Interesting thoughts and I'd like to add a few of my own.
I only now regularly attend our Topsham Maine 2nd Saturday dance of late and we did have a few bumpy years leaving North Yarmouth but now we have had an apparent increase in dancers, particularly WHEN our talent is well known.
Moving closer top Brunswick (Bowdoin College) may have helped.

I do think dancers don't support smaller remote venues or ah less known talent but life is short, they vote with their feet.

While I feel that the new Portland dance hasn't hurt much yet the 1st Saturday Falmouth Maine dance recently ceased operations citing a very expensive venue.
There may have been other reasons, perhaps Portland did impact them as the Falmouth dance impacted another dance when they started.

Keeping an open happy and welcoming attitude is paramount, some times otherwise excellent dancers and management fall short at this.

Seeking out and including youth is also key, our long running family dance is a key part of that effort, some of the dancers today started over 15 years ago with their folks.

Even attendance at Glen Echo dances have been lower what they once were, though I would not say that the drop off was as dramatic as other locations, it is definitely lower than 10 years ago.

I can only surmise to why dance attendance has dropped off, but one guess that I have is that the increase of dance weekends, in my opinion, has a detrimental effect of dances are regular weekly/monthly dances. In some ways it has jaded dancers into believing that the bands/callers/dancers/dancing at the weekly dances aren't as good as those at dance weekends. We need an increase of community spirit at our local dances so we can keep getting in an influx of new dancers and get them to stay as regular dancers.

Affordability of dances is another reason (as rents and costs of talent has gone up), and perhaps saturation of dances in any one region.

Perry

From: Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Shared Weight Organizers <Organizers@sharedweight.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2016 8:17 AM
Subject: [Organizers] Lower attendance this year?

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

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