Re: [Organizers] Dancer Code of Conduct ?

I would suggest putting at least equal energy into developing a vision/mission for the series if you haven't done so already. In my experience, the right people tend to be inspired when a mission is stated. I have found that about 98% of the attendance tends to get it just from a stated mission being communicated without any further prodding. Also, once the context is set by the mission, if one of the remaining very few is e.g., forcing painful twirls on each newcomer they encounter in line, it could be a much easier encounter to approach someone with "Could I ask you a favor, please don't twirl the newcomers, we're trying to retain them and they tend to find twirls overwhelming" Of course, someone with responsibility has to be willing to offer that feedback. For most smaller dances, I would expect that rather than trying to be too specific with a code of conduct, it could work better for a board to empower hosts who could be counted on to be cool-headed and even-handed to have compassionate discussions with those displaying behavior that is off-putting / harmful to the future prospects of the series. When I have these discussions, I try to cultivate the mindset in myself that I am trying to recruit an ally rather than enforce a policy against an offender. It has been a very rare instance that anything more than a gentle word was required. Here is a doc that we set out on the flyer table (8 steps to joyful contra dance). It is based on another document I found on the internet (which is credited at the end), adapted to our group's specific needs: https://db.tt/KRU44htg Peter On Thu, Feb 27, 2014 at 8:45 PM, David Fenwick <atlanticmanage(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote: