Maintaining A Community
Every group changes over time. Challenges arise that must be addressed in order for the community to prosper. When communication is blame-free, it remains open. When communication remains open, we meet challenges gracefully. These are excerpts from a thread on the Milwaukee Swing Dance forum at CCSwing.com.
(Leads are men, follows are women.)
keeping followers interested
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I’ve noticed follows dropping out after they reach a certain point, beyond beginner, but not quite intermediate. It happened in Milwaukee, and it’s a real problem here in Boston. So, for the follows, how do we keep you interested?Opie (excerpted )
RE: keeping followers interested
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I have a couple of comments to add, being an almost graduate between beginner and intermediate, and a follow.
The process of learning seems to require the leads to work very hard in the beginning, and the follows don’t have to work hard until the transition to intermediate.
In the beginning, there isn’t much point in a follow learning the steps, as we’ll just step through the move and not allow the lead to practice leading. Our job is to be more cerebral and learn to let go, let go, and give up control. It’s great psychotherapy for many follows (and lots cheaper than analysis!).
But once we start taking workshops, we have to pick up and actually learn something in order to be able to execute our part on the advanced moves. I’ve heard follows discussing the shift and wondering if it was just them, or are they at an impasse? It helps to have other follows or leads confirm that the transition is real (not just in our heads) and that we just need some perseverance. (Read on ...)
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