Organizers

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519 discussions

by bobfab＠aol.com

In Rochester NY, at our weekly Thursday Contra and Sunday English dances, we use the honor system. The cashbox is at the door inside the hall, where everyone can see who is at it. They are small-ish dances, about 50-60 people on average, and mostly regulars. We speak to all new dancers at the break and give a "next-time-free" pass, and use this as an opportunity to remind them to "pay this time." We have a few different prices, for members, students, young kids, and an annual pass option, so estimating what should be there is tricky. It usually works out when I eyeball it. Bob Fabinski On 12/28/17 11:22 AM, Chrissy Fowler via Organizers wrote: We're curious about how other dance organizers handle the task of sitting at the door and taking money. Who does it? - organizers? - volunteers? - a mix? - nobody? - how many people at a time? How is it done? - scheduling people to do the task (how?) - vetting/soliciting the vols (any parameters?) - how long does each person sit at door on a given dance eve? - any compensation/barter? Other relevant info? Thanks, Belfast Flying Shoes board of directors Belfast, ME _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net bobfab(a)aol.com

7 years, 9 months

Re: [Organizers] Taking admission (Chrissy Fowler)

by Claire Takemori

Hi Chrissy, We have a small dance part of the BACDS. 3rd Sundays 3-6pm. bacds.org/sbc <http://bacds.org/sbc> Organizers sit the door & take money when no volunteers are available. We solicit volunteers when they sign in for the dance. Sign in sheet has pre-dance, & Dances #1-8. We don’t ask for money after the break. Usually one person, maybe a friend. If there is no volunteer, then we ask the caller to ask someone who is going to sit out to sign up. Each person sits out one dance. Sometimes someone is injured and sits all the dances. No compensation. Would love to see a compilation of answers or insight gleaned from this query. Claire Takemori South Bay Contra, San Jose CA On Dec 28, 2017, at 12:20 PM, organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net wrote: We're curious about how other dance organizers handle the task of sitting at the door and taking money. Who does it? - organizers? - volunteers? - a mix? - nobody? - how many people at a time? How is it done? - scheduling people to do the task (how?) - vetting/soliciting the vols (any parameters?) - how long does each person sit at door on a given dance eve? - any compensation/barter? Other relevant info?

7 years, 9 months

Lower attendance this year?

by Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers

Hi all, Both Montreal and Ottawa have seen lower attendance this fall and we got word that it's similar in Brooklyn. Are any other local dances seeing this too? Any idea what might be causing this? Since it happens to both Canadian and American cities I doubt it's the political climate. Thanks, Marie ContraMontreal

7 years, 10 months

Cancellations payment to musicians and callers policy

by John W Gintell

What do dance organizers do about paying callers and musicians in the event that a dance gets cancelled because of bad weather?

7 years, 10 months

what to do about a dancer with dementia

by Katy Heine

For the last three years, one of our older dancers has been declining with dementia--and her husband, not a good dancer himself, continues to bring her to our dances. Invariably, they create chaos on the dance floor. Most people on the board of my dance organization feel it's important to continue to include these dancers until such time that the husband decides it's time for them to stop coming. On the other hand, I'm concerned with the effect that they're having on other dancers. I've heard at least one dancer say that she considered not coming to a dance when she saw that this couple was there--and certainly this couple's presence is diminishing the dance experience of many of the dancers who've come to our events for the high level of dancing that we were able to deliver in the past. Has anyone else wrestled with this sort of problem? If yes, what did you do (or not do) about it? Thanks, Katy Heine

7 years, 11 months

Re: [Organizers] record-keeping for sliding scale admission?

