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CALLERLAB Square Dance Marketing Manual

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This square dance marketing plan has been developed by CALLERLAB members in support of our mission: “To foster the art of square dance calling, and improve caller skills.” Just like the square dancer population, the number of square dance callers today is dramatically smaller than 30 years ago. For CALLERLAB to increase the population of callers, we must start by growing the population of square dancers, thereby providing more opportunities for callers to call, and developing a population base from which new callers will be recruited.

BC Westsyde Squares Recruits 29 New Dancers

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This story describes how Westsyde Squares in British Columbia used marketing savvy and well targeted advertising to recruit a large new contingent of dancers. It contains a lot of great information about what messages people responded to, as well as an insightful discussion of the reasoning behind the design of the advertising which was a significant element in their success.

Mountaineers 2017 Class

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This year, Jim Langdon introduced the Rocky Mountain Recruiting Program to the Mountaineers. Although we had been doing a lot of the pieces of the program, we adopted the entire program. The main emphasis was to set up a committee of 5 couples to divide the work. We also had expectations that the Club Members were to actively pursue new dancers. Our goal was to collect 100 names and end up with 20 new members.

Small Town Club Has 5 Squares of Beginners

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The Town of Strathroy has a population base of about 8,500, located about 35 km west of London, ON. Including some surrounding rural areas the natural catchment area is about 22,000. Despite this relatively small population to draw from, this club has a very successful beginner program with 40 paid-up new dancers. How exactly did they accomplish that?

Keith Rubow’s Dance Recordings Site

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This site permits you to purchase recorded dances done by a variety of callers as well as some special festivals such as AACE, PACE Extravaganza, and Heartland. In addition there are a number of sets of teaching recordings for levels C1 through C3A. Recordings are provided as downloadable MP3s. The site focuses primarily on Advanced and Challenge, although some callers have provided some Plus tips. This site is a tape group’s best friend.

So You Want To Be A Caller

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This article from Paul Cote provides an overview of what is involved in becoming a caller. If you’re thinking about learning to call, this article will give you some insight into what you’re signing up for.

Effects of Cognitive Leisure Activity on Cognition in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

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This article documents a Japanese study on the effects of engaging in dance activities, or playing musical instruments, in individuals displaying symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Their overall conclusion: “Long-term cognitive leisure activity programs involving dance or playing musical instruments resulted in improvements in memory and general cognitive function”.

Bob Brundage Interviews

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This summary article contains a table (see below) that contains links to the interviews that Bob Brundage did with a wide variety of notable people in the square dance community. These interviews represent a huge project for which Bob was awarded the CALLERLAB Milestone award in 2012. Both audio files and written transcripts are provided. Listening to these interviews provides a unique and personal vantage point on some of the seminal developments in square dance history.

IAGSDC History Wiki

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The IAGSDC is an umbrella organization for square dance clubs around the world that serve the LGBTQ community. Their History Wiki presents a wide range of historical information about LGBTQ square dancing, including current and past clubs, notable people, their annual Convention, the Gay Callers Association (GCA) and other affiliated organizations, as well as the evolution of the IAGSDC itself.

Lloyd Shaw Foundation

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The Lloyd Shaw Foundation preserves and shares a diverse range of dance and music traditions with an inter-generational audience. We develop leadership in traditional dance and music forms, and sponsor events and scholarships to ensure their continuity. Through our archives housed at the University of Denver, and at our Dance Center in Albuquerque, NM, we retain important historical records that document the past and enable us to preserve the future of traditional American folk dance.

Square Dance History Project

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Despite its popularity, the history of square dance has been sparsely documented. Only a few currently published and available books offer any detailed discussion of the development of this form of American social dance. Four of those are described here in the KnowledgeBase. The Square Dance History Project (http://squaredancehistory.com) site offers hundreds of documents, sound clips, and videos that further illustrate this history.

Sets In Order Archive

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The Sets In Order magazines are one of their legacies that comprise in these pages the history of modern square dancing. Bob began publishing SIO in 1948 and the last issue was issued in December 1985, 444 issues. The issues contain articles on almost every imaginable aspect of square dancing and calling.

As I Saw It – Bob Osgood (book)

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This book was compiled and edited by Paul Moore. It describes the life and career of Bob Osgood, one of the founding fathers of MWSD and through that lens provides an enlightening vantage point on the evolution and growth of the square dance activity. Much of it is in Bob’s own words, taken from his own articles, notes, and recordings. A remarkable insight into a remarkable man.

