Dear Mary,
I'll just add that I don't think the poster is what will bring students to an
unfamiliar activity off campus. Ultimately, it's people who bring other people
to a dance, friends bringing friends.
When some dance organizers have surveyed newcomers to find out what brought them
to the dance, the overwhelming reason was, "A friend brought me."
One of the points made somewhere-- sorry, can't find the source-- is that when
trying to attract young people in particular, you do best to think in terms of
groups rather than individuals. Broad generalization: they'll go if others are
going. So, the effort needs to be to get a group.
Case in point: our monthly dance is a mile from a good-sized college, 4,000 undergraduates
and 2,000 more grad students. That mile is a vast distance. In fact, business
located three blocks from the edge of the campus have folded because students
are reluctant to go that far.
We have a handful of regular dancers from among the college population. Several
times a year that number grows dramatically when someone from the Outing Club
organizes a trip, complete with van, to bring students over, in a group.
In November, we're expecting 30+ grad students coming to the dance. (One of our
regular dancers spoke with another student who happens to chair the grad student
social committee; she in turn got excited by the idea and is promoting it.) Again,
they're coming as a group.
Setting aside the regular younger dancers at our event, most of whom have grown
up in the music/dance community, when high school students come to the dance they
come as a group. Or perhaps "pack" is a more accurate word. ;-)
Posters are great reminders that something is happening, and jog the memory of
those who are already thinking of coming. But just think of all the posters you've
passed by for some event and they didn't get you to go.
My 2 cents... let us know what you end up trying and with what degree of
success.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