by Claire Takemori

Hi Dana , In the SF Bay Area, we use a sign-in sheet for liability purposes (I’m told) and dancers can self check “member, non-member, or student” and pay that rate. $12 non-member, $10 member, $6 student. However we also have $20+ “supporter” and “pay as you can” and negotiable family rate (at my dance we ask adults to pay and offer any amount for kids). I can send you a copy of that sign in sheet if that’s helpful. Another dance in our area uses a simple tally sheet for $5 youth, $10 others, $ pay as you can. I also put out a talent tip jar, since our rent is based on 40% of the door take, and our talent is underpaid at our dance compared to other dances in the area. I’ve found that most people pay the asked price, $10-12, and a couple pay extra or donate to talent and a couple pay less. Claire Message: 1 Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2017 19:04:17 -0400 From: Don Veino <sharedweight_net(a)veino.com> To: Shared Weight Organizers <organizers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Organizers] record-keeping for sliding scale admission? Message-ID: <CAAJTtiK9J9d3ELe80eQ5CCi5NESs7zOk+86kkNiyqaXypPZ0Qw(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Like Heitzso reported, I've successfully used a tally sheet broken into range values to manage statistics on a sliding scale admission scheme in the past (hint: make the most common expected price band amounts have the larger tally area). I've moved on from that since. For my weekly dance I didn't want to administer the complication of a true sliding scale, yet wanted to try a similar concept to see how our community might engage with our revenue issues. As a result we've gone to a "You Pick A Price" scheme, described here: http://mondaycontras. com/pages/you-pick-admission.php . This has worked out extremely well, with self-selected admission payments greatly skewed towards mid and higher amounts. Very few pay the least stated amount or lower and several give us additional donations on top. The net effect is we have been able to pay each of our performers something on the order of $10-20 or more on average vs. our prior standard admission scheme (while still enabling financially challenged folks to participate if they can't volunteer). I set up a cheap Android tablet with the Square POS (Point of Sale) app on it to manage the admissions scheme. After a short initial training period our door sitter volunteers have come to praise it and can process in dancers quite quickly. You can see our "process manual" here: http://mondaycontras.com/pages/volunteering/door-sitting-process.php . The Square app itself is free and cash transactions incur no charge - credit card transactions do pay a fee (we only offer cash sales publicly). The reporting is quite good and you can manage cash drawers and see sales reports by item. Should you decide to go with Square and find the information I've supplied to be helpful, I'd appreciate you signing up via one of the referral links from the groups I'm working with (you and the selected group will each get free credit card processing for 180 days/first $1000 of sales as a result): Concord Scout House, Inc. https://squareup.com/i/SCOUTHOUSE (preferred, greater use of credit cards) Monday Contras Dance Committee https://squareup.com/i/MONCONTRAS *Note: you must sign up by clicking on one of these links to obtain the credit*. There is no way to gain the credit if you sign up in their standard way starting at their regular web site or via the link included in a retail reader package. They are very firm on this. You do need at least Square's basic mag stripe reader to set up the app for the first time. However, they will send one for free upon request after sign up or will rebate $10 to cover a retail purchase (units available at Staples, etc.). Please give me a shout with any questions, Don On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 8:12 PM, Dana Dwinell-Yardley via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Hi all, > > Our dance in Montpelier is considering several models of raising > admission, including going to a sliding scale admission instead of a fixed > fee. > > If your dance does sliding scale, how do you keep good records on > attendance? We would ideally like to track how many people paid what dollar > amounts, as well as a total attendance figure and average payment. > > Also, does anyone do a tiered payment system ($8 low income, $10 regular, > $12 dance supporter, or something like that)? > > If you used to charge a flat rate and now do sliding scale, has your > average admission gone up or down? > > Thanks for helping us make a good decision! Our committee is meeting again > on Oct 29, so having responses by then would be very helpful. > > Thanks, > Dana > > -- > Dana Dwinell-Yardley > graphic design & layout > Montpelier, Vermont > 802-505-6639 <(802)%20505-6639> > danadwya(a)gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list > Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net > >

7 years, 12 months

record-keeping for sliding scale admission?

by Dana Dwinell-Yardley

Hi all, Our dance in Montpelier is considering several models of raising admission, including going to a sliding scale admission instead of a fixed fee. If your dance does sliding scale, how do you keep good records on attendance? We would ideally like to track how many people paid what dollar amounts, as well as a total attendance figure and average payment. Also, does anyone do a tiered payment system ($8 low income, $10 regular, $12 dance supporter, or something like that)? If you used to charge a flat rate and now do sliding scale, has your average admission gone up or down? Thanks for helping us make a good decision! Our committee is meeting again on Oct 29, so having responses by then would be very helpful. Thanks, Dana -- Dana Dwinell-Yardley graphic design & layout Montpelier, Vermont 802-505-6639 danadwya(a)gmail.com

