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There is a desperate need to increase the number of square dancers, particularly younger dancers. [Note 1]. I hope that the ideas in this proposal will be noticed and implemented in some form by some caller and/or club looking for a means to start or revitalize square dancing in their area. Though this proposal was formulated with the San Diego County area in mind, the suggestions in this article would be appropriate elsewhere. The type of club proposed here is modeled after a young singles club we belonged to 30 years ago. [Note 2] Though there are deviations from the official Caller Lab policies in this proposal, this plan is designed to fit into (or at least not substantially conflict with) the system of levels supported by Caller Lab [Note 3]. If this plan is implemented and successful, then changes to the structure of levels and the call lists could naturally evolve to accommodate the disposition of the new population of dancers. [Note 4] Basically, this plan revolves around a club (or clubs) at Mainstream level. It would be geared toward young adults (under 25), presumably with a high number of singles. The club would sponsor at least one dance a week and hold two different styles of classes. The classes will progress at a rate significantly faster than the time table currently recommended by Caller Lab. One class would be sponsored by the club similar to the way most clubs currently conduct recruiting. The second square dance class would be offered as an extension course at a local college level with the goal of having the students migrate to the club. Offering square dancing at the college level is key to attracting the young dancers and making this program work. [Note 5] CLASSES Accelerated classes are essential to the success of this program. It is imperative that new dancers are brought into square dancing with a minimum amount of time in class. To expect someone to join an activity that requires many months of classes before they can join is unrealistic [Note 6]. The classes offered through the community colleges must get the students through Mainstream in a quarter or semester (about 12-15 weeks) [Note 7]. Hopefully, the classes sponsored by the club would also be able to mirror that instructional rate though they would have more flexibility than the classes offered through the schools. Instruction methods and expectations will have to be modified to accommodate this goal [Note 8]. It should be noted that on the average, people under 25 learn much faster than those you find in current square dance classes. CLUB DANCE The club dances must be held at a high energy level pace. Though it is Mainstream, the level of dance should be brisk enough to hold the interest of the dynamic dancers. It must not fall into the trap of becoming a dumping ground for dancers who are unable to dance at higher levels. The tips should be regular, planned, and separated with short breaks. Have a prominent clock so the dancers (and caller) can see when the next tip should start. Ideally, tips would be about 10 minutes with a 5 minute break (or perhaps 13 and 7). The breaks could be filled with a variety of activities throughout the night such as a simple round, a line dance, a guest caller for a half tip, announcements, a styling workshop, etc. Remember, this club is catering to the younger dancers with many singles. There should be a constant stream of activity. The regularity of the tips will allow dancers (particularly the singles) to effectively arrange their dance schedule. Also, if there are any novelty tips (i.e. ladies' choice, interacting squares, special skill, etc.) it is easy for the dancers to plan for or around them. Styling and flair would be encouraged but not required. There is a lot to be said for the feel of an extra twirl or flourish during an otherwise plain call. The advanced dancers can have a ball with it and 'strut their stuff' and still be compatible with weaker dancers in the square who elect not to swing, whirl, kick, and bump. The same is true for square dance attire (encouraged but not required). The gals who wear the fancy skirts have fun with twirling and fluffing them. There is an electricity in the air when the dancers literally kick off a right and left grand and the girls twirl with each step... skirts flying and eyes sparkling. The dance floor should be alive with laughter and flirting [Note 9]. Having a square dance club consisting of young single dancers means there is a high turnover rate. Having been a member of such a club, I can attest to the high turnover as dancers marry (club often loses two dancers), students graduate, military people transfer, others start careers, couples start a family, etc. not to mention the loss as dancers migrate to the upper level clubs. This is a completely different world than the current population of square dancers where people are 'settled' and/or retired. This is why constant recruitment and rapid class turnout is so critical. And crucial to the recruitment process is to provide the incentive of having fun, vibrant dances to go to. CONCLUSION If square dancing is to regain its vitality it must attract young dancers in large numbers. Without a large number of youthful dancers, this activity will continue to dwindle until there are only a few small groups of square dance hobbyists walking their Advanced calls with no twirls, flair, or life. Providing a fun place to dance that doesn't require a lifelong commitment to lessons is essential. Build a square dance club where young singles can meet, mingle, and flirt and they will come. ================================================================================= NOTES: [Note 1] The San Diego Association has lost two thirds of its clubs in the past 30 years. Most of the surviving clubs struggle to attract more than a few squares at each event. A high percentage of the remaining dancers are the same ones who were dancing in the 70's and 80's. There are no Basic or Mainstream clubs and the floor level of the surviving Plus clubs has deteriorated. [Back] [Note 2] Both my wife (Su) and I have fond memories of the club where we met. That style of club holds an appeal to a large array of young people. We both agree that if square dancing was structured like it is now, neither of us would have gotten involved in square dancing. She was attracted to the dance aspect, the fun attire, as well as the social aspect. With me, I was attracted to square dancing because it was a good place to meet girls. [Back] [Note 3] Callers Lab started about 30 years ago and became the dominant influence in square dancing as it implemented standardization and levels. There is debate as to whether the decline in square dancing happened because of, or in spite of, the efforts of Caller Lab. Regardless, the insidious result of the level system is the starvation of the lower level clubs as the stronger dancers migrate to the clubs that offer higher levels. Gradually the Basic and Mainstream clubs fold or evolve into upper level clubs. The resulting lack of entry level clubs has been disastrous. The lengthened learning time to become