29 Oct
2023
29 Oct
'23
5:27 p.m.
Penelope where is your home dance?
All good questions. Currently terminology is the caller's decision. So it
goes back and forth from gendered to non gendered. That is not mentioned
on the website, but I do know that at least one of our callers has
requested that the Lawrence board make a decision about it so the callers
don't have that responsibility and possible fall out from it.
As far as I know there are no young board members on the Lawrence board
currently, but I don't know for sure who is on the board anymore. LBDA
Board membership is by invitation, not election. I resigned from the
board in spring 2023 and I have not asked lately about who is on now. At
that time I was the youngest at the age of 56. If I learn some gems from
you my plan is to share them with Lawrence and Kansas City board members as
appropriate. I have attended some of the KC board meetings which are open
to the community. Kansas City is one hour east of Lawrence and I dance at
both.
What I infer from your questions/response is that:
1. Younger people will be more likely to come and stay if we use non
gendered terminology.
2. Either way it needs to be publicized on our website so people know what
to expect. I know some callers feel "thrown under the bus", and
understandable so, when they have to make that decision.
3. We need to figure out how to prevent creep factor. How do you suggest
to do that?
On Sun, Oct 29, 2023, 10:02 AM Penelope Weinberger <
pz_weinberger(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
May I ask, what role terms you use, and do you
publicize that? Do you have
any young organizers? Do you try to "make young people feel heard" or do
you hear them? When young women come, are they descended upon by older
established male presenting dancers who just want to welcome them but don't
understand the negative effect that may have?
------------------------------
*From:* Sandy Seiler via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
*Sent:* Sunday, October 29, 2023 10:54:44 AM
*To:* A list for dance organizers <organizers(a)sharedweight.net>
*Subject:* [Organizers] Attracting young dancers
Our community, like many others, has fewer young dancers than we would
like. I am wondering how different factors influence that and what we can
do.
Does the night of the week matter? We dance on a Saturday night. Would
Friday be better?
Does frequency matter? We dance once a month?
Does location matter? We have a college (University of Kansas KU) Would
a dance location closer to or on campus matter?
Are outreach strategies effective and what has your community found
successful?
Thanks,
Sandy Seiler
Lawrence, Kansas