Nuts And Bolts (book)

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Kip Garvey presents the principles of calling current day square dance for readers interested in understanding underlying concepts and technique with emphasis on the technical aspects of choreography. This deep dive into choreographic theory is loaded with graphic illustrations and many Getout, Conversion and Transition call modules.

Why We Should Care About On-Line Marketing

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This an article extracted from the October 2016 edition of the Alberta Chatter newsletter edited by Claudia Littlefair. In the article Claudia examines the typical strategies various age groups use when shopping or looking for information, and how we can use that understanding to reach potential dancers.

Approaching Malls With Vacant Storefronts for Demo Spaces

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Check out this article in today’s Chicago Tribune. Our club reached out to a local shopping mall with lots of empty storefronts. The management company was very interested in bringing people in for events. They will not be charging us to use the space. We will be hosting a new dancer dance at our local mall in October, and an intro to square dance event next January.

Enticing New Callers

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Here is a report from Arlene M. Kaspik about the New Callers Seminar that took place during the ILLINOIS SD CONVENTION, July 30, 2016, in Itasca. We are so incredibly thrilled by the potential new callers in our midst. Way to go, Arlene! – Janice (Illinois 2016 SD Convention co-chair).

Media Articles on Square Dancing

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This summary article contains a table that points to a number of media articles about square dancing or people involved in square dancing. They frequently contain information useful in the promotion of square dancing. The articles are sorted by publication date and location of story. Click on the Article Title to see the article text.

Rocky’s Success Story

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Three years ago the Rocky Mountain House Whirlaways were struggling to hold their own. This spring they already have 2-1/2 squares signed up and paid for, for next fall, and they haven’t even advertised yet! Their recent President’s Report explains how their club worked together to turn things around.

174 Prospecting Ideas

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Timberline Toppers is a club that has dramatically grown their membership by creating an effective plan and executing it repeatedly. One element of that plan is to use a variety of prospecting tactics. Over the years they have collected a large number of prospecting ideas and published them in this document.

Timberline Toppers’ Recruiting Plan

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Timberline Toppers in Colorado created a recruiting plan that they used repetitively over a period of several years resulting in a dramatic regrowth of their failing club. In 2005 they struggled to put a square on the floor. Their first execution of this plan resulted in 38 new club members. They have fine tuned their plan over the years and now believe they can develop a class of 40 or more any time they choose to put forth the effort.

Health Plan Newsletter Extols Square Dancing

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SCAN is a health plan that publishes a newsletter for its members. The January 2016 edition contained an article talking about the benefits of square dancing for physical, social, and cognitive health. Considering the natural interest a medical plan has in promoting the overall good health of its members, this represents a strong endorsement.

CALLERLAB Convention Audio Recordings (as of Oct 31, 2018)

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Each year the CALLERLAB Convention provides two full days of education and information sessions. For many years audio recordings have been made of selected sessions, and latterly some have also been recorded on video. So far, CALLERLAB has posted several hundred of these recordings to YouTube, to make them generally available. There are many more to come, so this is an ongoing process. The table below shows the date and description of each posted recording and a link to the YouTube entry for it. This article lists audio files only.

CALLERLAB Convention Video Recordings (as of Aug 18, 2022)

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Each year the CALLERLAB Convention provides two full days of education and information sessions. For many years audio recordings have been made of selected sessions, and latterly some have also been recorded on video. So far, CALLERLAB has posted several hundred of these recordings to YouTube, to make them generally available. There are many more to come, so this is an ongoing process. The table below shows the date and description of each posted recording and a link to the YouTube entry for it.

Beginner Dance Party Leaders Seminar – Presentations from 2014

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For many years, as a lead-in to the main convention, CALLERLAB has hosted a 1-1/2 day seminar focusing on how to call square dance parties for non-dancers. CALLERLAB has posted to YouTube videos of a number of the presentations from the 2014 BDPLS. These presentations constitute a wealth of information about how to make such events a success. They cover everything from dance material to promotion to preparations to contracts, and much more.

What Did You Say?

