Hi, This is a compelling and interesting problem for a sound and music nerd such as myself.  We had a similar problem and I'm pleased with our solution. To aid a comparison of challenges, our home dance space consisted of four hard walls of both windows and mirrors, a faux-wood floor, and apx. 12' ceilings with mild acoustical treatment in the ceiling.  The space is about the size of a regulation basketball court.  We had significant and long echos, reverbs and sound wave cancellations that made it difficult to hear and enjoy the caller, music and, well, chatting between dances. Raising acoustical (sound absorbing) curtains and/or installing sound baffles and panels are standard ways to resolve this issue but this wasn't an option for us since we may not make permanent modifications in the space.  We also have to set-up and break-down quickly: 30 minutes for each. Of course we have a very limited budget. We solved our problem extremely well by placing (leaning) large z-fold gymnastics mats along the side walls and back wall.  The solution was relatively low cost and extremely effective.  As a bonus, tumbling mats come in a wide range of colors, so they can be a bit decorative if not exactly high-class, like curtains. However, unlike curtains, they stand up on their own, so we avoid the cost of a hanging system.  They are compact, though heavy, simple to  store and transport, and hard to damage. Here are some links, including to sound absorbing curtain systems in case that is better for your dance. https://www.wesellmats.com/collections/gymnastics https://americansongwriter.com/best-soundproof-curtains/ https://www.pipeanddrapeonline.com/Drape-Panels_c_19.html I hope you find a good solution.  I personally have concluded that it's crucial for a dance space to have adequate acoustical treatment. Rob Organizer, Musician, Novice Caller Dancing Bears Contra Conway, AR - - - - - - - - - - - - Robert Matson On Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 9:19 AM Sarah Lee via Organizers &lt;organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Hi Chrissy, I don’t know about the sound dampening part, but for schools we use this to make any curtains fire retardant, maybe it could help you treat the curtains you find- 1__34080.1571137153.600.600.png Fire Retardant for Fabric <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> frctexas.com <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> Sarah Lee North Bay Country Dance Society | Country Dance <https://nbcds.org/> nbcds.org <https://nbcds.org/> <https://nbcds.org/> <https://nbcds.org/> _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list --organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email toorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

I agree that acoustic treatment is optimum, but also acknowledge it may not be practical. My going splat on this topic ... Weogo's thick theater curtain suggestion helps and may be cost effective. It has the advantage of working along the lines of what you are already thinking (curtains/fabric) and, I assume, might be acceptable to the dance hall's owners. (Bill Porter ... if you see this ... what are your thoughts on Clarkston's curtains?) The gym mats idea is one I hadn't heard before. I assume leaning them at an angle helps diffuse the sound up away from dancers. There are *numerous* DIY sound panel projects on YouTube. Here's one analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwaZhT_CrYI Also, a quick search came up with DIY sound panels costing $7 to $30 each. Of course, those are mid-sized (not large) panels that would go into a normal house room and not a gym. BUT, every bit helps. The Sautee gym has sound panels on the far wall and fabric (not super thick, but fabric) on other walls. Putting sound panels on the far wall will help with main PA bounce back. Putting sound panels behind the musicians helps with musician monitor bounce back. These can be artistic with a little effort and add to the overall visual space. Your sound system setup can help ... a lot. Lower frequencies are not directional but higher frequencies are (more) directional. Sautee gym uses 4 "J" line array (hung high) speakers per side with the speaker targeting the back wall set to just catch a tall person's ears standing at the back wall. That's $25K worth of sound gear and installation that's not likely viable, besides being permanently installed. Another route, my GO-TO, is multiple quality speakers with delays. Theory is quality gives clarity (at volume if necessary) and multiple w/ delays gives (more) even sound coverage with least sound energy going into the room since not trying to push clear sound all the way to the rear from the front. Most recently I've happily run sound in a typical mid-sized basketball gym box (happy meaning caller and music clear, dancers not struggling to hear, weekend loud) for an anniversary celebration day of dancing with: 2 RCF NX L24As for front of hall mains (30 degree vertical pattern, slight bias down) 1 RCF TT 12" sub-woofer to one side by one of the mains 1 RCF TT 051A front center fill (fill space left by mains to some 20' out, not loud at all) 2 RCF TT 10A iis down hall side fills on delays (70 degrees vertical coverage) I've had good results using this setup in several gyms. In theory, the front of hall mains are barely audible in the back of the hall w/o side fills. In theory side fills just fill the back area. Bill Porter, in Atlanta, has rigged (in the past, don't know his current fav setup) 2 front of halls, 2 mid-hall side fills, 2 back of hall corners pointing up hall. Theory says phase issues should be a problem but in practice this rig works to minimize overall sound energy bouncing around. (of course using delays off a Mackie DL16s and a click track to set delays). Hi, This is a compelling and interesting problem for a sound and music nerd such as myself. We had a similar problem and I'm pleased with our solution. To aid a comparison of challenges, our home dance space consisted of four hard walls of both windows and mirrors, a faux-wood floor, and apx. 12' ceilings with mild acoustical treatment in the ceiling. The space is about the size of a regulation basketball court. We had significant and long echos, reverbs and sound wave cancellations that made it difficult to hear and enjoy the caller, music and, well, chatting between dances. Raising acoustical (sound absorbing) curtains and/or installing sound baffles and panels are standard ways to resolve this issue but this wasn't an option for us since we may not make permanent modifications in the space. We also have to set-up and break-down quickly: 30 minutes for each. Of course we have a very limited budget. We solved our problem extremely well by placing (leaning) large z-fold gymnastics mats along the side walls and back wall. The solution was relatively low cost and extremely effective. As a bonus, tumbling mats come in a wide range of colors, so they can be a bit decorative if not exactly high-class, like curtains. However, unlike curtains, they stand up on their own, so we avoid the cost of a hanging system. They are compact, though heavy, simple to store and transport, and hard to damage. Here are some links, including to sound absorbing curtain systems in case that is better for your dance. https://www.wesellmats.com/collections/gymnastics https://americansongwriter.com/best-soundproof-curtains/ https://www.pipeanddrapeonline.com/Drape-Panels_c_19.html I hope you find a good solution. I personally have concluded that it's crucial for a dance space to have adequate acoustical treatment. Rob Organizer, Musician, Novice Caller Dancing Bears Contra Conway, AR - - - - - - - - - - - - Robert Matson On Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 9:19 AM Sarah Lee via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

Re: Fire Retardant Products For the approximately 30%* of us who become ill when exposed to chemicals/gasses from fragrances, as well as chemicals used in fire retardant textiles, I suggest looking into off-gassing for fire retardant curtains and consumer applied retardant treatments. Off-gassing is done by leaving things hanging in well ventilated areas, away from people. You might not have control over how to shorten the time for off-gassing, especially if it isn't done before hanging them in a closed building with little air circulation, but it would be good for the building owners to know. Fire retardant chemicals applied by the consumer, post productiom would need more time to off-gass. *Most people who become ill when exposed to chemicals in synthetic fragrances and industrial chemicals don't say anything about it, and you can't tell by looking at us. A few governmental regional surveys and other studies suggest about 30% of the population has health issues with fragrances and industrial chemicals. Search "prevalence of fragrance sensitivity". On Thu, Aug 24, 2023, 10:19 AM Sarah Lee via Organizers &lt;organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Hi Chrissy, I don’t know about the sound dampening part, but for schools we use this to make any curtains fire retardant, maybe it could help you treat the curtains you find- 1__34080.1571137153.600.600.png Fire Retardant for Fabric <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> frctexas.com <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> <https://frctexas.com/fire-retardant-for-fabric/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5unBhCMARIsACZyzS2bgUwovk89wAutWwWSiE9n1gULcJF08JuOQJNs1kM06T4XgLdDQqEaAovDEALw_wcB> Sarah Lee North Bay Country Dance Society | Country Dance <https://nbcds.org/> nbcds.org <https://nbcds.org/> <https://nbcds.org/> <https://nbcds.org/> _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list -- organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list --organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email toorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net