It has also occurred to me, that in trying to grow a dance group in the direction of younger dancers, the people you might want to engage to dance with you are faculty members at your local colleges and universities. They can be the ones who last longer than two or three years, the ones who can suggest dancing to freshmen, the ones who can organize a campus dance, the ones who can teach a class for credit which involves social dancing.
Furthermore, IMHO, the only way you get younger people to dance a lot is to have younger people in charge. And if you're talking about college kids, befriending a teacher who is good at encouraging his or her students to get involved might be a good way to ensure continuity. And I hope you all do this, and then I hope all of the young dancers you train move to my town! M E On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 1:51 AM, JD Erskine <[email protected]> wrote: > On 26/Oct/11 19:10, David Millstone wrote: > >> 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. >> > snip > > David Millstone >> Lebanon, NH >> > > Likely in the excellent essay, Dancing on College Campuses > by Jenny Beer and Joanna Reiner. Good folks. Available here: > http://www.cdss.org/tl_files/**cdss/newsletter_archives/news/**campus.pdf<http://www.cdss.org/tl_files/cdss/newsletter_archives/news/campus.pdf> > > and here: > http://**germantowncountrydancers.org/**campus.html<http://germantowncountrydancers.org/campus.html> > > A number of poster ideas at the foot of: > http://www.cdss.org/publicity-**on-campus.html<http://www.cdss.org/publicity-on-campus.html> > > Cheers, JD > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1411 / Virus Database: 2092/3979 - Release Date: 10/27/11 > > > ______________________________**_________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/**mailman/listinfo/callers<http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers> > -- As you set out for Ithaka, pray that your journey be long, full of adventure, full of discovery... May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, with what joy, you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time. ~Constantine Cavafy, "Ithaka" 1911
