Andrea brings up a great point, and one that I'd like to address in my own
dance community. My husband and I are the only couple that attends dances
with our young child (4) although I know of at least three other families
in our age range, with kids, who have stopped dancing.
I think the biggest part of it is the time. In Chicago, we dance on Monday
nights, so parents with school-aged kids are not inclined to come out. When
our child gets older and has to be in bed earlier, I'm not sure what we're
going to do. We may end up trading weeks - one parent dances, the other
stays home - or we may end up not coming as often as we do now. Good grief,
we have trouble finding childcare when we are touring as a band and write
in advance to ask for help in locating a reliable local teen or college
student to watch our son on site.
It would be fun if there were a weekend dance, or a family dance, but so
far, finding a venue for either has been difficult.
I'm definitely interested in hearing what other communities have done about
retaining or otherwise serving this particular group ... good conversation!
meg
