Re: [Organizers] a delicate question

Yes, we did and continue to occasionally. A local cooperative group has decided to occasionally attend our community dances. The members of this group are generally young people, ranging from late teens to late 20s, that live in co-ops, wear vintage clothing, ride bikes and train hop as transportation. Most have jobs but predominately they travel frequently. They usually attend in groups of 4 to 16 and bring a lot of joy and energy to the dance. However, we've had to speak with them about body odor. It has been a controversial discussion among our membership and board. As a board, we've resisted the suggestion to post a sign stating that one must shower prior to a dance, since there is no way to enforce that and frankly, I find offensive. There is a fine line to tread to keep the experienced dancers happy and encourage this group. We've found most success with speaking directly to the persons with the offending body odor and having individual conversations with our existing members that have an issue. In our case, the conversations have not been a unique experience with either group since they've encountered similar issues elsewhere. Regardless, it's an ongoing process. We've also spoken to this group about holding their own dances with our support and leadership. So far, the schedule has not been conducive to that option. Joni McSpadden Miller Scissortail Traditional Dance Society Oklahoma City On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 8:14 AM, Stacy Rose <stacyrose12(a)verizon.net> wrote: