Full Transcript for John & Karen Herr: Why Round Dance?

they're having fun, they're not smiling because they're concentrating, is what I have discovered. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:36.639 And so and then they think they have two left feet for some reason because they tried dancing, and their vision of dancing is swaying back and forth on from prom days and stuff. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:38.400 They're afraid of it because of that. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:47.520 Another thing is that a lot of the leaders, uh dance leaders, are very serious people, and we decided uh we want people to have fun. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:56.080 So that that did a lot for keeping people, especially for retention, getting dancers to come back to us. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.039 A lot of the leaders are very inexperienced. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:19.520 In the ballroom world, they have the tendency to just say, watch me, and then you do it, as opposed to what we do, is we we show them something really easy to do, and then we make a little change to it, and a little change to it, and a little change to it, and now all of a sudden they're doing it. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:25.520 And so they found a very easy way to get into things as opposed to a hard way of learning. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:32.479 And what's so interesting to me is that I've heard so many people say that once they started round dancing, it became their favorite. 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:34.240 We hear that all the time. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:42.159 And in fact, square dancers get mad because we have people that have dropped out of square dancing because they enjoy round dancing more. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:43.840 I square danced for years. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.240 I still can square dance, I can square dance up to a plus level, we both can. 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.639 And but we still enjoy rounds more than we can enjoy squares. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:04:00.879 So can you describe what round dancing is for people who are don't understand it? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:12.319 And and I have to confess that I was a ballroom dancer in college, and and uh so when I first saw it, I thought, wait a minute, that's ballroom dancing with calling. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:13.199 Uh-huh. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.160 And that's how sometimes we describe it exactly that way. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.079 Ballroom dancing with calling. 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:30.079 I like to tell some people sometimes that imagine the old movies and everybody's dancing the same thing in a circle, and they took those pictures of in those old musicals, and they were dancing in a circle. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:31.439 That's round dancing. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:37.600 The difference adding there's somebody telling you what steps to do so the guys don't have to lead, and they can just dance. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.720 The lady hears the same thing, so she knows what to do, so the guy doesn't have to lead. 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:44.639 We're also very social. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:58.959 For example, we

have special events, and one night we went out to a haunted hotel, and they had a small floor there, and so we put a dance together after a wonderful dinner at that hotel. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:03.279 They loved it so much we had to put another one on on another evening. 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:10.560 So it's things like those special kind of things that we do and brings people together, creates new friendships. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:20.480 Another thing is we we tell people that the dances we do, they've been pre-choreographed so they fit with the music. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.800 So when the music goes da-da-da-da, we do a dance that does da-da-da-da. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.480 And it's just wonderful to dance to that music. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.680 And that's what you see on and that's kind of what round dancing does. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:33.040 They dance to the music. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.839 We don't do any lifts, we don't do any fancy. 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:37.839 I can't I can't lift them. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:44.079 So, but we do have some of that same fun stuff that they do on Dancing on the Stars. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.079 I'm reminded of the leg crawl. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:47.600 Same thing. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.560 The dancers love a leg crawl. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:58.399 Another nice thing we tell people is that because we're in a circle and we're flowing around the the circle, we don't have collisions. 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:04.319 People in ballroom dancing, you're you gotta be careful who's coming at you or who you're gonna run into. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.519 Whereas that none of that kind of stuff happens with round dancing. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.319 So it's safer with collisions. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:11.199 Right. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:13.120 And the other thing is it's non-pressure. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.360 That competition that ballroom creates is is huge. 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:19.439 That that stress of it all. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:29.680 But I think the round dancing takes away that piece of competition, but we can do almost anything ballroom does, except for the lifts, and we don't have to wear naked clothes. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.680 A few sparkles here and there, maybe. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:33.120 Sparkle's good. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:40.319 So you mentioned, John, about friendship and social interaction and community. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:55.439 And one of the things that we know now, and I think in the past, square dancing has probably emphasized more doing the calls correctly and what you wear, is what people are looking for is community and fun. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.240 So you want to speak to that a little bit more? 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.720 There's a couple of ways to look at that. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:07.040 One is you asked the question previously about what can the community do to help? 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:13.600 And it's difficult to get out to to find a place that has a reasonable cost. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:22.560 And so the use of senior centers, schools, we use granges and churches, we use all kinds of things. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:31.839 But it's really hard to find places, and that that causes people to have to drive long distances to come to the location. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:43.360 The other thing is because we have special events, we can go out to places and people get to see us when we're there, such as that Honda Honda Hotel. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:48.480 I think the sense of friendship and community means that it's a family. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:56.240 And when people get sick or people are not feeling well, there's a community that strives behind them. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:08:05.120 We've had people with cancer and people reach out to them on a regular basis and just kind of be their friend besides being a dance person. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:14.720 And even when there's a new one, it feels like a new an old face to them because it's in an environment and a community that loves them, who they for who they are. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:16.639 I think that's the hugest. 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:24.240 I think that the community is is being being able to be someplace and being able to say, Oh, I know you. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.920 And and that smile that that you get when you walk into a room is is huge. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.639 We have a couple dancers that are no longer dancing, but want to come and dance with us. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:41.039 And just that they don't come and dance, but they come and sit and they enjoy the community, they enjoy the family. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:48.879 And I think that's a huge piece of what round dancing offers because there are times in a square dance, it's more loud sometimes. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.039 And we don't see these clicks being formed. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:56.559 Whereas you go to square dance clubs, there's clicks going on. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:04.240 And those people, there's ten of them or eight of them, or whatever, and they're always together, they never separate to talk to other people. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:20.240 Yeah, and that's I think that's an important point that the square dance people have also brought up is that that exclusivity and you have to be in a couple and you always dance together, is not welcoming to new dancers. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:31.200 And that's the thing that is our mission is to introduce people who are not dancers to square and round dancing because we know how much we love them. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:39.360 And I'm an introverted person who doesn't smile a lot, but I will tell you that when I'm dancing, I'm smiling all the time because it's so much fun. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:41.919 And you I agree, Leslie, totally. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:46.399 As people feel more comfortable with round dancing at their level, they will smile more. 00:09:46.720 -->

