Organizers

organizers@lists.sharedweight.net

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511 discussions

by via Organizers

I attend and (help) organize a few dances in Eastern NH. I also call dances in NH. After a couple of years of strong support, I have been noticing a decline in attendance since September. The small community dance that I Organize/Call in Gilmanton NH, is holding it's own. I have attributed the the fact that it is held on the 2nd Saturday (Columbus Day, Veterans Day long Wknds) to seasonal decline that we go through.... This year, dancers seem logi, leave at the break... by 10pm there is a small quorum left. (break out the triplets) December - June is our busy season... If current attendance trends don't pick up... It could prove devastating for smaller dances, (funding is: take of the door!) Could it be the graying of the dancers?.... retirement travel?... constant (vigorous) modern dances? (Not so) welcoming to new dancers, I find that I have to present a program that is accessible to newer dancers but, is not boring for the experienced dancers.... Anyway thanks for the forum. Gale Wood

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year?

by Lenore Frigo via Organizers

I just wanted to throw in data from our contra series. It's been an interesting conversation to follow because here in Redding (far northern California) we have a new (1.5 years) and small monthly contra series. So I can't speak to any long term pattern, but we've been watching our numbers carefully as we've worked to get the series going. After settling down from a surge of attendance at our first dances in early Spring 2015 (which were highly publicized, and a lot of one-time new dancers showed up) we've had regular attendance at 30-40 dancers, which is not a lot, but we're not in a large city nor in an area with longstanding historical ties to contra. That number is also just fine in terms of having enough people to dance and just manage to pay the bills. Last spring our attendance was bit low, and then low again in August/September (after the summer break) and we were starting to lose money. We were so concerned that we made plans to change to a smaller and considerably less expensive venue starting in February 2017. Of course, that caused us to see a spike in attendance in October and November, and we now regret our plans to move to the smaller venue. So we're kind of in a pickle, as the venue needs to be reserved/announced well in advance, so we can't just go back to the larger venue if our numbers go up next month. I guess if we have TOO MANY dancers for the smaller venue, that will be a good problem to have; though I'm concerned that we may alienate or otherwise lose dancers if we switch to a too-small venue (and dancing is less comfortable, or if even people have to be turned away) and then switch back to the original larger venue. Meanwhile our small but mighty weekly folk dance group has NOT seen any drop in numbers...to answer the question posed about different types of dance. Thank you all for interesting conversation and discussion as always, -Lenore Frigo

8 years, 4 months

Lower attendance at dances

by Allison Bell via Organizers

My observations in Greenfield are much of what's been said. We also have many new dancers, with the old group either aging out, finding other hobbies, nursing injuries, etc. One question: how politicized have dances becomes around issues like what a move is called, what a position is called? On the floor, there is a steady hum of resentment amongst long time dancers about these matters and some of this is also appearing to sour people on wanting to attend. Allison Sent from my iPhone

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Lower Attendance

by Greg Allan via Organizers

Hi, Greg from Winnipeg. While the contra community that I have been fostering here in Winnipeg is brand new, I have seen a drop in attendance from last year. Two contra evenings I organized had 50+ people in attendance last year. dropping to 20-30 this year. For the most recent one, I booked talent, Champion fiddler Patti Kusturok, and cut the price from 13 to 10 dollars. That bumped the attendance from the 20s into the 30s, but I'm not seeing 50s anymore. The swing dance community has seen a drop as well, though I believe that is directly linked to an increased price in a new venue. I have heard people tend to come and leave early - that it lacks a certain enthusiasm. Funnily enough, I myself have been coming late and leaving early from some other folk dance groups I'm a part of. ... Maybe if I ponder that enough, I will come up with the solution for everyone. General malaise? But otherwise, I feel the problems are social in nature. For example, people who have been coming to groups for a long time that feel that changes in standards are not in their taste or are having trouble getting to know new members. Or perhaps its the push to innovate and make things more exciting for current members or to attract new members... like new bands, new music, new figures, new progressions, new formations, new camps, new events. I feel it tends to make folk dancing more of a pop culture fad rather than a long-standing folk tradition that people can become *a part of*. I mean no offense to anyone, I think we've all put a lot of much-appreciated effort into making contra enjoyable. But maybe the increase in numbers *was* due to our much-appreciated efforts, and it's just running out of steam? English country dancing has existed for centuries without being so self-conscious - is rapidly evolving to meet the dancers' apparent desire for new-and-exciting the answer to our problems? Thinking out loud, Greg

