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Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers

20 Jun 2016 20 Jun '16

5:34 p.m.

Hello everyone! I have recruited some of our younger dancers to start a contra club at their university to help us bring in more people to our dances in an effort to be sustainable. However, none of us are quite certain what's the best way to proceed with this and what exactly to do with this club. Any of you out there have associated university or college clubs? Could you put me in contact with the people in charge so we can use their ideas and experience with this? Thanks! Marie ContraMontreal

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Donald Perley via Organizers

20 Jun 20 Jun

5:44 p.m.

Unfortunately the people I know there have all graduated, but for ideas: Green Mountain College has a club with some subsidy for van transport to take students to area dances, and runs 1 or 2 dances per year on campus. web site description: Contra club connects Green Mountain College students to the wider New England community through a shared love of traditional music and dance. This club integrates the GMC community into the folk music and dance movement by teaching the basics of these dances to newly interested students, faculty, staff, and other community members. The club provides dance enthusiasts and gives the community the opportunity to dance in the local region and beyond. On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 1:34 PM, Marie-Michèle Fournier <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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Erik Erhardt via Organizers

5:56 p.m.

Hi Marie, A little history for our group, then a suggestion that we plan to follow this coming year: At the University of New Mexico (unmcontra.org) FolkMADS (our local folk dance org, folkmads.org) put on 8 dances in year Aug 2014 - May 2015, then we formed a student organization and put on 8 dances, the last 4 with a student band Aug 2015 - May 2016. We've had low attendance (10-30 dancers, about half students), but with returning regular dancers. We've put in a lot of energy without much growth, though the student band ( http://www.clarabyom.com/rusty-tap.html) was a very positive outcome. This coming year we plan to *partner with other large student organizations and put on joint events*. This will help guarantee larger dances, will help with advertising, and will get people who already know each other to dance together. I think this will increase the appeal of the dance. We can also do more if we leverage ways to use student organization funds. Good luck! Erik Erhardt (505)480-4462 StatAcumen.com On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Marie-Michèle Fournier < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers

6:01 p.m.

That's really interesting! Do you mean that you will partner with organizations that do contra in other universities or organizations from the same university that do other types of dancing? Thanks! Marie On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 1:56 PM, Erik Erhardt <erikerhardt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

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Mary Anne Eason via Organizers

6:42 p.m.

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Hi Marie, A little history for our group, then a suggestion that we plan to follow this coming year: At the University of New Mexico (unmcontra.org <http://unmcontra.org>) FolkMADS (our local folk dance org, folkmads.org <http://folkmads.org>) put on 8 dances in year Aug 2014 - May 2015, then we formed a student organization and put on 8 dances, the last 4 with a student band Aug 2015 - May 2016. We've had low attendance (10-30 dancers, about half students), but with returning regular dancers. We've put in a lot of energy without much growth, though the student band (http://www.clarabyom.com/rusty-tap.html) was a very positive outcome. This coming year we plan to *partner with other large student organizations and put on joint events*. This will help guarantee larger dances, will help with advertising, and will get people who already know each other to dance together. I think this will increase the appeal of the dance. We can also do more if we leverage ways to use student organization funds. Good luck! Erik Erhardt (505)480-4462 StatAcumen.com On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Marie-Michèle Fournier <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:organizers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: Hello everyone! I have recruited some of our younger dancers to start a contra club at their university to help us bring in more people to our dances in an effort to be sustainable. However, none of us are quite certain what's the best way to proceed with this and what exactly to do with this club. Any of you out there have associated university or college clubs? Could you put me in contact with the people in charge so we can use their ideas and experience with this? Thanks! Marie ContraMontreal _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net

Brian Gallagher via Organizers

21 Jun 21 Jun

6:28 a.m.

Hello all- While I do not currently work with a student organization at a university, my profession is working with student orgs at universities. Every school really is different in their bylaws and what is and is not ok. I've seen a lot of different things to be successful. At one school in the south, the christian based organizations partnered with the swing club and had a large swing dance which included a lesson. They did this 4x per year and got a few hundred people each time (between local swing dancers, students who were in the swing club, and then christian students looking to learn or try something new). I think it is U of Chicago (or maybe it is UIC) that has a beautiful dance hall, they use a student club to 'rent' the hall for occasional contra & english dances. Most schools will require that your club have a faculty or staff advisor- typically this person just signs paperwork. They may or may not be an active member in the organization. Have your students go to their favorite professor to ask them if they want to sign on. As for what does the club do? It's really up to you- they can co-sponsor a dance on the college campus, or just be an 'enthusiast' group (like ski club) that meets every so often but the real purpose is to help coordinate rides to the local dance. It all really depends on the momentum and what resources the campus offers. Some campuses will allow you to apply for funds (think the same as a federal or state government- so, this is a once a year type process most often - requires pre-planning, not a last moment thing). Most schools will require your club to have a constitution- they should have a template for you to follow. The club will also need X officers and Y members to be a 'real' club. The school should have some sort of administrator (person in my type of job) who can help guide you with this stuff. If you message me (off the list) the name of the university, I could do some looking around to see if I know the person or can find their name on a website for you. Feel free to contact me off-list if you need more help & good luck! Sometimes the 'college club' is a great thing & sometimes it is... not really worth all of the effort. Usually it all rides on how much effort (& time) the individual student is willing to put into the project- with balancing it with their classes, part time job, sweeties...etc. Brian On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:42 PM Mary Anne Eason via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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The University of Maine in Orono has a Traditional Music and Dance Club dance which promotes contra as well as other kinds of dance (though essentially now I don't think it does anything but contra). In the past they hosted a few small contras on campus (in dorms, the dining hall or a large hallway somewhere where there was exposure to other students). Recently they have gotten funds from the student government which covers the entrance fee for students to the local dance each month in Orono plus free pizza! The contact person is Anthony Viselli, anthony.viselli(a)maine.edu, who also heads up the band that plays at that contra. Mary Anne On 6/20/2016 1:56 PM, Erik Erhardt via Organizers wrote: Hi Marie, A little history for our group, then a suggestion that we plan to follow this coming year: At the University of New Mexico (unmcontra.org) FolkMADS (our local folk dance org, folkmads.org) put on 8 dances in year Aug 2014 - May 2015, then we formed a student organization and put on 8 dances, the last 4 with a student band Aug 2015 - May 2016. We've had low attendance (10-30 dancers, about half students), but with returning regular dancers. We've put in a lot of energy without much growth, though the student band ( http://www.clarabyom.com/rusty-tap.html) was a very positive outcome. This coming year we plan to *partner with other large student organizations and put on joint events*. This will help guarantee larger dances, will help with advertising, and will get people who already know each other to dance together. I think this will increase the appeal of the dance. We can also do more if we leverage ways to use student organization funds. Good luck! Erik Erhardt (505)480-4462 StatAcumen.com On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Marie-Michèle Fournier < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers

