Marie-Michèle, Hietzo, Marie-Michèle wrote: > I haven't yet found a dance with a strong younger core where male-presenting people almost all dance one role and female-presenting people almost all dance the other, no matter what role names they use.
Hietzo, do the rural Georgia dances with strong younger participation fit this description? Thanks, --jh-- On Wed, Nov 8, 2023 at 11:15 AM Marie-Michèle Fournier via Organizers < organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > I took over as main organiser in Montreal when I was in my late 30s and > the people who decided to join the organizing committee after that were all > my age or younger except one. Gradually after that, our age average became > younger and younger, however part of that is unfortunately because we lost > several older dancers. I don't know exactly what it is we did that made > older dancers less likely to come back and younger dancers more likely to, > except for being very strongly non-gendered, even before we switched to > Larks and Robins after the pandemic. But I can tell you that I haven't yet > found a dance with a strong younger core where male-presenting people > almost all dance one role and female-presenting people almost all dance the > other, no matter what role names they use. > Marie-Michèle, Montréal, Québec, Canada > > On Wed, Nov 8, 2023 at 9:58 AM Joe Harrington via Organizers < > organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> Is Will Loving in the house? Or anyone from the Amherst, MA, Wednesday >> night contra? He was the ONLY person on the board over 30 in the years >> after he founded it, and it was largely a college/post-college crowd, the >> few times I was privileged to attend. He told me that was his formula. >> Maybe he can give details. This was in the mid-2010s, I think. >> >> To me, there is a big difference between events run by and for younger >> dancers and broad community events with a predominantly older crowd trying >> to make up for our lame recruiting/retention efforts a few decades back, so >> we can keep our dances from dying as we age out, or to bring some energy >> into them, or out of some principle of inclusion. Or whatever our real >> reasons are for focusing so heavily on recruiting younger dancers (which, >> guilty, I do for their energy). >> >> --jh-- >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Nov 8, 2023 at 9:27 AM Chrissy Fowler via Organizers < >> organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: >> >>> Thanks Dana, for this reframing of the conversation! Shakes things up a >>> bit in my mind. Love it. >>> >>> In Belfast ME, where our demographics have skewed toward a majority of >>> dancers in teens-early 30s, we recruited board members in that age range >>> because they already were the majority. (See >>> https://www.belfastflyingshoes.org/board-of-directors) >>> >>> I’m curious what other organizers have experienced when they recruited >>> people in teens/20s in order to increase that demographic among their >>> dancers. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Chrissy Fowler >>> Belfast ME >>> >>> >>> <><><><><><> >>> chrissyfowler.com <http://www.chrissyfowler.com> dance leadership >>> westbranchwords.com <http://www.westbranchwords.com> academic >>> transcription >>> belfastflyingshoes.org <http://www.belfastflyingshoes.org> participatory >>> dance & music >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Dana Dwinell-Yardley via Organizers < >>> organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> >>> *Sent:* Monday, November 6, 2023 11:13:16 AM >>> *To:* A list for dance organizers <organiz...@sharedweight.net> >>> *Subject:* [Organizers] Re: Attracting young dancers >>> >>> And I forgot to note that my dance is Montpelier, VT! >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 6, 2023 at 10:56 AM Dana Dwinell-Yardley <danad...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>> I'm coming in late to this discussion with a thought from the Form the >>> Ocean dance weekend in 2019. They held a community discussion at that >>> weekend structured around the idea of starting at "Point D." As in, with >>> big conversations in our communities, we so often churn round and round on >>> points A, B, C: "how do we get more diversity?? we're so [white/old/middle >>> class/etc]! but we need diversity!" >>> >>> What if, instead, we started at point D and bypassed those first few >>> questions that we always start with? >>> >>> I would suggest that Point D for this conversation about young dancers >>> might be: >>> *"Our dance *already has* age diversity. How shall we be with the people >>> already in the room?"* >>> rather than scrambling to say "we need morrrrrrrrre young dancers!" >>> >>> I'm 36, an in-between sort of age in the contra dance world. I started >>> dancing 19 years ago, when I was 17. I absolutely started dancing because >>> it was a place to hang out with my friends. And, I could tell which adults >>> would talk to me like I was a fellow dancer, and which ones talked to me >>> like I was a Young Person. I still have friendships with the ones who >>> treated me like a person to this day. >>> >>> Get to know your young dancers like you would get to know anyone else >>> you don't know yet! Don't be overbearing! Be friendly, ask them to dance, >>> learn about their lives, but also leave them alone to do their own thing >>> and hang with their friends. Treat them like humans and not A Class of >>> People We Need for Diversity. People can tell when they're being tokenized. >>> >>> (My friend group and I had an experience about 4-5 years ago at our >>> local English dance where the dance organizers/regulars practically >>> *pounced* on us as we walked in the door and were like "wow! young people! >>> so nice to have young people! can we give you a discount? will you come >>> back again? will you bring your friends?" and we were like "...um we're >>> just here to English dance?" It was very off-putting and made us LESS >>> likely to come back again!) >>> >>> I also have lots of thoughts about fostering a culture of consent, >>> non-gendered role terms, young people on your organizing committee, etc, >>> but I'll save them for another day! >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Dana >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Oct 29, 2023 at 10:55 AM Sandy Seiler via Organizers < >>> organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: >>> >>> Our community, like many others, has fewer young dancers than we would >>> like. I am wondering how different factors influence that and what we can >>> do. >>> >>> Does the night of the week matter? We dance on a Saturday night. Would >>> Friday be better? >>> >>> Does frequency matter? We dance once a month? >>> >>> Does location matter? We have a college (University of Kansas KU) >>> Would a dance location closer to or on campus matter? >>> >>> Are outreach strategies effective and what has your community found >>> successful? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Sandy Seiler >>> Lawrence, Kansas >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net >>> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Dana Dwinell-Yardley >>> pronouns: she/her/hers >>> 802-505-6639 >>> Montpelier, Vermont >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Dana Dwinell-Yardley >>> pronouns: she/her/hers >>> 802-505-6639 >>> Montpelier, Vermont >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net >>> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net >> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >> > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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