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250 Attendees at BCSDC Beginner Crash Course
Kudos to the British Columbia Swing Dance Club (BCSDC)! The WSDC would like to showcase their incredible 4-hour crash course for beginners, followed by a social mixer and Club dance!
Summary:
Attendees: 250! Friends, family, co-workers, dance curious (TikTok, Instagram, FB, etc.), other dance communities, and returning dancers. Ages ranged from 15-70, with great diversity. Stellar instructor: Amy Shibasaki (with demo partner Alia M) Host: British Columbia Swing Dance Club (BCSDC)
Goal: Grab their interest! (Focus on skills that would have them dancing WCS without hurting their partner)
Format: 2-6:30p BCSDC Crash Course. Included two 15-minute breaks and 30-minute practice.
Messaging: Bring your curious friends and family! See what WCS is (for other dance
communities – blues, country, hustle)
Secondary messaging: Current dancers – firm up your basics or learn the opposite role
Marketing timeline: 3 weeks (started Jan 2nd, after holidays)
Helpful tip: The team had about a dozen regular experienced dancers/Board members to help keep the dancers (lead/follow ratio) balanced. (This wasn’t planned.)
Immediate return: 6-8 attendees came to the BCSDC dance that same night! Longer term impact to community TBD.
Comments from the instructor, Amy S.:
“For weeks leading up to the event, my students kept telling me how happy they were that this event was happening and how they were going to bring their friends/family. “My husband wanted to see what I’ve been doing every Thursday night.” “I’m bringing 10 friends!” “My friend just wanted to check it out without commitment so this is the perfect opportunity.”
“…having more experienced dancers seeded among the newbies helped a lot”
(After teaching them all the skills they needed, Amy taught them the right side pass as the last pattern) “I described what I wanted them to do (with no demo) and they did it! I think that really helped empower them and helped them gain confidence”
Comments from Chris Mullin, BCSDC President:
“The time of year to do this event was not an accident. Jan seems to be a time of “Let’s start the year right” attitude.”
“We also tapped into the other dance communities.” (e.g., Blues, country two-step, hustle)
“Although we’d love to take all the credit, the truth is we’re also in the right place at the right Eme. Dance and WCS is growing everywhere. People who have never shown interest in dancing are suddenly now interested. Out of the blue, friends are sending us TikTok videos of WCS dances and are asking questions on how they can learn to do this.”
Subtle adds that helped this event’s success:
Club President with clear vision to grow the community and reach new dancers
Instructor adjusted material and timing to fit the class. The boot camp ended after 4 hours because people were getting tired
Experienced dancers helped with directing rotations and answering questions
Crash course was followed by dinner break and the Club’s normal social dance that evening.
BCSDC community regularly supports newer dancers going to events (someone acts as a “mother hen” to make sure they have a good experience)
Would do differently:
Would change to a pre-registration. They had to turn 10 people away! Would also cap the number to 200 based on the dance floor size.
Post-event survey and info on additional dance lessons were provided via QR code. Would change that to a poster for easier reading.
Provide some food and drink.
Provide shirts/name tags for experienced dancers to stand out as additional help for questions
Fun fact:
One lead was in a wheelchair!
Syllabus covered:
Finding the beat, rhythm pattern (walks and triple steps), left side pass, underarm pass, push break and right side pass (i.e., 6 count half whip)
Techniques: the slot, momentum down the slot, the leads leading down the slot, how to create the anchor, stretch, frame, and hand changes
Etiquette around partnership and floorcraft
Links from the BCSDC for more info, photos and videos:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1347050036000434?acEve_tab=about