12:38 p.m.

Thanks Brian, this is very informative! Unfortunately I had a nasty surprise when I looked up how to create a club at McGill only to discover they currently do not allow new clubs because they have too many. I will have to rethink the idea. I didn't see any traditional music club in their listing, which is unfortunate as they may have been a good option for a partnership, but I will go through them all again to see if I can find an existing club that we might convince to work with us. Thank you everyone Marie On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 2:28 AM, Brian Gallagher via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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William M Loving via Organizers

20 Jun 20 Jun

11:38 p.m.

Hi Marie, The Downtown Amherst (Massachusetts) Contra Dance series has worked closely with the Hampshire College Contra Dance Collective since our series inception six years ago. The Collective is a registered student organization (so essentially a club) and can apply for funding for events. The dances are free to Hampshire students but also open to the public with a suggested donation which helped with their funding. Prior to my working with them they would have one or two dances a year at irregular intervals. Since our Wednesday night series (3 miles away from campus on the busline) is unable to use our regular venue on 2nd Wednesdays, I encouraged them to hold their dances on 2nd Wednesday to sync with our schedule. I also provided support in terms of how to book and pay performers, referring touring performers to them that I couldn’t accommodate in our series, and doing cross-promotion. For the last several years they have run seven dances a year, 4 in the fall and 3 in spring. My point in saying all this is to encourage you to partner and work with dance organizers and existing dances in your area. You’ll get: 1) the benefit of their experience and expertise; 2) cross-promotion for events; 3) experienced dancers from the community that will help teach new folks; 4) additional income from community dancer admission/donations; 5) a bit of continuity for the student organizers on campus as they graduate (as in I regularly check in in the spring to say, “who’s doing booking for next year and do you have all your dates planned and room/hall reservations?” before the summer comes and everyone disappears. Also, university public relations and alumni offices are often very enthusiastic about such “town and gown” ventures are they are called here in the states, meaning joint efforts that bring students into the local community and local community folks on campus. Hope that helps! Will On Jun 20, 2016, at 1:34 PM, Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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-- Will Loving Northampton, MA 01060

Peter Clark via Organizers

22 Jun 22 Jun

3:09 a.m.

I have worked with a few university groups in some capacity. At Appalachian State University in NC, they have a campus events group that put on a techno contra event a few years ago in partnership with the group that would normally put on contra dances. The normal group is Appalachian Heritage Council, but apparently techno was pushing the definition of Appalachian Heritage a bit too far (contra is not native to the Southern Appalachians to begin with....) Maybe something like that would work at McGill if no new groups can be formed. Besides that, I shared advice writing the club constitution at Salem College and helped put on some events at Guilford College. The main thing I have seen is that having someone on campus promoting events and possibly putting on workshops is extremely helpful. Guilford College is small, but they have a newsletter that goes out with upcoming events and they were consistently able to get 60-80 students at an on-campus dance with a student body not much over 1000. Salem College is also pretty small, but a couple of students made it happen. One would knock on doors the evening of the dance to ask people to come, and another gave workshops for students using a copy of David Kaynor's Contra Dance Calling for Beginners by Beginners. Those workshops helped give the students the confidence to come to an evening dance where they would have otherwise felt ill-prepared and not come. Whatever you can do to make things as smooth as possible is helpful. At Salem College, they didn't have a budget to start out, so we were able to put together an open band donating its time, borrow a sound system from the local contra dance group, and the students sold stuff to raise funds for the caller. At Guilford College, we helped line up bands and brought a sound system once because the one they normally use had already been reserved. Also, from an approachability standpoint, I have found that it works best when it's primarily set up as an event for students as opposed to looking like an event on campus where an outside group is just using the space. Peter On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 1:34 PM, Marie-Michèle Fournier <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

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participants (7)

Brian Gallagher via Organizers
Donald Perley via Organizers
Erik Erhardt via Organizers
Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers
Mary Anne Eason via Organizers
Peter Clark via Organizers
William M Loving via Organizers