| Here we go:
Lets get rid our old beliefs and ideas of how square
dancing is suppose to be, and think about what it could be,
Lets start with the name "Square Dancing". For the kids sake,
let call it "Western Team Dancing". Much cooler name for the kids
to tell their friends. Western dancing is popular, the word "Team"
is used in the work environment and the parents will relate to that.
Remember, teen dancers have parents, you must sell to them too.
The term "Dancing" is on a big comeback due to the popularity of Ball
Room Dancing on TV.
So now the name is fixed, what's next?
Let the kids wear what they want. Just be glad they came
in the first place. Over time, they will want to change to the
proper shirts, Dresses and shoes. But do not even talk about it
for months.
Next Solution:
No Round Dancing, set up line dance lessons during the breaks.
Get the Country Rock and Roll running, keep the atmosphere active all
the time. You can introduce round dance at some later date.
This is a must.
The Caller:
Do not even think about those cute old songs we know. If
it has not been on the Radio in the last 5 years, then keep it in the
box. You must be more that just a good caller. You need to
be a entertainer, not just for the Teens, but for the ones on the side
line also. Dress hip, sing wild and move around on the stage like
a rock star. Tell jokes, make fun of the silly names we have for
the moves and feel free to make up your own stuff.
Teach the moves your way, in any order. Do not follow
tradition. Follow your heart. If the kid are not smiling on
the first day, then they are gone. They need to go home that day
all hipper and gitty and counting the days to the next lesson.
The Floor:
Do not have the advisor wear Square dance cloths. That
will not help anything. Over time, that can change. Do not
teach any moves like Swing. Do only moves that do not make the
kids get to close to each other. Over time that will change.
Also, do not rotate the partners. Let them keep there partner the
whole time. They can get a new one after the next Break (Western
Line Dance Lesson}. If they keep going to the same person all
night, please leave them alone. They are not ready to dance with
strangers.
Where to dance?
I understand it is getting hard to find places to dance for
Teens and Adults, due to the cost. My answer to that is - Charge
more. In fact, I think all Callers should turn it into a business
and actually make a profit. Then you would see some real customer
service.
Read
About Income.
How do we get the kid through the
door?
Well here we go, sounds like marketing to me.
Just like a real business, you need to plan and work very hard.
That's why a Caller ran club will always do better. They have
drive and a wallet to watch out on. They may even want to make a
nice Caller fee. And that's a good thing. Volunteers will
never have the drive it will take to do good marketing. They have
nothing to lose.
I will stay focused on Teen on this article and address what
needs to take place.
There should only be one representative for your first
mission. He or she should look like business, act like business
and understand the community and it's problems and concern with today's
kids.
What ever city the club is in, then that is the school
district you need to work with 6 months in advance. Not one or two
schools, I mean the administration office. |
