Last month we revealed 10 of Do-Pas-O's "answers" to keep new dancers, after we succeeded in coaxing them to come out and give square dancing a try. We mentioned things the Club does, or doesn't do, or tries to avoid, in order to be as "user friendly" as possible. The first 10 were particularly accommodating to new dancers. Some of the 10 that follow also help the newer dancer, and others are useful for various stages of experience within the Club.
11.) From the beginning, all our dancers are encouraged to become involved in the activity as a whole, not just our Club's or our Caller's events. Our table usually sports at least 50 different sets of fliers for other clubs and their dances, festivals, conventions, etc. We print our own listing of area events suitable for the newer dancer's stage of readiness, and we announce those events regularly. We know that the more they dance around, the better dancers they will become. The better they become, the more they will enjoy and become addicted to the hobby. And, the more they will appreciate the unique advantages of their own Club and Caller. As the saying goes, "It's great to travel, but there's no place like home!"
12.) We "protect" our newer dancers. Whether it's at regular dances, festivals or conventions, or events such as Lancaster County's annual Heart Fund Dance, our more experienced dancers square up with and "look out for" our fledglings. Our protective nature is sometimes interpreted as "cliquey". Quite frankly, the long-term future of our neophytes concerns us a whole lot more than anyone else's opinions. We will always welcome in any other experienced dancers who enjoy encouraging and helping newcomers. It's exhilarating and recharges those of us who truly love MWSD when we see each new dancer's confidence and skills grow; we know that success breeds more success, and we're probably looking at a future long time dancer. We do begin to let loose a little when we're convinced they truly understand that the rude, impatient, thoughtless clod who has forgotten what it was like to be a new dancer is the fool, not they.
13.) Historically, according to its constitution, Do-Pas-O was a Plus level club, and a member had to have the skill level of a Plus level Modern Western Square Dancer. We realized that requirement closed the door for membership to anyone content to dance the Mainstream program and/or who hadn't completed Plus classes. It would force dancers to go on before they wanted to, whether prepared or not, or even to quit the Club. That seemed pretty foolish to us. We undertook a thorough, detailed revision of our entire constitution. Among many changes, it now states that membership is open to anyone who has at least a Mainstream MWSD skill level.
Today, some our members dance only as Angels on Monday nights, or choose to go purely (and happily) to Mainstream or New Dancer level dances. Everybody's content! Everybody's doing what they want to, and the Club can accommodate more dancers. Our membership grows, and everybody wins!
14.) Directly related to #13, we (officers, Caller and New Dancer Coordinators) monitor the progress of the dancers closely. Ideally, each should experience growth in confidence and skill at a pace appropriate and comfortable for him/her. One thing we try to avoid is dancers moving up faster or higher than their current skills warrant. Letting them get in over their heads can have only bad consequences. They will either become discouraged themselves and quit dancing, or they will alienate and exasperate others to the point that the others lose interest. In either case, MWSD needlessly loses dancers.
By communicating with and guiding the dancers carefully, we try to help them choose the best niche for their skill level. Those not yet ready to move on we encourage instead to come back in September to help us as Angels, while at the same time reinforcing and strengthening their own skills. Those ready to begin Plus lessons we invite to do so, and then monitor their progress at that level. They, too, are encouraged to come back as Angels, to become even more proficient dancers.
15.) The term "New Dancer Coordinator" was introduced in #14. It's a nonExecutive Committee office we created nearly a decade ago, designed to provide special advocates, mentors, "father confessors" for the new dancers, to be a liaison between them and the Club. Experienced dancers, they are chosen for their tact and diplomacy, empathy and patience, enthusiasm, and dedication to MWSD. Their daunting task is to keep everybody happy. They might have to convey needs or concerns from the new dancers' perspectives to the parties who can achieve a resolution. Or, in reverse, they may have to mediate and convey Club concerns to the new group or individuals. Always, their objective is to keep everyone cognizant of the enjoyment and fulfillment MWSD offers, and the new dancer's place in it, now and for the future.
16.) The Club has become a haven for exuberant, fun-loving, youthful demeanor and outlook people. Members seem to understand it's healthy to play as hard as they work. Our dances are typically noisy, energetic events, with smiles and laughter abounding. We're complimented for our enthusiasm, friendliness and hospitality. We suspect a young-at-heart attitude has helped us in attracting and keeping our young dancers.
