October 2011 Education Meeting

South Carolina Square & Round Dance Federation

October 2011 Educational Meeting

Purpose
Is the “Federation” Meeting your Club’s and/or SC’s Square/Round Dance Needs

In our October Educational meeting we developed:
What is needed from The Federation to help the dance clubs achieve this “Ideal World”?

· Keep Clubs up to date on places where they can go to promote square and round dancing.
· Develop ways that dancers can let others recognize what S/R dancing is and how it has affected their life.
· Work through the Rec. Department in the club’s area.
· Appoint a Publicity Committee for the Federation.
· Utilize club representatives to get information to the dance clubs.
· Get free advertising.
· Develop a dance video to be used by clubs in their recruiting efforts.
· Have a two month federation driven S/R dance promotional effort. All clubs do the same promotional during those two months.
· Participate in local “art shows”.
· Advertise at local parades and other events.
· Conduct seminars at State Convention.
· Develop health benefits of S/R Dancing. Develop a brochure for this. Get doctors to endorse S/R dancing as a health/benefit? · Remember that we get S/R dancers by:
    o 25% from local newspaper ads
    o 25% from demonstrations/exhibitions,
    o and 50% from personal contacts.
Frank Trapp’s Thoughts of the South Carolina Square and Round Dancers Federation Special Educational Meeting on the Question:
What do you feel the” Federation” needs to do for it to better meet their and your club’s needs?
The top priority of the South Carolina Square and Round Dance Federation should be the RECRUTMENT OF NEW DANCERS. This task should rank above all other tasks that the Federation is now involved. While the State and National Conventions are an important part of square dancing, they should not over shadow the present need to recruit new dancers. At the rate that we are losing existing dancers and clubs, the federation needs to spearhead an effort to reverse this trend. What good are state and national conventions if the attendance continues to fall at the rate that it has fallen over the past forty years? For example: the national convention attendance has dropped from 40,000+ in the 1970’s to about 4,000 in 2011. My understanding is that attendance at our State Convention is also trending down.
What needs to be done:
1. The Federation and the Callers Association should first agree that “recruitment of new dancers and clubs” is their number one priority.
2. Form a “New Dancers Recruitment Committee” consisting of representatives from the Federation, Callers Association, non-federation dancers, and outside publicity consultants (we may have to pay them) to take on the task of recruiting new Square and Round Dancers.
3. At the Federation meetings focus on recruitment of new dancers. Let State and National Dance business be conducted outside of the Federation meeting with short progress reports on these items be given at the Federation meeting.
4. In order to improve communications with all who are involved in S/R dancing in South Carolina, consider merging the Federation and Callers Association into one organization.
5. In order to improve communications with all who are involved in S/R dancing in South Carolina, consider merging the Federation and Callers Association into one organization.

As an example of one of the things we could do:
Invite potential dancers to the State Convention free of charge. Set up a hall that would be dedicated to new dancer’s class. Selected callers would teach as they now do in our clubs. We should have experienced dancers available to partner with new dancers. This should not put any additional financial burden on the dance.
This would accomplish several important things in getting new dancers:
1. Introduce them to the excitement of S/R dance travel.
2. Experience the excitement of State level dances.
3. Concentrated dance learning
4. Make life time friends with other dancers … after 49 years, I still feel the excitement of my first “Big Dance Exposure”!
5. Make them want to continue their dance experience at a local dance club … have available club contacts from across the state.
6. Just think of how nice it would be to be able to say: “How about coming with me to Myrtle Beach, all that it will cost you is the cost of the hotel room and meals. You will be welcomed, learn to dance, and have a great time.”

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