you from your guests.  You’ll have a more difficult time getting your guests to dance because they will think you are all “professional” dancers and they will be more self conscious about not being ‘good enough’ to dance with you.  If everyone is dress in like attire, it removes a barrier and keeps everyone together for that event”
• Make sure to get your club information up on your state’s square dancing web site.
• Clubs today need websites that are constanly updated so visitors can find information for the ABC dances, the classes, this weeks dance, next months dance and the year’s schedule.  Remember: instant gratification!  We need to give the 2009 spectators fast access to all the information they desire.  Once they’ve tried square dancing, they’ve experienced firsthand all the “f’s”: fun, friends, fellowship, fmily and food. 

I have been home close to a week after attending the Pride Caller’s School in North Carolina.  I had a great time.  It was a lot of hard work but the work is designed to make you a better caller and I came home with a wealth of information that will make me a better caller. 

Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine, Jon Jones and Deborah Carroll-Jones were great to work with.  Although since they divided the class into two, I was in the new callers class and spent more time with Jon and Deborah.  I learned a lot of tricks and twists.  I look forward to the next time I get to attend a school like this.

Me and Tony O

I hit a wall at the Ar-Dale lessons tonight.  It wasn’t them, I think it was me and I think the reason was I was not explaining the calls well enough.  We had a hard time with Square Through.  Maybe this is just part of the learning process that it takes to teach someone to square dance.  I think I am trying so hard to do this right that I am not paying attention to the details.  Or maybe I am paying too much to the details  and forgetting to make it fun.

I have a week off now, I am off to North Carolina on Saturday to give Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine, Jon Jones and Deborah Carrol-Jones some grief and I hope learn a lot from them.  I have another caller coming in to teach the lessons next Tuesday so I will check with him when I get home.  Square dancing has always come easy to me so I just hope I don’t hit too many more walls, or at least I am wearing my helmet when I do.

I’ll post some pictures from callers school next week.

Keep dancing

Caller Brian

I was afraid that no one would show up but six squares came to the dance at TTT Dance in Roseville, MN including friends from theBloomington Swirlers (the club we dance with).  I had a blast calling with Bob Maiden.  My patter still needs a lot of work but the singing calls are getting easier.  No one walked out and most people stayed to the end.  Thanks to Charyl Anderson for the pictures. 

I had fun at the Minnesota State Fair Today.  The Square Dance Federation of Minnesota was asked to do some dancing for 10 out of the 12 days this year.  We are at the stage right outside the Education Building a couple times per day.

Mike Driscoll, Bob Maiden and I were the callers today and it was not only great to call with them but we had fun inviting people to give square dancing a try.

It was at the fair today that two things happened.  The first was that Dee, who is the producer of Friendship Set To Music-The TV Show came up to me and asked me to have two singing calls ready for the September 12 taping.  I have been proud to be part of the production staff of the show for the last few years but now I’m really nervous.  I had said that when I decided to start calling, it would be great to call on the show.  One of my dreams has come true.  Now can TV survive Caller Brian?  You should be able to see the show starting in November and December. Just check your local cable access channel to see when the show is on.

My second surprise of the night came when I was asked to call a dance with Bob.  So on September 26 Bob and I are the callers for TTT Squares in Roseville, MN.  Life is GOOD!  Take care and we’ll see you in a square.

Brian