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 5

by Elizabeth Szekeres via Organizers

I do know one instance of the rotten US economy making it impossible for a good dancer to replace his ancient broken down truck, hence he is not attending any dances at all.. Very sad... -Elizabeth Szekeres Toronto Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 6, 2016, at 10:53 AM, via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Send Organizers mailing list submissions to > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Lower attendance at dances (Allison Bell via Organizers) > 2. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Chrissy Fowler via Organizers) > 3. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Chris Page via Organizers) > 4. Re: Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 4 > (Emily Addison via Organizers) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 15:35:08 +0000 > From: Allison Bell via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: "organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net" > <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Organizers] Lower attendance at dances > Message-ID: > <DM5PR13MB14841609F89FA34C28FE966FB8820(a)DM5PR13MB1484.namprd13.prod.outlook.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > My observations in Greenfield are much of what's been said. We also have many new dancers, with the old group either aging out, finding other hobbies, nursing injuries, etc. > > One question: how politicized have dances becomes around issues like what a move is called, what a position is called? On the floor, there is a steady hum of resentment amongst long time dancers about these matters and some of this is also appearing to sour people on wanting to attend. > > Allison > > Sent from my iPhone > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 15:46:55 +0000 > From: Chrissy Fowler via Organizers > <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: organizers shared weight <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > Subject: Re: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year? > Message-ID: > <BN6PR02MB2324AE14BF3257F166AFB6198D820(a)BN6PR02MB2324.namprd02.prod.outlook.com> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Interesting data so far! Are there dances out there that have seen an INCREASE in average attendance in the last year? > > Besides asking for help from the "converted", perhaps we need to increase our reach to the non-dancer community to boost the pool of potential attendees for a given dance. (Meaning, somehow become more visible to the majority of people in our geographic area - the non-dancers - so that we get our message out to those non-dancers who would want to come to our dance if they only knew about it.) > > In Belfast, we've got a major component for outreach to youth (schools, youth programming) but we could do more to raise the visibility of both our series and our organization. > > Any brainstorms for potential efforts to support sustainability? > > Cheers, > Chrissy Fowler > Belfast, ME > > >

8 years, 4 months

Friendly plea/reminder for Digest folks...

by Don Veino via Organizers

Please trim your post replies to quote just the directly applicable bits. Otherwise it may be hard to find what you're saying amidst the massive amount of (frequently garbled, at least on my end) embedded digest text. Thanks for your consideration. -Don

8 years, 4 months

It Ain't Just Us

by Don Peabody via Organizers

Hey, Committee— If you’re not on the Shared Weight listserve, you might want to sign up—see email list above—and check out the latest conversational thread. Reduced attendance seems to be trend nationwide. I don’t have the numbers at hand—Brian? Sophia?—but the stories—with a few exceptions—are remarkably familiar. As ever— Don P.S. Anybody talking to the Housing Trust about St. Joseph’s?

