Ben, Does your dance organization have a clearly stated written set of community values?
Best, Ron On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 7:51 AM, Linda Leslie <[email protected]>wrote: > Shared Weight also offers a discussion group specifically for organizers > and the issues they face running dances. It might be helpful to join this > group, and query about the issue below, as well as questions about children > at dances. The link to the group is: > http://www.sharedweight.net/**index.php?pagestate=org_about<http://www.sharedweight.net/index.php?pagestate=org_about> > Good luck! > Linda > > > On Oct 24, 2012, at 11:09 PM, Alan Winston wrote: > > On 10/24/2012 5:06 PM, Ben wrote: >> >>> >>> My concern is that we have "given someone an inch, and now he wants to >>> take >>> a mile." This guy, due to his occupation, is used to coming into an >>> organization and being the new sheriff in town, and I get the distinct >>> feeling that he sees our dance group as one that he needs to "shape up." >>> I >>> am personally quite troubled by what I am seeing, but unsure of the best >>> course of action. (In my view, he is a "bull in a China Shop" and he >>> has >>> broken quite a bit of china already...) I have seen other dance >>> communities >>> where a "dancer" does the beginner teach for every one of the dances, and >>> when people in the community find that they need to make a change, they >>> don't feel that they can, politically. (How do you "fire" a volunteer??) >>> >>> Have any of you had a similar experience? Any suggestions? Thanks! >>> >>> My suggestion is that before you take any other action, you make sure >> the rest of your organizers agree with you. >> Once you're sure they're behind you, you could tell the guy that the >> beginner workshop is part of what you're paying >> the caller for, and while you appreciate his interest and community >> spirit in trying to help out, the organizational policy >> is that the caller should do it, and he should let them do it. >> >> (I agree that once you get a volunteer who 'owns' the beginner workshop, >> it's very hard to dislodge them without >> hurt feelings.) >> >> I've only ever heard of one dance that would spirit newcomers away during >> the dance itself for a workshop; that was the >> Westchester English dance. (That did mean that there was 45 minutes when >> the weekly dance was an advanced dance, >> which was fun for the advanced dancers; the one time I called that dance >> I hadn't understood what the deal was fully and >> had a designed a normal incrementally-complex English program). >> >> Here's another way of thinking about this: >> >> You have a vision for your dance. You're not making it explicit in this >> post, but I imagine it involves valuing community and >> inclusiveness over dance skill. >> >> He has some other vision, and it sounds like it prioritizes (his idea of) >> dance skill over inclusiveness on any given night. >> >> Maybe you and the other organizers could make your vision explicit. That >> might help guide everybody's actions. >> >> -- Alan >> ______________________________**_________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/**mailman/listinfo/callers<http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers> >> > > ______________________________**_________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/**mailman/listinfo/callers<http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers> >
