[Organizers] Sustaining your dance

How did you start dancing? I asked that question of many people, in my role as a dance producer, in hope of learning better how to introduce more people to our dances. It turns out that nearly everyone I quizzed did not first arrive through their own initiative, to participate in something they had never done before. (Nor did they first participate merely by seeing a flyer, nor by viewing a web page - these are usually for the already interested or initiated.) Rather, most describe some one, or several people in their life that made the occasion of going to a dance inviting, interesting or fun, and they wanted to find out more, and see what the experience might be like. And to have the experience again. And again. That inviting person often was a friend, sometimes a family member, sometimes part a group of friends, or a teacher or co-worker, and sometimes it was someone that they did not know, who directly asked them to come to a dance or festival for the first time. I think each of underestimates the persuasive social influence we may have, and that our friends and fellow dancers have, in inviting people we know, and people we do not know--to the pleasures of dancing regularly to live music, and to join our community. Anyone organizing any group of people knows that no matter how many there are involved, over time, people depart, for a variety of innocent and benign reasons. Perhaps their work life has changed, or they have moved; perhaps their family life has changed, or they have become parents, or their lift to the event does something else that evening. My favorite metaphor for this is filling a bathtub with the drain open. To sustain our dances and our communities (and any cooperative human activity, for that matter), it is beyond desirable for us to invite and welcome new people to our activities: it is necessary. It is necessary to personally invite people who may never have danced before. To invite people often, graciously, enthusiastically and with welcoming tone. And invite people you don't know, too. And to welcome them back. Again and Again. I welcome you to invite several people this year to join you at a dance. And to invite your entire dance community to do the same. It is nearly the only way to sustain your dance. To have a community that understands that it is crucial for the community to continue to invite newcomers to come, and to treat them well after they arrive. The total population of people participating in our favorite forms of social dance is less than one tenth of a percent of the surrounding population (except perhaps for some rather active rural areas, where it may be higher). I believe thinking about attracting and retaining the next tenth of a percent of the population is the means to sustain and grow our social activity. There is no scarcity of potential dancers. ~Mark Jones Boston