Claire, I have attached a brochure I put together for the contra dance in Deerfield, NH, for which I took on the responsibility of chief organizer this season. I am proud to say that this dance has doubled its attendance since last season, from what had been an average of 35 dancers, to now consistently drawing 70. I attribute our success to linking our monthly dances to meetup groups -- online groups, typically of single people, looking for events of all kinds where they can be active and meet others. The one issue I had with these particular newcomers was that they were unfamiliar with contra dance culture, so that there were some minor instances of bothersome behavior which indicated a need for providing basic information. I did a bit of investigation online about what other dances around the country had in place to address similar concerns, and I also polled my experienced dancers about what they considered important to include. The end result of my efforts may be a helpful starting point for you in what you are hoping to accomplish -- 2 pages, printed back-to-back then folded into thirds, which makes for a compact brochure. 

Best wishes with your work!

Paul Pindris

On Sun, May 15, 2016 at 5:05 PM, Claire Takemori via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi everyone,

I just joined the list.  I’m a new programmer (I book band, caller, sound) for South Bay Contra in the Bay Area, CA.  I’m also helping lead the team of volunteers that manage the dance.

We are trying to turn our dance into a sustainable one, as the past was often only about 20 dancers and it was not making ends meet.

If you have ideas on how to bring new dancers, get advertising at colleges/schools,  create a dance that is welcoming and safe, I’d love to hear them!

I’m also interested in what signs & policies you have for your dance for dancer safety (Creepers, unfriendly comments, etc)

Thank you!   Looking forward to learning from your experiences!

Claire Takemori (Campbell CA)
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