Change! What Changes Can Square Dancing Make?
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.
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November 8th, 2009 at 9:25 AM
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