Which do you believe, that it's a full hall that creates the atmosphere and attitude, or that it's attitude and atmosphere that fill the hall? We firmly believe it's the latter, and that allows us to control our own destiny. We know it's our responsibility to create an atmosphere that makes people want to dance with us, and come back again!
17.) Everyone likes to see his/her name in print, and everybody wants to know what's going on or coming up. Every October Do-Pas-O publishes a Year Book containing all the members, new dancers, the year's schedule, birthdays, anniversaries, committee assignments, phone chain for notifications, the Club Constitution, etc., about 25 pages in all. At least quarterly (more frequently, if needed), a newsletter named "Patter Call" is published, full of information about the Club and its members, and also about MWSD in general. And, we urge you to visit the Club's website: www.dopaso.org. We'll let it speak for itself.
All three products not only reflect the talents and dedication of their respective authors/designers, but they also help to make every member feel pretty good (and maybe a little proud?) about the organization that they've chosen to be part of.
18.) A lot of clubs regularly lose their more capable and experienced dancers to the higher levels (Advanced and Challenge). Sometimes these people just want new stimulation and growth, and sometimes they're simply fed up with the weak, unimaginative, monotonous, even downright incompetent dancing and calling they've encountered all too often. Once in the higher level, most stop supporting their original clubs. This is a real loss: The Club is now without its potentially most competent Angels, and what could have been its most experienced and savvy leadership.
In the 15 years I'm familiar with, not one dancer or couple has left Do-Pas-O in favor of Advanced. In fact, a few Advanced dancers have joined the Club. As its dancers become more experienced and competent, those who wanted to challenge themselves more branched into arky, no hands, or phantom dancer tips. 2 ½ years ago, two Do-Pas-O couples founded an entirely separate Dance by Definition Club, named "Unconventional Squares". Do-Pas-O's strongest dancers (joined by some from other clubs up to 1 ½ hours away) have chosen this as their rejuvenation and stimulation. With DBD as their creative outlet, all remain loyal to and active in their original clubs.
19.) Do-Pas-O has been wise enough from its beginning to never have allowed term limits to be placed on its offices/officers. As a result, the Club has enjoyed remarkable stability and consistency in its leadership, philosophy, and direction. The membership is free to re-elect as often as they wish those who have shown a talent for, effectiveness in and dedication to an office. The Club's leadership is entirely proactive rather than reactive. Everything the Club does is revisited and reevaluated regularly, even if it's working just fine at the moment. Potential problems are headed off or minimized or, if they couldn't be anticipated, when they do arise, they are dealt with promptly and decisively. Bottom Line: Even though the purpose of the Club is entirely fun and recreation, and it is a nonprofit organization, it is managed with the same attention to detail, goals, and sense of responsibility (fiscal and other) that would be needed to make a business successful.
20.) Last, but far from least, are some characteristics that quickly become evident when this Club as a whole is observed. One is that, whereas in many organizations it's common to have a small minority do a great majority of the work, in this one a great majority willingly steps forward to do its share, and more, whenever needed. Also, it has been and is a group that is astonishingly free of politics, factions and/or egos. From the officers to the newest dancers, all strive together harmoniously for the same goal: To get as much enjoyment out of this activity as they can, for themselves, their fellow dancers, and their Club.
A legitimate question (for which I admittedly haven't an answer) is, has the Club just been dumb lucky in attracting such a cooperative, harmonious group, or is there an attitude and atmosphere in the organization that everyone buys into and adopts as their own attitude and behavior? I certainly hope it's the latter. Dumb luck you don't have any control over, but when something is the result of something else you're doing, you can keep on doing it!!!
So, does any of this appear useful to you? We hope a lot of it does. We just want to stress again that these articles weren't written to applaud Do-Pas-O or hold it up as a model for everything done right. But we do hope the readers will look at and think about these things that work for us, and try any that might help their clubs. And we hope other clubs will continue to share what works effectively for them. We'll take all the help we can get.
We are all in this together, and if we want to dance in full halls and at flourishing festivals, we all have to be successful in reversing the continuing net loss of dancers. It does not have to be that way! But we all have to work harder and a whole lot smarter than ever before! If we care enough, we will!
________________________________________________________________
*As published in
American Square Dance Magazine June, 2005.