New Life Into Square Dancing

The 6/4/06 FLAC meeting was special because it included FLAC representatives and also callers, cuers, and presidents of Square Dancing clubs, who had all been invited by FLAC to come and brainstorm ideas for bringing "New Life into Square Dancing". There were 31 people present who gave ideas on what could be done to revive Square Dancing, what has recently been successful in other clubs or other regions, and what pitfalls should be avoided in order to prevent trying too hard and burn out. A committee was formed to continue and work on the ideas, consisting of Al Hanning, Judy & Jake Doane, Gary & Judy Pruyne, George & Hazel Dew, Dan & Rose Saikkonen, Jim & Kay Shay, Ron & Mary Wesche, Lise & Dick Rosenfield and Joanne & Jerry Jones. After the committee meets and discusses these ideas, Al Hanning would be willing to visit each club and present these ideas.

Evelyn Hanning sent out the notes she took at the meeting, then Lise Rosenfield edited that list of ideas, grouped the ideas into categories, and also added a few items she had in the notes she took at the meeting. Hopefully this will help start the discussion!

1. Spread the word that Square dancing is fun

• We need to let people know that Square Dancing is fun.
• The word of mouth (friends, acquaintances etc.) is what has worked the best.
• Tell everyone you see: hairdresser, store clerk, people at church or at clubs you belong to.
• Hand out flyers.
• Use the free advertising on Radio, TV and Newspapers.

2. Show to the outside community that Square dancing is fun

• Provide entertainment at County Fairs, festivals.
• Do demos and Parades.
• Have a TV/Radio event where you dance and a reporter interviews the Caller and Dancers during the program.
• Sell Square Dancing, not Square Dance Lessons.

3. Get new people to join our fun

• Have Community Dances that are advertised as a "fun dance" for the whole family. Do some square dancing, round dancing and line dancing without calling it that. Make it a fun night. Have some club members (dressed in regular clothes) as support group. Teach some simple calls and teach a dance. Make it fun, keep it simple and have a social night. After they get a taste of the square dancing and like it, they can continue and go to a club for further lessons. Have flyers ready to give out if people are interested.
• Auction Square Dance Parties (the last one Caller Ron Brown did was attended by almost 100 people, 30 of which were friends of the purchasers).
• Offer 10 weeks of free lessons as a drawing prize at an auctioned fun night.
• Go to different organizations (Rotary, Lions, also Campers) and give out Gift Certificates for Square Dance Lessons.
• Target empty nesters (late 40's early 50's)
• Accept singles in classes. They may hook up with another single, and indeed many have. Some singles (or other gifted dancers) should learn both M and F moves in order to be able to fill in the needed part. It helps to wear something special that reminds the others in the square when someone is dancing the opposite sex's part.

3. Project a different image

• Square Dancing needs a new image.
• Ease up on the Dress Code. Editing the dress code was mentioned many times at the meeting, in reference to many different circumstances, yet no one ventured to fully address the issue. It is obviously a very important and controversial subject that the committee for "New Life into Square Dancing" will have to discuss in detail).

• The Caller should try to project a different image and use modern music (not twangy western material)
• Try to use younger people for demo’s thus demonstrating it is not an old person’s activity.

4. Square Dance Teaching should change a little. Dances should change a little. Club members and FLAC should be part of the effort.

• Teaching should keep things Simple, should stay Flexible and take its Time.
• Teaching may take more than a year
• Teaching may need to start lessons more that once a year.  In other words, Teaching could be started at any time, instead of waiting for the next class to begin.
• Teaching may need to use the ABC approach. Go to www.squaredanceabc.com to find the overview on how this is accomplished. In our area, Andrew DonDero uses this system to teach Square Dancing.
• Dances could have different dancing levels during the same dance: start off with easy Basic, then have Mainstream and end with Plus.  Many Round Dances do different levels during the same dance.
• Dances could incorporate some Eastern Square dancing into our dances.
• Club members need to be flexible, need to be willing to change and need to help when asked.
• Callers and Clubs need to work together with the different ideas.
• FLAC should contribute money to help in initiating some of these programs, especially in advertising or promoting square dancing.
• FLAC should help with the Community Dances with supplying Proof of Insurance.
• FLAC and the committee for "New Life into Square Dancing" should make a list of practices that should be discouraged because they lead to abuse (a few examples: 1. callers expected to do demo dances for nothing, 2. dancers asked to dance for fund raisers and expected to pay the entire exorbitant entrance fee; 3. clubs trying too many new things to attract new members and ending up loosing members to burn out)