strathspey@strathspey.org:27393

Andrew Smith

Re: attracting new/young folks

Sept. 17, 2001, 8:50 a.m. (Message 27393, in reply to message 27390)

We in Bristol, UK, organise a dance under the caption "Newcomers' Dance"
once a year in the early spring. This gives people who have just started
dancing in the autumn a chance to experience a fairly simple evening, and as
every dance is talked/walked through we do get children, young people, and a
few normally non-dancing partners along, and in fact, and there is a lesson
here if only we would learn it, it is our best attended dance.
We have also, this year for the first time, introduced a reduced rate for
tickets for young persons and students.
I am convinced that there is a strong element in SCD that is guilty of
intellectual snobbery as far as dance simplicity vs. complexity is concerned
and it will lead to the demise of SCD as a popular activity if we are not
careful. We are in danger of losing the simple social pleasure, and IMHO we
will fail to attract new and (more essentially) younger dancers if we are do
not more consistently supply a simple but lively programme.
For me a "good" dancer is not one who can execute a very large number of
complicated figures to perfection, but one who can move easily to the music,
with neat footwork and above all an enjoyment in so doing which is
communicated to the others dancing in the set through example, body language
etc and by helping and encouraging those less advanced in these skills. I
know one or two technically very accomplished dancers whom I have seen
sailing on through chaos, executing the dance irrespective of the fact that
the rest of the set has virtually lost the plot. This is far from
encouraging.
Andrew.