[Squaredancing] CA Dancer Asks - Are We "Sameing" Ourselves to Death?

Thu Jun 5 14:25:59 EDT 2008

In a message dated 6/5/2008 10:26:39 AM Pacific Daylight Time,  
mcari at comcast.In a message dated 6/5/2008 10:26:39 AM 

June 5, 2008 
Square Dancers and Callers 
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: 
ARE WE SAMEING OURSELVES TO DEATH? 
My name is Mitchell Cari and I have been square dancing since  1989.  I have 
been in local, regional and statewide leadership  positions since 1990, 
serving and promoting an activity I love.  In my almost 20 years of dancing I have 
seen a steady decline in the  number of square dancers.  In my almost 20 years 
of dancing I  have also seen several marketing studies trying to explain why 
our numbers are  falling.  What I HAVE NOT SEEN is a strong effort to  fix what 
is broken. 
The marketing studies have repeatedly pointed out three major  negative 
points about square dancing that inhibit our ability to recruit and  retain new 
dancers: 
1)      Negative memories of square dancing in grade school years. 
2)      Women don't want to wear the frilly skirts and petticoats. 
3)      It takes too long to teach a dancer to dance at floor level. 
I believe we need to develop a plan NOW to change some of  these things or we 
are going to see square dancing as a fun, healthy, social  activity die a 
painful death in the very near future.  Our  current dancers are not getting any 
younger and we are not bringing in new  younger dancers to replace and 
supplement us. 
The Plan: 
1)      Develop a program for teachers using modern music and energetic  
calling.   
2)      Emphasize dancing in more casual attire is acceptable.  Prairie 
skirts, pants, even shorts in the summer time. 
3)      Develop a call list that can be taught in 25 weeks. Start a  program 
to begin new classes twice a year. 
This is going to have to be a concerted effort by the dancers  and callers to 
change our activity to bring it back to life.  I have tried advanced dancing 
and I have danced with new  dancers.  I can appreciate why some dancers go on 
to the  advanced and challenge levels of dancing.  It helps to  maintain their 
enthusiasm and interest in dancing.  But the  fact is, that advanced dancing 
does not bring in new dancers.  YOU DO NOT START AT ADVANCED LEVEL!  And our 
advanced  dancers are getting older too. 
IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN 
1)      Provide music and dance instructions to teachers at little or no  
cost.  (This is an investment in our future).  GET RID OF THE 'GET RI IN THE 
STRAW' MUSIC AND  DANCING.  The music should be changed about every 5-10 years  to 
keep it current with the new generation. 
2)      Include the change in attire requirements in our advertising. 
3)      Teach 85 calls to dance at floor level.  In the  classes that I have 
participated, it seems most people can learn about 3-5 calls  per night.  
After that they go 'doe eyed' and stop  learning.  So a 25 week program should be 
able to teach a  dancer about 85 calls. 
4)      Callers are going to have to work harder at making dancing fun  with 
85 calls.  I have been to mainstream dances and had a  wonderful time because 
the caller worked hard at making the choreography  interesting and the music 
was lively.  Keeping interest and  enthusiasm high is possible but being a lazy 
from the stage will not get it  done. 
5)      The resurrection of quarterly calls will also add to the fun and  
interest but not deter from the 25 week teach program. 
Square dancing is a fun, healthy, social  activity.  Those of who dance know 
that.  But the general public does not. 
Now is the time to change square dancing to make it more  appealing to our 
society.  Our society has  changed.  Computers, home electronics and loss of 
social  interaction are all symptoms of the changes in our society.   
Square dancing is changing too.  It can be  a negative change, as in an ever 
quickening death. Or it can be positive,  a program to bring in more, younger 
dancers.  The  choice is ours.  NO action is a choice.  But changing is also a 
choice.  Let us change to see  our activity revived. 
I cannot do this by myself.  And my club  cannot do this alone.  This has to 
be a  national/internatioThis has to  I am writing to you  because you are 
leaders in the national and international scene.  I am just a dancer who does not 
want to see our activity die and be  buried wearing frilly skirts, petticoats 
and knowing 200 calls.  You can dance 200 calls ALONE, ALL BY YOURSELF.  Or 
you  can dance 85 calls in a room shared and enjoyed by younger enthusiastic 
dancers  intermingled by older and more experienced dancers.   
For me, I would rather dance 85. 
DANCE 85 TO  REVIVE! 
Mitchell Cari,  
Square dancer, 
President of Associated Square Dancers of  Presiden  <ST1>Cali, 
Vice-President of the OVERALLS Square Dance Club, 
<ST1><ST1>6802  
<ST1><ST1>, ,    <S 
_mcari at comcast.mca_ (mailto:mcari at comcast.net)  
916-988-6021 
Cc: ACA, Cc: ACA, <ST1><ST dance  Council, Callers Lab, USDA 

Attached please find a letter from Mitchell Cari square dancer.   Feel free 
to share it.

------------------------<WBR>--  Forwarded Mess---
From: "Cari, Mitchell"  <Mitchell.Cari at Mitchell.C> 
To: <mcari at comcast.mca>  
Subject: 85 letter 
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 17:08:10 +0000 

From:   "Cari, Mitchell" <Mitchell.Cari at Mitchell.C>
To:   <mcari at comcast.mca>
Subject:    85  letter
Date:    Thu, 5 Jun 2008 17:08:10 +0000
Content-Type:  Multipart/mixed;
boundary="NextPart_boundary="NextPaboundary="NextPabound

ASDSC of Sacramento Valley
Find Sacramento Valley Square Dance  Info on our Website: _www.ASDSC.org_ 
(http://www.asdsc.org/) 

41st ASDSC Fun  Weekend

June 13 - 15, 2008
Featuring Mike DeSisto  & Jet Roberts with Rounds by Erin Byars & Charlie 
Eskin
Yuba-Sutter  Fairgrounds, Yuba City, CA

49th ASDSC Harvest  Hoedown
October 24 - 26, 2008
Featuring Pat  Carnathan, Dan Preedy, Nasser Shukayr
with Jack & Judy DeChenne on Rounds  & Bill Silver- New Dancers
Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, Yuba City,  CA

**************Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with 
Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.      
(http://food.aol.com/tyler-florence?video=4?&NCID=aolfod00030000000002)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://rbnsn.com/pipermail/squaredancing_rbnsn.com/attachments/20080605/791b2449/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 85letter.doc
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 42496 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://rbnsn.com/pipermail/squaredancing_rbnsn.com/attachments/20080605/791b2449/attachment.obj 