active at the now higher entry level eliminates a large segment of potential dancers from ever considering square dancing. When class time exceeds six months, most clubs find only one opportunity a year to recruit new dancers. [Back] [Note 4] Caller Lab should consider allocating some of their extraordinary talent and energy to initiate and support Basic and Mainstream clubs. After all, it won't matter how complex a figure can be choreographed if there are too few dancers available to appreciate it. Without new younger dancers entering the activity, we will continue to see dancers age as their numbers dwindle. Callers Lab could provide instructional formats and streamlined methods for prospective clubs to teach Basic, Mainstream, and Plus in different time segments. Programs such as a weekend crash course, a one week dance camp, 10-15 week college course, etc. could be offered for use by the callers lab. Note the efforts of the Yellow Rock and Rollers when they offered a dance camp: (http://www.scvsda.org/cgi-bin/classinfo.cgi?c=yrr200504) and the program set up by the Tech Squares at MIT: (http://www.mit.edu/activities/tech-squares/lessons/). This way, there is a starting point available so that clubs, each with different resources and objectives, would not have to start from scratch to set up a program. For each of the programs developed, Callers Lab could generate an auxiliary list of the calls that are missing or that have been taught from a 'standard position.' This way, Plus clubs will have an idea as to what calls and DBD/APD skills will have to be reviewed to bring new dancers into their level. Additionally, a good project for Callers Lab would be to provide a collection of flourishes and provide ways to teach them such as Kick Allemandes, Highland Flings, Twirls in Grand Square, Gyrations during Weave, Spins in Right and Left Grand, etc. Flourishes have the advantage that they can be used by skilled dancers who know them and still not conflict with weaker dancers who don't have those skills. [Back] [Note 5] Su has always maintained that offering square dance lessons in the college system as an extension course is the best way to introduce square dancing. With the use of the educational system, both the facilities and the promotional structure are already available. The students would be committed to attending classes and the instructors would be compelled to cover the required material in a reasonable segment of time. In the best of worlds, if there are more applicants for the class than positions, then acceptance could be limited to a specific number of each gender so the classes would be balanced. [Back] [Note 6] Currently, with no place to regularly dance Basic or Mainstream, a newcomer must learn Plus before participating in a regular non-class environment. The average class lasts nine months to produce a Plus dancer. The clubs that recruit new dancers are careful not to mention the length of the class. When asked, the response is usually a half truth such as; "It's hard to say," "It varies with each class," "You will learn 10 to 20 of the moves in just the first week or two," etc. They try to leave the prospective dancer with the implication that it won't be too long. The goal in this deception is the hope that by the time the student realizes how long it's actually going to take, he will not throw away the time he has already invested and quit... even if he is getting bored. [Back] [Note 7] Teaching Mainstream in 3 months is possible. Tech Squares teaches from beginner to Plus in 13 weeks. Teaching Mainstream in a comparable amount of time is not unreasonable. There are three strong reasons to push the classes through in a short amount of time: 1) Offer more starting classes, 2) Minimize attrition, and 3) Retain the strong dancers. The first is obvious. Currently, the length of most Plus classes is over a half year (usually 9 months). The result is that classes longer than a half year can only be opened once a year. It doesn't take high math to figure out that opening new classes 2, 3, or 4 times a year will bring in 2, 3, or 4 times the new dancers. People are often most enthusiastic in the first few months of starting an activity. Currently, if they want to encourage their friends to join them in square dancing, they have to wait a full year... when their enthusiasm may be reduced or they may have dropped out altogether. Second, attrition can be attributed to many factors. Again the math... the chance that one of a number of random factors will happen is three times as likely if the class is 9 months long instead of three. Additionally, some non random factors such as boredom, the realization that the class is going to take forever, frustration, etc. are all exacerbated by having long slow moving classes. Finally, the classes should strive to retain the stronger dancers. By teaching square dancing at a challenging pace, weak dancers will tend to drop out. With a mix of predominately strong dancers, the class can continue to progress at a good rate. Conversely, if the class slows to accommodate the weak dancers, the good dancers get bored and leave resulting in the class slowing even more. The above paragraph may seem callous toward people who have the desire to square dance but drop because they lack the ability to survive the accelerated classes. However, it is unfair to the strong students to significantly slow the class. Frankly, it doesn't do the weak dancer any favors to string him along in a class that will only lead to frustration. As square dancing is currently structured, a student who drops from a class for any reason (not just lack of ability) doesn't have an opportunity to try again for almost a year. With this proposal, a weak student who has the desire to learn square dancing, will have the opportunity to take another class within a few months or less. With a short break the student could review the class materials and start again at a the beginner level with a much better chance succeeding than if he had struggled along in the original class. [Back] [Note 8] To streamline the instruction, the calls would be taught from 'normal' positions and the unpopular (unused) calls should be given little or no time. After graduation, the caller can workshop calls starting from unusual positions or the little used calls during a novelty tip at a regular dance. There should be pass-out sheets for home review that list the calls and definitions as taught in this course, not necessarily the complete all position definition that Caller Lab endorses. See the Tech Squares example. The object is to get the new dancers dancing at the club Mainstream level quickly, not to prepare them for Plus or Advanced calls. Advancement can come later. [Back] [Note 9] Today, most who come to square dancing do so because they enjoy dancing, exercise, the mental challenge, and/or they are just looking for an activity. Today, most who come to square dancing are old*. In a young singles club, a primary incentive to join square dancing is the fact that it provides a way to interact with other singles in a relatively wholesome and safe environment. [Back] *over 30. |