7 years, 12 months

Re: [Organizers] follow up to family dance questions

by Claire Takemori

Paul and all, I’m curious what the child age ranges are for the family & community dances? It sounds like they are young? So then all the middle school kids and older go to regular contras? I’m hoping to start a dance in SF bay area in CA, but not sure if it should be a family dance series, an old time square dance series, or? Thanks Emily for getting this conversation going Claire Takemori SF Bay Area Message: 1 Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2017 23:47:18 -0400 From: Paul Rosenberg <paul(a)homespun.biz> To: Emily Addison <emilyladdison(a)gmail.com> Cc: organizers shared weight <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Organizers] follow up to family dance questions :) Message-ID: <6928B4B1-F53F-470E-992D-03CB7E80DC6D(a)homespun.biz> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi Emily I?m curious: what were the two dances that DeLaura led at Ogontz? My series has been going since 1994. Generally it?s monthly from November through April. I am the regular caller. In the early years, I was inspired by seeing Peter Amidon and Andy Davis leading family dances, and I used a lot of their repertoire: Zodiac Chimes of Dunkirk Bridge of Athlone Black Joke Sweets of May Sasha Galopede Circassian Circle Old King Glory Brandy Rump Bump Gramma Moses Head and shoulders Down in the Valley Little Johnny Brown Step it Down Chee Chee Cha Heel & Toe Polka As the years went on, I learned more and more fun unique dances. Another factor in my repertoire change was my change in attitude. I became disenchanted with the evolution of the contra scene, with dance evenings becoming monotone. Contras only. No more circle mixers or squares. No more chestnut contras. Very few easy contras. Choreography that is ?unforgiving?. So I quit calling at contra series and for the last ten years or so, all of my dances are family and community dances. I find that lots of contra callers seem to want to groom the children to become contra dancers, and their choice of dances at the family dances are generally just simple contras. My goal is to provide a fun, exciting repertoire of dances appropriate for young children. Some may be a bit like contras, and some dances are totally different We have several dances that children request at most of the family dances: Spiral Hoe Ana (Polynesian sit-down canoeing dance I learned from Sanna Longden) Old Dan Tucker (longways dance I learned from a PE teacher) Zodiac Any dance with a ?Peel the Banana? figure, like Virginia Reel, Sweets of May, or Bridge of Athlone Funga Alafia (West African dance) Sasha Other dances the children love, but don?t request necessarily: Zemer Atik (Israeli dance) Looking for a Friend aka Hang Peng You (Chinese) 7 Jumps (Danish, learned from Marian Rose and many other sources) Mi Cuerpo Hace Musica (Puerto Rican) Dance du Castor (Quebecois) Baanopstekker (Dutch dance) Can?t Jump Josie (American singing game) Clap Your Hands (American) Buffalo Gals (Square) LaRaspa Chay Chat Koolay (West African) Yan Petit (Catalonian) Cshebogar (Hungarian) Le Bus (Quebecois) Damat Halayi (Turkish) Penguin Dance (I forgot where I got this) Marching Through Georgia (Square) Paul Rosenberg Albany, NY 518-482-9255 www.homespun.biz > On Oct 17, 2017, at 1:37 PM, Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Hi Paul, Perry, Jeff, Chrissy, and David, AND others too! > > Thanks so much for all the feedback. :) I wasn't online for about four days so I've just been catching up and am learning SOOO much! > > I'm going to follow up with a few of you regarding some additional questions that your posts peaked. > > I'm curious though about PROGRAMMING for FAMILY DANCES. > > This is something that Jeff and David both brought up... the idea of perennial favourites and consistency. > > I'm wondering if there are specific dances that your family dance series LOVES or goes over really well. For instance, I remember two that DeLaura Padovan did at the Ogontz family week that kids just went crazy for. And they clearly had done them previous years... everyone was SOOO into them. > > I hadn't thought about the idea of consistency and kids being able to ask for dances they really liked etc until Jeff and David raised these ideas. > > Having a repertoire of some super awesome crowd pleasers would be great. > > Thoughts???? > > Emily > > > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list > Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net

8 years

follow up to family dance questions :)

by Emily Addison

Hi Paul, Perry, Jeff, Chrissy, and David, AND others too! Thanks so much for all the feedback. :) I wasn't online for about four days so I've just been catching up and am learning SOOO much! I'm going to follow up with a few of you regarding some additional questions that your posts peaked. I'm curious though about PROGRAMMING for FAMILY DANCES. This is something that Jeff and David both brought up... the idea of perennial favourites and consistency. I'm wondering if there are specific dances that your family dance series LOVES or goes over really well. For instance, I remember two that DeLaura Padovan did at the Ogontz family week that kids just went crazy for. And they clearly had done them previous years... everyone was SOOO into them. I hadn't thought about the idea of consistency and kids being able to ask for dances they really liked etc until Jeff and David raised these ideas. Having a repertoire of some super awesome crowd pleasers would be great. Thoughts???? Emily

8 years

Liability insurance

by John W Gintell via Organizers

I am wondering whether most dance series have liability insurance - particularly small ones. Insurance for a dance series from CDSS costs $450, $550, … depending on the number of dances plus $85 membership fee every year. I suspect other sources would be more expensive. For a small dance with few financial reserves, the extra fees each year could easily drive it to extinction. I know that sone venues require that the group has insurance, but not all do. What is the risk of not having it? Any recent incidents in the past few years? I’d think possible suits could be from dancers or musicians/callers who got injured or thought they were treated badly, venues where there was damage to the site. What about ASCAP copy infringement suits? Have there been any of these? Anything else? John

8 years

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Organizers