Hi All,
Loving the current conversation about what to do now and when we want to
restart our dances.
If you are responding to an email thread in the group...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...
remember to either (1) make sure to delete the past discussion OR (2)
respond by creating a NEW email using the same subject line.
Some members of our group receive the digest version which is very hard to
read if the same email appears repeatedly throughout the thread.
Thanks so much!
:) Emily Addison in Ottawa
One of the List Champions for SW Organizers
From Chrissy Fowler, Belfast, ME:
THANK YOU for your contribution to the conversation. Rays of sunshine April
3 had 2 remarkable videos of dance, one a Ted talk, and carefully put
together, and one of a family dancing for joy!!! I wish I had that guy’s
secret stash of energy, and the intergenerational nature of the
dance—priceless! I am still smiling! Great ideas (especially the
noodles—NOT!)
Sharon McKinley
who dances in Baltimore, MD
Here are some thoughts from Belfast ME re: Lisa's questions:
*Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?*
At our most recent (online) board meeting, we agreed that we have no firm
plan, beyond waiting until it seems safe to dance and continuing to
reevaluate as time passes. So much depends on the ever-evolving situation.
Whenever we do feel able restart our monthly dances and our outreach
programs in the community, we're going to be really really happy.
*...What should our organizations be doing [until they start up again]? *
We are sending occasional updates to our email list, including a series of
blog posts called Rays of Sunshine, trying to highlight some bright spots
out there, either related to dance/music or our local community or both.
rays-of-sunshine-march-24/
<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/rays-of-sunshine-march-24/> and
rays-of-sunshine-april-3/
<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/rays-of-sunshine-april-3/> are examples.
This blog series is therapeutic for us, as a board, and we've gotten
positive feedback.
We're also sharing online offerings of music/dance on our FB page, just to
help spread the word.
facebook.com/Belfast-Flying-Shoes-Dance-Series-35211723615/
<https://www.facebook.com/Belfast-Flying-Shoes-Dance-Series-35211723615/>
And we're doing some groundwork for our organization, which has a varied
palette of programs beyond our monthly programs.
belfastflyingshoes.org/outreach/
And finally, we're continuing the fundraising effort
<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/fundraising-2020/>that we leapt into on
February 29, albeit with tempered expectations, given the current societal
and financial upheaval.
I encourage everyone to *consider reaching out to your constituents for
financial support -- *too many of our organizations run on a razor thin
margin, and there are definitely people out there who would be happy to
keep an organization from folding. CDSS hosted a web chat about fundraising
- here is the webchat page <https://www.cdss.org/resources/events/web-chats> -
and I recently read about a local movement by folks of modest needs who
plan to donate their federal relief checks to worthwhile causes. Worth
keeping in mind.
*What conversations are you having within your organizations?*
We are re-evaluating on a regular basis, monitoring our local situation and
recommendations from our governor, state CDC, and national CDC.
We are also discussing options for holding events that aren't quite as high
touch as our dances - for example, outdoor concerts, online concerts, jam
sessions, etc.
We're also clear that we are very lucky to have such a strong local culture
of trad music and dance. And that we in most parts of Maine are doubly
lucky, given the low population density and preponderance of natural
beauty. Hearing my neighbors play tunes on banjo and fiddle or sing with
tight harmonies, while I weed my flower beds, is a balm for the soul.
And I, personally, am refining a concept suggested by one of those same
neighbors, of dancing with foam swimming noodles as arm-extenders (glue a
glove onto the end of each noodle). That way everyone can "connect" with
the noodles instead of hands, maintaining a greater-than-six-feet distance
from one's fellow dancers. Can't you picture the stars and circles and
allemandes? I admit, it needs work. But it gives me pleasure to imagine
it.
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast Flying Shoes
Belfast ME
*** ** ** *
*Dance Calling* | *Transcription* | *Belfast Flying Shoe*
I was thinking about this also
Gov Raimondo, as well as Rep Cicilline announced a couple of days ago that
a part of the federal stimulus money will go to people working the gig
economy. No matter what they're receiving from unemployment, they will also
receive an extra $600 per week, so our musicians won't be out in the cold.
I do think that we should pay them something.
We already have orders until the end of May for some things here in RI. The
peak is expected to be mid May, so I'm not sure when regular life will
start up again. As it stands, anyone who leaves RI and returns has to
self-quarentine for 14 days, so I won't be leaving anytime soon.