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As square dance callers, we communicate with dancers using several mediums, but primarily auditory. Dancers react to our verbal commands. Due to the increasing age of dancers, statistics indicate that a large percentage of them more than likely have a significant hearing impairment, even if they do not wear hearing aids. Learn why people can “hear, but not understand”; the effects of background noise on comprehension; why people prefer different levels of loudness and louder isn’t always better; whether or not hearing aids help, and more. Improve your calling by learning techniques to help all dancers hear and understand you better. Susan is a Clinical Audiologist with over 30 years of experience.

Teaching Styling

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Presentation on the how’s and why’s of teaching styling to new dancers. How styling can help you and your dancers to succeed. Functional styling that helps dancers succeed and feel comfortable dancing (as opposed to regulated styling that implies “do it this way because I told you to” and “this is the way we always do it”).

Introduction To Mental Image Choreography

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Don Beck provides an introduction to his mental image choreography system to the Caller Coach committee at the 2013 CALLERLAB Convention. It provides a quick overview of how the system works and illustrates some of its power. If you’re interested in learning to use this system, you can find information about Don’s book “Out Of Sight”

Using Yard Signs to Advertise

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IDEA: Advertising square dance lessons by placing a sign on a lawn or a poster on a telephone pole is not new. But this new twist shows how with a little more active management, the tactic can be much more effective than you might think.

This idea was extracted from a Winning Ways Story. You can read more detail on this idea and see the context in which it was used by clicking on the link to the left

Using The 12 Session Twice Per Week Program in Red Deer, Alberta

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For the 2014-15 square dance season, the Red Deer Square Dance Club decided to try something new and untested for introducing New Dancers to square dancing. Instead of the usual 6-7 month lessons once a week, we wanted to do a 12 week, twice a week approach. Red Deer has always had lessons on a separate night than the regular dances, so our new dancers get more floor time right from the start than most other clubs who teach on their regular dance night.

Experience Using the Nest System in Calgary, Alberta

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The Banff Trailers Club dance every second Saturday, and have New Dancer lessons every Monday night. Each September several New Dancers would join, but due to factors such as illness, time constraints, vacations, only some were able to complete the year. The club was looking for a new way to increase their numbers, and when ‘The Nest’ idea was presented they agreed to give it a try during the 2014-15 dance year.

Interview Talking Points

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Have you ever been asked to give an interview about square dancing? It can often catch you by surprise. This sheet of talking points from Eric Henerlau can help you prepare yourself for a controlled and positive experience with your interview. In fact, it’s a good idea to have some of these at your fingertips any time. You never know when someone in an elevator is going to ask you why you’re there or what’s going on in the ballrooms.

Promotional Video From Maine

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This 28 minute video was produced by Dave Wilkinson in cooperation with the Sage Swingers in Maine. It does a great job of describing a little square dance history, explaining how their local clubs work, explaining the benefits and appeal of square dancing, and showing dancers having fun at dances. Production values are excellent.

Advertising Brochure Stressing Health Benefits

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IDEA: It is a different approach. I am stressing the health benefits of square dancing. The idea is we will get these rack cards professionally printed. We will buy the plastic rack holders and then our members will approach doctors offices, medical centres, activity centres, health food stores, or anywhere they can find that is suitable for our display there. Hopefully one person/couple will take responsibility of one or two holders, finding a location and keeping it stocked.

Dancing Makes You Smarter

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This article by Richard Powers discusses the findings of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003 which found that dancing offers protection against dementia. Square dancing is not specifically singled out, but the information presented seems to indicate that it would provide one of the highest degrees of protection.

Multi-Cycle Program X Plan from Gardner Patton

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In the past there have been plans that provide for a Program with less calls (ABC, Community Dance Program, Basic 1, etc.) with little thought to moving those folks who dance that Program forward. There have also been multi-cycle plans which have short periods between new class starts but they have not included a way for people who want to, to dance frequently to a Program lower than Mainstream.

The plan described here is a combination of the best parts of those two plans, and shows that if it is implemented in a region where there are multiple clubs, who all follow the plan, a new dance Program can be introduced into the region which has fewer calls thus creating a pool of dancers from which new Mainstream dancers will eventually emerge.

All About Modules (book)

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This book covers all the bases starting with the new caller just learning how to call and on through the old hands looking for ways to expand their collection of modules and to learn new tricks on how to use square dance modules to improve their calling skills.

