[Callers] recruiting new dancers

We are a college town - Gainesville FL - and have had very few young people until recently when a committed contra dancer moved here from SC to go to school and came to dance with us. She started a club on campus and now we have dances on campus as well as our regular dances and are having a good turnout of all ages to all the dances. It was a little slow at first. The on-campus dances would have more "geezers" than young people, but as long as there were several young people, that was enough to keep them interested and coming back. The thing that got the most young people coming was the techno contra. We would always have techno contra at the break with blacklight and mirror balls and glow-stick bracelets, etc. Last month, they held their first all techno dance and had 100 people, many from other universities across the state. The young folks are coming up with all kinds of great ideas now. One guy is in a fraternity and they are going to require their new pledges to come to a contra dance in a skirt. We also have a young person who is becoming a really fine caller and also young musicians. We try as often as is possible to get the young caller and band for the campus dance. For the others, we are looking at the most high-energy bands. One band plays a medley of Beatles tunes that is always a hit. Others have electric guitars, or other electronic instruments that interest the young people. Early on, we talked about a flash-mob on campus, but all agreed that it would be counter productive if all the flash mob participants were "geezers." We might as well hang up a sign that said: "Demonstration of what you wouldn't be caught DEAD doing this weekend!!!" If you're going to do a flash-mob to attract young people, you must have young people doing it! I love the "ants-pants-contra dance" idea! We'll use that on campus! One thing that I am very pleased about is that our dances are now truly inter-generational. We have children through seniors and everyone dances with everyone. -- JoLaine Jones-Pokorney "We are as gods and might as well get good at it!" - Stewart Brand