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 4

by Emily Addison via Organizers

I too worry about the impact of weekends and the 'super dance' experience impacting local's perceptions of attending 'regular' dances. Separate from that one point, this is starting to sound like a topic to raise with CDSS if many of us are noticing a trend. Thoughts? I'm wondering if we do some more sharing about best-practices on getting new people, converting, and keeping the regulars. Emily On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 10:34 AM, via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Send Organizers mailing list submissions to > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers- > sharedweight.net > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Paul Pindris via Organizers) > 2. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Perry Shafran via Organizers) > 3. Re: Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 2 > (Elizabeth Szekeres via Organizers) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 10:18:49 -0500 > From: Paul Pindris via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: Mary Collins <nativedae(a)gmail.com> > Cc: Shared Weight Organizers <Organizers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: Re: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year? > Message-ID: > <CAFwDPfgcTP7DHAaapYcQ-qQRg-9-Ux-DjJ2uckaquPBqP+SW5w@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > There has been a new dance in Portland, Maine that started up earlier this > year, which to its credit has been highly successful. It is a weekly > mid-week dance that is not in direct competition with most NH dances, which > are typically held monthly on weekends. However, I have had more than one > person tell me that they are so enthused about this new dance (and > apparently they are able to fulfill their dancing needs by its every-week > scheduling) that they are no longer keen to get out to the smaller, more > local dances. I liken this to the effect of a Super Walmart shutting out > local businesses. Not sure if anything can be done about that. > > On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 10:02 AM, Mary Collins <nativedae(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Buffalo attendance has been down as well, however the last dance was up a > > bit. Many of our long-time good dancers are not coming. A suggestion > has > > been made that the board contact them individually to discuss their MIA > > status, we have not made a decision as how to approach this as yet. > > > > I do know that in some cases there are "opposing" great events on our > > dance nights and we loose our out-of-towners (those that travel to our > > dance) to those. There have been some family illnesses, travel etc. that > > have effected us as well. > > > > One question that has come up among organizers and I wonder if others > have > > had similar thoughts...is a particular band or caller keeping folks away? > > thoughts? > > > > Mary Collins, QCCD.org > > > > ?Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning > > to dance in the rain!? ~ Unknown > > > > On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 8:25 AM, Paul Pindris via Organizers < > > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > > >> This is astonishing information, as attendance at my dance in Deerfield, > >> NH is down as much as 50% from its peak last season. The reason or > reasons > >> are unclear. If the poor attendance continues it potentially jeopardizes > >> the long-term viability of this decades-old event. > >> > >> Paul Pindris > >> Deerfield, NH > >> > >> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 8:17 AM, Marie-Mich?le Fournier via Organizers < > >> organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> > >>> 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 > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Organizers mailing list > >>> Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > >>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net > >>> > >>> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Organizers mailing list > >> Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > >> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net > >> > >> > > >

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 2

by Elizabeth Szekeres via Organizers

Hi, All... Toronto attendance was significantly down during the 15/16 year, and it looks rather the same for 16/17. I'm wondering if the "good" dancers are preferring to dance at weekend events where the quality of the dancing is considerably better because of the skilled population that attend. Just putting that thought out there... I suppose the only way to know for sure is to poll people.... -Elizabeth Szekeres Talent Coordinator Toronto Contra Dance Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 6, 2016, at 10:02 AM, via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Send Organizers mailing list submissions to > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Lower attendance this year? > (Marie-Mich?le Fournier via Organizers) > 2. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Paul Pindris via Organizers) > 3. Re: Lower attendance this year? (David Kirchner via Organizers) > 4. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Dan Pearl via Organizers) > 5. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Mary Collins via Organizers) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 08:17:34 -0500 > From: Marie-Mich?le Fournier via Organizers > <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: Shared Weight Organizers <Organizers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year? > Message-ID: > <CADbbneZQ_QVp+xTzcg=NZP8jztPhvBX8koL+=WpCrrPtL=0xjw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > 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 >

8 years, 4 months

Re: [Organizers] Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 2

by Emily Addison via Organizers

Chiming in briefly from Ottawa. We usually have about 110 paid attendees and our first four dancers were all in the 80s. A big hit for us. Our last dance was better but 'tis worrying. Especially if a bigger trend. We don't think it's related to the talent as we have a diverse lineup that isn't unlike other years. And while the political situation is on the mind of many up here, my doubt is that is having an effect. We too are thinking of writing a carefully worded email to our community encouraging them to come out more often + bring friends (+ tips on how to do that effectively as we already encourage bringing firiends but doing that is an art). We were thinking of sending the email (if we do) over the holidays along with some youtube clips of the dances. We're also starting to push other outreach strategies we haven't used in a while. Glad you brought this up Marie-Michele and looking forward to more voices on this subject as it's such an important one! Emily On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 10:02 AM, via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Send Organizers mailing list submissions to > organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers- > sharedweight.net > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Lower attendance this year? > (Marie-Mich?le Fournier via Organizers) > 2. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Paul Pindris via Organizers) > 3. Re: Lower attendance this year? (David Kirchner via Organizers) > 4. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Dan Pearl via Organizers) > 5. Re: Lower attendance this year? (Mary Collins via Organizers) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 08:17:34 -0500 > From: Marie-Mich?le Fournier via Organizers > <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> > To: Shared Weight Organizers <Organizers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year? > Message-ID: > <CADbbneZQ_QVp+xTzcg=NZP8jztPhvBX8koL+=WpCrrPtL=0xj > w(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > 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 >

8 years, 4 months

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Organizers