I don't see any use in trying to mitigate risk of spreading the virus. We
just need to wait it out.
What did we land on last time? Was it the end of April or the end of May?
The Monday Contras at the Scout House posted this. It is a message from all
the performers, with contact information. If someone can post it somewhere
easy to find, I can get the information from the callers and band.
http://mondaycontras.com/pages/performers-messages.php
Lisa Lunt
Pronouns: She/Her
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020, 9:43 AM Bob Peterson via Organizers <
organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Our dance organizers have not had the conversation. But here are the same
> thoughts I would express to them if we had that conversation this week.
>
> I think resumption will follow this pattern. Each organizer will make
> their own individual decision about when they will be safe to help run a
> dance. Dancers and performers will likewise. As a result, dances can only
> resume if enough organizers and performers for a dance series decide to
> resume it. Hopefully they don’t need 100% of the organizers, but many
> series are run by very few people.
>
> Dances stand a good chance of losing money (more than usual, anyway) for
> months until enough dancers decide to come.
>
> Performers will face pressure to decide between health safety (their own
> and the dancers) versus income/supporting dances. Hopefully no one adds
> peer pressure to anyone else, but that seems unlikely. I imagine the most
> powerful pressure arguments will include “Our dance will die if we don’t
> resume now!” “Our venue’s regular reservation will be taken by some other
> group!” “We need to support our artists!”.
>
> \Bob Peterson
> Boston Gender Free Contra Dance
>
> PS I haven’t even considered how dances must change to reduce virus
> transmission. That’s a related but separate topic.
>
>
> > On Apr 9, 2020, at 09:22, Lisa Sieverts via Organizers <
> organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> >
> > Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
> >
> > I had a conversation with a smart person the other day, who said “we
> probably can’t dance again until there is a vaccine for this corona virus.”
> And that might be 12-18 months away.
> >
> > If that’s the case, what should our organizations be doing during that
> period of time? And how many dances just won’t restart?
> >
> > What conversations are you having within your organizations?
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Lisa
> > Monadnock Folklore Society
> >
> > Lisa Sieverts
> > 603-762-0235
> > lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
> > _______________________________________________
> > Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> > To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> _______________________________________________
> Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Jonathan's list of precondtions for reopening - basically, lots of quick cheap testing, easy availability of hand sanitizer, temperature monitors at doors, strict contact-tracing regime - is pretty much what I'd worked out for myself, since I don't think we can really manage shelter-in-place for 18 months.
BACDS sponsors dances and performance teams all over the main San Francisco Bay Area and dance camps and weekends even a bit further away (Monterey Bay, wine country). My impression is that most CDSS-affiliate dance organizations run a series or a team or a ball or a weekend. We do it all, and revenues from the various activities backstop each other, so we're usually pretty resilient, and we have enough money in the bank that even if a camp completely tanks the organizers don't have to reach into their personal pockets.
BACDS usually books in calendar quarters (we've got something like 19 series (biweekly or monthly, some take summers off) canceled the camps and weekends in July-September and told all our series programmers not to book for July-September. We're moving tentatively forward with a November ECD weekend (but I'm not investing too heavily in it emotionally because of the strong chance of a resurgence of the virus in Fall.) For restarting the dance series - well, the Board will monitor the situation, but since our dances are run by volunteers, etc, we need the halls, the board (who authorize the rent checks), and the series organizers all to agree that it's safe to restart.
BACDS is luckily not under a lot of financial pressure, but some of our musicians definitely are. (I've personally been on CDbaby and Kickstarter binges to get some money toward trad freelancers.) I set up a web page on the organization which is supposed to be a place for links from BACDS-affiliated musicians for CD sales, lesson reservations, online concerts, etc, but I can't chase all that up myself and so far I've had *zero* uptake - nobody's sent me any links to put up. I'm probably going to replace that page with a redirect to the CDSS freelancers page.
I do worry, a lot, about whether people who will rent halls to us will still have those halls to rent after a few months with no revenue for mortgage payments, etc. Some of the churches we rent from are kinda marginal, and fraternal organizations seem like they skew old-and-at-risk. When canceling our dances for months we left our rent money with the halls as a kind of reservation for after the emergency, but I don't think that really guarantees that our contra dances will have a place to meet next Spring if a socially-distanced AA meeting is able to take that space in August. We'll have to work it out when we get there.
