[Callers] First Time Dancers

Hi Greg, Your definition: "open public dances, with live music and a caller, that are sponsored and hosted by a group of dance enthusiasts" is basically any dance community - specifically contra in your case since you added "primarily featuring duple contras". As to how many new dancers turn up at such contra dances in the UK? Well, there are less than 10 active contra dance clubs in the UK as far as I know - they are listed at http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/Links.html, and some are quite small. So it is difficult to provide any sensible statistics based on such a small sample. There are a few big successful ones like the monthly London Barndance Company dance in Cecil Sharp House (never billed as a contra, and not guaranteed to be, but generally at least 90% contra dancing to great contra dance bands and with great contra dance callers). Usually around 80 to 150 dancers I believe, peaking to 300 for special events. Most attendees are regulars; I suspect the number of new dancers is well under 10%, but sometimes boosted by a party (literally - someone brings their birthday party guests along for a dance) - however the party members very rarely ever come back for another dance. There are of course countless community dances (One Night Stands - weddings, birthdays, fund-raisers, etc.) but in my experience it is very rare to get one of those attendees to come to a dance community event. There is a Modern Western Square Dance community with around 150 clubs - see http://www.uksquaredancing.com/page5.htm. I don't know how they do, but in the southeast (where I live) it has virtually died out. There is a Ceilidh community, who dance relatively simple dances with lots of energy and stepping (hornpipe step-hops, rants, skip steps, skip-change/polka steps, etc.) to great bands who are experimenting with lots of musical influences (a similar evolution to the contra dance music one, but exploring different musical genres) - lots of information at http://www.cix.co.uk/~net-services/ec/ and http://www.webfeet.org/ - there are usually around 10 big ceilidhs around the country each weekend. Sadly none in my area, so I have no idea how they are doing at getting new dancers. There are also lots of ceilidhs at all the big folk festivals with lots of attendees. This is the dance community that attracts the most younger people in the UK. There are no ECD clubs in the UK (well there might be one that calls itself that) - but lots of Folk Dance Clubs and other groups which have a lot of similarity, but who are normally prepared to try any dance. Sadly the average age is quite high at many of these clubs and so the dances chosen, and the style in which they are danced, reflect the physical ability of the dancers. They will happily dance contra dances, but generally without the twirls and spins that Americans add. Many of the clubs are quite small, but as you can see at http://www.setandturnsingle.org.uk/ there are hundreds of them, and lots of open dances at the weekends and at festivals. Sadly, the percentage of new dancers is, I believe, very small. Again, the word "club" above is not intended to imply a closed group - just a regular event open to anyone, but attended primarily by regulars. So, sorry, no specific answers, but I hope that helps a little. Note: this is my personal perception of what is happening in the UK - if anyone can add to it please do. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent