The best answer seems to depend on the scale of the dance. Atlanta ranges from 60-160 dancers per dance, and correspondingly, it has more paid positions than many dances seem to:
- Calling
- Music
- Sound engineering (speakers, mics, mixing, cable running, playing canned music during the break)
- Taking money at the front
It's a real stress on the budget and/or the door price that these are all paid, so it's really interesting to read how other dances do more by using volunteers.
There are currently no shoe police, which is one of the great things about the current dance hall. It's so far worked well to have sticky mats, signage, and an honor system. Shoe police are more effective at keeping the floor in good shape, but it's not as nice on the dancers.
I am told that sound engineering used to be volunteer, but nowadays it is a paid position. I can see it would be different in a hall where people can call and play acoustically in a pinch, but in a big hall, it can really stall out the evening for a whole bunch of people if there are sound problems.
I don't know the full story behind the doorkeeper situation, but note that it is a significant amount of work, and the person doing it doesn't get to dance. At least in Atlanta, the doorkeeper needs to keep some detailed notes, too, for tax purposes.
The main official volunteer positions that come to mind in Atlanta are set up, tear down, and hosting.
There is also lots of unofficial volunteer activity. I don't think the scheduler is paid, nor the web site maintenance, nor the occasional videographer. There are various social networking groups (Facebook, Meetup, others....) that are all maintained by volunteers. There's a 9-person steering committee. For all of these things, there are just some special people in the community who love contra dance and who jump in to contribute.