I edit a weekly calendar email for BACDS events and I've switched over to aggregating links of online activities once a week. One of our members with a Zoom account has organized a weekly series of online checkins via Zoom; I co-hosted the one last night. (Everybody who wants to speaks briefly about how they're doing this week, there's some general conversation, people can drop in or out.) It's nice to see people's faces. One of the people last night talked about how interesting it was to get to know dancers in a different way - at least to learn their names, hear what they're doing for fun, etc. [I was merely co-moderating, had never attended an online check-in before, and the realy host did most of the moderating work; it was still surprisingly tiring to keep things moving, try to shut down extensive monologues, etc.] On the one hand, this seems good for community cohesion; on the other, of the 400+ peple on the email list, about 30 checked in the first meeting and 14 in the second. I did sent out a separate email for the checkin as well as including it in the calendar, but I figure I'm not going to be flooding email boxes with maybe two messages a week.
-- Alan
________________________________
From: Jonathan Roveto via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2020 7:37 AM
To: Lisa Sieverts <lisa(a)lisasieverts.com>
Cc: A list for dance organizers <organizers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Organizers] Re: It might be a long time until we dance again
I think waiting for a vaccine is overkill. At some point, you have to let people make up their own minds. There will be a few things to consider: 1) At some point, restaurants, sporting events, and schools will all start back up again. 2) Mass testing and antibody testing will become active. 3) Hopefully some treatments will present statistically significant efficacy. 4) Staying cooped up and without socialization are already resulting in increased suicide rates and are generally unhealthy in the first place.
What 1) means is that people will start coming in contact with people again, even if it means in the background of at-the-door temperature checks, abundant hand sanitizer, etc., and our dances wouldn't be the only risk factor in one's life by far. 2) means that we will be able to make far more knowledgeable decisions on who should go out. It also means that if you do feel sick, you'd be able to get tested and treated early. You'd also be able to know if you're already immune. 3) , especially in conjunction with 2), means that covid-19 becomes less fatal. There are I think something like 300 clinical trials in progress looking for treatments. Some are garbage, but others are showing promise. 4) means that there is pressure from the other end saying that at some point, the danger posed by socializing becomes lower than the danger posed by continued isolation.
While I don't think those will all come at the same time or in quick succession, I think they'll all be true before a vaccine is approved for use in the US. I think 1) is two to three months away, 2) is probably two months away, 3) could be realized by the end of this month (albeit production capabilities would need to ramp up), and 4) is beyond my knowledge base. The kicker, in my mind, is that that means potentially dancing in August? But then it's likely that we'll see a resurgence in fall again, and we'll see if our capabilities mean we go on lockdown again or do the S. Korea approaches of widespread, aggressive testing with contact tracing.
Jonathan Roveto
Owner/Member
Fair Oaks Holdings, LLC
Cell: (559) 961-7497
PO Box 684492
Marietta, GA 30068
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:22 AM Lisa Sieverts via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
I had a conversation with a smart person the other day, who said “we
probably can’t dance again until there is a vaccine for this corona
virus.” And that might be 12-18 months away.
If that’s the case, what should our organizations be doing during that
period of time? And how many dances just won’t restart?
What conversations are you having within your organizations?
Thank you,
Lisa
Monadnock Folklore Society
Lisa Sieverts
603-762-0235
lisa(a)lisasieverts.com<mailto:lisa@lisasieverts.com>
_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:organizers-leave@lists.sharedweight.net>
PS My noodle dance concept is 100% in jest! It's so ridiculous to even imagine it, plus it would be resource-intensive (the world does not need more foam swimming noodles, in my opinion), plus, as someone pointed out, it wouldn't at all solve the problem of transmission via airborne droplets unless everyone wore masks. It does give some really fun mental images (color coordinated masks and noodles?) But just wanted to make that clear! We will NOT be doing noodle dances in Belfast anytime soon!
Mostly I am just diverting my over-busy mind from fretting about terrible things I can't control. (For example, I just learned moments ago that the several of the residents and staff at a local Assisted Living Center and Nursing Home, where I've led music and dance sessions, have been diagnosed with Covid-19, which is truly terrible news.)