Teaching New Dancers (eBook)

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The 18 dances featured in this short book use only four basics. Circle Right/Left, Forward & Back, Arm Turns, Star Right/Left. These four basics are used in big circles, line dances, contra dance, square dances, trios, and mixers. This enables the teacher to teach only four dance movement and then to use these same movements in various ways to provide a great deal of variety in dances.

Dancing For Busy People

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This book is an excellent resource for someone planning a party night or beginner dance. “Dancing for Busy People” is a collection of over 400 dances using easy to teach dance movements. Most dances use only walking movements based on commonly used square dance terminology. Only 25 basics are used.

dosado.com

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This music site contains a huge collection of the offerings of many of the square dance music producers and permits online purchase and download. The site also has a number of very useful sections, for example music for special occasions or themes such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or St. Patrick’s. You can find music by title, label, or artist. They also sell equipment such as speakers, microphones, and hearing enhancement systems.

musicforcallers.com

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Most of the producers of Square Dance Music have joined together to provide this combined website for music specifically produced for use in square dancing. It is an all-inclusive site that includes most of the labels in operation today. There are links to the sites of individual producers. There is also a search function that allows you to search for specific music by title, caller, or original artist, as well as pull up a list of the most recent releases. In most cases listening samples of the music are provided.

Tim Marriner’s Caller Education Page (obsolete)

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Tim Marriner was a CALLERLAB Accredited Caller Coach who created and published a large quantity of caller educational material over the years. Tim generously made this wealth of informative articles available for free download in PDF format. Sadly, Tim died suddenly in 2016, depriving square dancing of one of its most knowledgeable and articulate advocates.

you2candance.com

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This site is designed to introduce non-dancers to the general world of square, round, and contra dancing. It includes demonstration videos, pointers to resources and clubs, and information about how to get started in the activity. It’s a great reference for that friend who asks you for information about dancing.

Taminations

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This site contains a tool that allows viewers to watch an animation of a call being performed, often from a variety of starting formations. It provides an excellent educational tool to assist both dancers and callers in understanding the action of calls. It covers calls for programs from Basic to C3B. A mobile version of the tool is also available that can be operated offline on an Android or iPhone device.

WheresTheDance.com

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This site provides a comprehensive list of upcoming special events as well as regular dances in a geographical area. You can search for dances by area, by level, or time period. You can look for clubs that dance particular programs or on particular days. You find locations and addresses. A huge collection of information about square dance events.

Condensed Teaching Order

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In 2012 CALLERLAB commissioned an Ad Hoc committee to work with ACA to document a condensed teaching system that some callers had been using successfully for some time. The Press Release document describes the project and presents the initial output of the Ad Hoc in April of 2013. Additional materials and documentation were developed by the CALLERLAB members and a detailed booklet was released in December of 2014. That booklet (access via the Full Document link) includes the suggested calls to teach along with abbreviated definitions, teaching tips and other useful information. This system is sometimes referred to as the Condensed Teaching Order (CTO) and sometimes as the Condensed Teaching Method (CTM).

Sight And Module Resolution Systems Document

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This document is a compendium describing dozens of known systems for resolving squares, including both sight and module based approaches. The objective was to document as many systems as possible that are currently in use by experienced callers. Experienced callers can use it to discover different approaches that may help them add variety. Newer callers can use it to select a method that would work best for them as they are learning to resolve smoothly.

CALLERLAB 2015 Brainstorming Session

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IDEA: A “brainstorming” session was held during the opening session of the CALLERLAB Convention in 2015. The audience was seated at round tables with 8-10 people at a table. Each table was asked to brainstorm for 10 minutes or so on things that could be done to “improve square dancing” (however they conceived of that). Ideas were just written down by each individual as fast as they occurred to them. Each table was asked to rank their ideas and select the top 3. Then those 3 were taken to another table, which was asked to rank them. The attached Excel spreadsheet contains those ideas. There are 441 items of information. Some are cryptic or unformed, some are well-trodden ground, but many are valuable.

Accelerated Learning Program for Squares (ALPS)

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The ALPS program that I have been using for the last several years is not original to me. It is an adaptation of a number of different concepts such as “Blast”, “Blitz” and “Crash Course” that have been talked about at Callerlab and other caller gatherings, in recent years. The concept: Quick equip new dancers with enough square dance vocabulary and dance skill so that they can quickly join regular club dances.