strathspey@strathspey.org:53257

Anselm Lingnau

Re: The RSCDS dance publication process (was: Tunes for "Hornpipes Suitable for Catch the Wind" on the "More Memories.....)

July 30, 2008, 2:49 p.m. (Message 53257, in reply to message 53256)

Rod Downey wrote:

> Even when it comes down to some negotiation, it is like negotiating
> with the bank; they have the money and you don't.

Hm. One thing: You can always try to go to a different bank, but there is only 
one RSCDS.

Another thing: The bank can easily find something else to do with their money. 
However, if the RSCDS makes a habit out of doing things that are unpopular 
with its members, it will, in the long run, cease to exist. This may, for a 
time, make life more difficult for the SCD community in various respects but 
it will not be fatal to SCD as such -- other people or organisations will 
step up (or be established) to fill the gap.

I'm not suggesting at all that the Catch The Wind issue is something that 
enough members would care about enough to make them leave (which would, I 
think, be ridiculous). Even so, it is worth keeping in mind that it is 
symptomatic for the larger issues the Society must face in the coming years, 
one of which is to transcend the »we/they« dichotomy that shines even through 
Rod's comment I quoted above.

We -- the Society -- must make it abundantly clear that there is no »ivory 
tower« where matters are, as a matter of course, decided »without reference 
to anyone«. We must make it abundantly clear that the Society is there *for* 
the SCD community, starting at the Coates Crescent conference table and 
extending all the way to (if the need should arise) a set of penguins on the 
Antarctic shelf ice. We must make this clear to our members (»develop member 
services«) as well to the dancing community at large (»expand the existing 
global membership«). We can only thrive as a Society if we draw on the 
collective talents of our members (be they dance teachers, artists, 
accountants, journalists, or whatever), and we can only do this if these 
members will freely give their talents and time secure in the knowledge that 
these gifts will be appreciated. This does not mean that we must accept 
everything unconditionally, but that we will, in the spirit of doing good for 
SCD as a whole, contrive to find ways of letting those who wish to contribute 
actually contribute, and encourage others to do the same.

I hate to come back to this but I happen to think that getting the members 
(ex-members, future members) behind the Society is the Big Thing, and that 
this must proceed at a grassroots level. The perception problems that the 
Society has are not going to be fixed by hiring a single person to work out 
of Coates Crescent. The Society -- and that most emphatically means 
*everyone*, not just the office bearers and MB -- must be seen to go out and 
do things where the dancing is, not waste another decade in committees 
discussing strategy papers on glossy stock that emanate from an Edinburgh 
office. I happen to think that Bob McArthur has it exactly right -- take 
those 35.000 pounds Sterling per year and use them to fund an increased RSCDS 
presence in places where dancing takes place. Expand the »missionary visit« 
program to fledgling groups all over the world. Hold workshops at regional 
folk dance festivals. Show people what SCD (and the Society) is all about. 
Give a hand to groups who are starting out in remote places. Encourage 
branches to »adopt« a group like Bob's in Poland and further international 
cooperation that way. Do more for new musicians. Get projects together to put 
the RSCDS repertoire of dance descriptions, sheet music, and recordings 
on-line, so Bob's new Polish group and 1.000 more around the world do not 
have to rely on other people's cast-offs, surplus media, or bootleg copies. 
These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. This is not rocket 
science, and not something you need to hire a full-time consultant to tell 
you. Can it really be *that* difficult?

Anyway, I need to get some honest work done for a change. Perhaps I'm the only 
person to get that worked up about this, in which case I apologise for taking 
up your time. But this soap-box must be good for something every so often :^)

Anselm
-- 
Anselm Lingnau, Friedberg, Germany ..................... xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
[A computer is] like an Old Testament god, with a lot of rules and no mercy.
                                                            -- Joseph Campbell