With loving thoughts to all,
Chrissy Fowler
And I, personally, am refining a concept suggested by one of those same neighbors, of dancing with foam swimming noodles as arm-extenders (glue a glove onto the end of each noodle). That way everyone can "connect" with the noodles instead of hands, maintaining a greater-than-six-feet distance from one's fellow dancers. Can't you picture the stars and circles and allemandes? I admit, it needs work. But it gives me pleasure to imagine it.
** ** **
Dance Calling | Transcription | Belfast Flying Shoes
chrissyfowler.com<http://www.chrissyfowler.com> | westbranchwords.com<http://www.westbranchwords.com> | belfastflyingshoes.org/blog<http://www.belfastflyingshoes.org/blog>
<http://www.chrissyfowler.com>
(207) 338-0979
In Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo we each have made the decision to cancel through Summer. Lansing and Kalamazoo dances run through mid-late June. Grand Rapids continues through August.
Lansing and Kalamazoo have also discussed having a GALA event in late Summer if the community threat of contagion is lifted. I suspect we would also discuss community regathering for potlucks or Open Jamming late Summer. But we aren't optimistic about gatherings before Fall.
Our Spring and Summer music and traditional Arts festivals have canceled for the summer as well.
I'll start Sharing opportunities for Virtual events with our joint communities as they are posted. I see CDSS has a listing now.
We haven't had an open discussion on bookings made for the following season.
Laurie PietravalleWest Michigan
~ When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole, that is why I dance. ~Hans Bos~ ~
On Thursday, April 9, 2020, 09:21:54 AM EDT, Lisa Sieverts via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
I had a conversation with a smart person the other day, who said “we
probably can’t dance again until there is a vaccine for this corona
virus.” And that might be 12-18 months away.
If that’s the case, what should our organizations be doing during that
period of time? And how many dances just won’t restart?
What conversations are you having within your organizations?
Thank you,
Lisa
Monadnock Folklore Society
Lisa Sieverts
603-762-0235
lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
_______________________________________________
Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
One way to bring dancers and musicians back together, especially if society begin reintegration in the hot summer months, might be to hold indoor or outdoor for-pay concerts without dancing.
\Bob Peterson
> On Apr 9, 2020, at 09:22, Lisa Sieverts via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
>
> I had a conversation with a smart person the other day, who said “we probably can’t dance again until there is a vaccine for this corona virus.” And that might be 12-18 months away.
>
> If that’s the case, what should our organizations be doing during that period of time? And how many dances just won’t restart?
>
> What conversations are you having within your organizations?
>
> Thank you,
> Lisa
> Monadnock Folklore Society
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> 603-762-0235
> lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
> _______________________________________________
> Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Here are some thoughts from Belfast ME re: Lisa's questions:
Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
At our most recent (online) board meeting, we agreed that we have no firm plan, beyond waiting until it seems safe to dance and continuing to reevaluate as time passes. So much depends on the ever-evolving situation. Whenever we do feel able restart our monthly dances and our outreach programs in the community, we're going to be really really happy.
...What should our organizations be doing [until they start up again]?
We are sending occasional updates to our email list, including a series of blog posts called Rays of Sunshine, trying to highlight some bright spots out there, either related to dance/music or our local community or both. rays-of-sunshine-march-24/<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/rays-of-sunshine-march-24/> and rays-of-sunshine-april-3/<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/rays-of-sunshine-april-3/> are examples. This blog series is therapeutic for us, as a board, and we've gotten positive feedback.
We're also sharing online offerings of music/dance on our FB page, just to help spread the word.
facebook.com/Belfast-Flying-Shoes-Dance-Series-35211723615/<https://www.facebook.com/Belfast-Flying-Shoes-Dance-Series-35211723615/>
And we're doing some groundwork for our organization, which has a varied palette of programs beyond our monthly programs. belfastflyingshoes.org/outreach/<http://belfastflyingshoes.org/outreach/>
And finally, we're continuing the fundraising effort <http://belfastflyingshoes.org/fundraising-2020/> that we leapt into on February 29, albeit with tempered expectations, given the current societal and financial upheaval.
I encourage everyone to consider reaching out to your constituents for financial support -- too many of our organizations run on a razor thin margin, and there are definitely people out there who would be happy to keep an organization from folding. CDSS hosted a web chat about fundraising - here is the webchat page<https://www.cdss.org/resources/events/web-chats> - and I recently read about a local movement by folks of modest needs who plan to donate their federal relief checks to worthwhile causes. Worth keeping in mind.
What conversations are you having within your organizations?
We are re-evaluating on a regular basis, monitoring our local situation and recommendations from our governor, state CDC, and national CDC.
We are also discussing options for holding events that aren't quite as high touch as our dances - for example, outdoor concerts, online concerts, jam sessions, etc.
We're also clear that we are very lucky to have such a strong local culture of trad music and dance. And that we in most parts of Maine are doubly lucky, given the low population density and preponderance of natural beauty. Hearing my neighbors play tunes on banjo and fiddle or sing with tight harmonies, while I weed my flower beds, is a balm for the soul.
And I, personally, am refining a concept suggested by one of those same neighbors, of dancing with foam swimming noodles as arm-extenders (glue a glove onto the end of each noodle). That way everyone can "connect" with the noodles instead of hands, maintaining a greater-than-six-feet distance from one's fellow dancers. Can't you picture the stars and circles and allemandes? I admit, it needs work. But it gives me pleasure to imagine it.
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast Flying Shoes
Belfast ME
** ** **
Dance Calling | Transcription | Belfast Flying Shoes
chrissyfowler.com<http://www.chrissyfowler.com> | westbranchwords.com<http://www.westbranchwords.com> | belfastflyingshoes.org/blog<http://www.belfastflyingshoes.org/blog>
<http://www.chrissyfowler.com>
(207) 338-0979
I think waiting for a vaccine is overkill. At some point, you have to let
people make up their own minds. There will be a few things to consider: 1)
At some point, restaurants, sporting events, and schools will all start
back up again. 2) Mass testing and antibody testing will become active. 3)
Hopefully some treatments will present statistically significant efficacy.
4) Staying cooped up and without socialization are already resulting in
increased suicide rates and are generally unhealthy in the first place.
What 1) means is that people will start coming in contact with people
again, even if it means in the background of at-the-door temperature
checks, abundant hand sanitizer, etc., and our dances wouldn't be the only
risk factor in one's life by far. 2) means that we will be able to make far
more knowledgeable decisions on who should go out. It also means that if
you do feel sick, you'd be able to get tested and treated early. You'd also
be able to know if you're already immune. 3) , especially in conjunction
with 2), means that covid-19 becomes less fatal. There are I think
something like 300 clinical trials in progress looking for treatments. Some
are garbage, but others are showing promise. 4) means that there is
pressure from the other end saying that at some point, the danger posed by
socializing becomes lower than the danger posed by continued isolation.
While I don't think those will all come at the same time or in quick
succession, I think they'll all be true before a vaccine is approved for
use in the US. I think 1) is two to three months away, 2) is probably two
months away, 3) could be realized by the end of this month (albeit
production capabilities would need to ramp up), and 4) is beyond my
knowledge base. The kicker, in my mind, is that that means potentially
dancing in August? But then it's likely that we'll see a resurgence in fall
again, and we'll see if our capabilities mean we go on lockdown again or do
the S. Korea approaches of widespread, aggressive testing with contact
tracing.
Jonathan Roveto
Owner/Member
Fair Oaks Holdings, LLC
Cell: (559) 961-7497
PO Box 684492
Marietta, GA 30068
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:22 AM Lisa Sieverts via Organizers <
organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Organizers, what are your plans for restarting your dances?
>
> I had a conversation with a smart person the other day, who said “we
> probably can’t dance again until there is a vaccine for this corona
> virus.” And that might be 12-18 months away.
>
> If that’s the case, what should our organizations be doing during that
> period of time? And how many dances just won’t restart?
>
> What conversations are you having within your organizations?
>
> Thank you,
> Lisa
> Monadnock Folklore Society
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> 603-762-0235
> lisa(a)lisasieverts.com
> _______________________________________________
> Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Hi,
One thing I'm doing which might be worth sharing: I have started a *new*
e-mail list for sending out information about virtual dances, videos, etc.
Because I think that some people will not be interested, and I don't want
those people to unsubscribe from my main group mailing list for when we
restart, some sunny day.
regards,
ajr, dancing in and near Toronto, Canada