00:09:48.559 John tries to make it fun. 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.000 I will say, for example, I say, Hey George, what kind of car do you drive? 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:56.720 And he says, Well, I've got a Mercedes. 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:59.200 Oh, I says, Isn't that wonderful, everybody? 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:05.039 He just offered to give his car away to whoever has the funniest face. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.519 You know, and they start smiling naturally. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:12.159 When we teach, I'm the clown, surprise, and John's the serious guy. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:18.559 And sometimes they don't he doesn't know what he said that's so funny, everybody's laughing, but I make fun of him. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:20.399 So it's that funny, yes. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.879 And the nice thing about our club, our lessons, we encourage single people. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:27.919 We try to match them up when they come in. 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.440 If they don't have a partner, I try to dance with them. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.399 Whether they're male or female, I'll dance both parts. 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:41.279 People will come into the club and say, Well, there's a lot of cars out there, and there's only four couples there when they first get there. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:45.759 Well, that's mean because those four couples were all singles and drove two cars. 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:53.759 And sometimes the singles will come and get attached to a person for classes for that set of classes, but they may change for the next set of classes. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:11:01.120 And because I came from the singles world, I'm much more aware of that piece of it because I had to be I had to find a partner. 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:12.879 I danced with a guy, every tip was a different guy, and Tuesday nights was one guy when I went out to a round dance, and Thursday nights was a different guy, and when I went out to a square dance on the weekends, it was a different guy. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:13.600 Type things. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:21.600 On the very first night of beginner lessons, I start searching the room for reactions, how people are reacting to me. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:27.360 And I look for someone who I can make fun of, and I'm very careful about choosing that. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:31.360 But I do little small things to see how they react then. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.159 And pretty soon that guy is coming after me. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:37.519 He's gonna do whatever he can to make a joke of me. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:45.200 And everybody starts participating in that effort, and it creates that camaraderie that we're all working against, John. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:50.080 And when people are having fun, they learn faster. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.720 It's remarkable the difference when they're having fun. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:01.039 We never allow something to go to the point where it's not fun anymore. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:05.039 If it starts becoming hard work, we stop it and do something else. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.720 That's the nice thing about rounds. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:17.759 There are so many figures that we can go, oh, let's put that one on the back, I want to say the back patio sometimes, and then we go on to something else, and then we bring it back again in the future so that we do get it covered. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:24.559 Our married couples will go and dance with the guys will go dance with her while she's there. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:31.200 And there's no threat of that that that jealousy that can happen sometimes. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:36.879 So when we see people fighting with one another, because everybody learns differently. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:45.039 And so we go over and we listen to this person and then we listen to the other person and say, okay, we see there's two sides to this. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:50.720 And so we give something for this person to work on, and we give something else for this person. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:53.840 So both of them have to work on something different. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:13:21.919 Yeah, and I I liked what you said about fostering an environment where people are interacting in a fun way, because I think, particularly in today's world, we have so much division over politics and religion and all that kind of stuff, and we just need a place to go that we can be with people who may not agree with us on any of those issues, but we still have fun because we're people and we need it. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:28.320 And I think it's I think it's like some people say, and even for us, sometimes it's like we really don't want to go. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:38.320 It's like, uh, do I have to get clothes on and get dressed up a little bit and get in the car and we have to drive an hour to the dance event? 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:39.919 Do we really want to do that? 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.679 But the minute we walk in that door, everything was left behind. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.200 And is the minute somebody says, Hey Karen, how are you doing tonight? 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:49.360 or Wow, what what's going on? 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:55.039 And I always have I try to put down on the sign-in sheet, today is national whatever day. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:07.360 And I try to find the craziest thing I can find in the calendar, and people always comment, and it just helps people when they come, they say, Oh, I really didn't want to come tonight, but I'm so glad I did. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.840 It just it made me not think about things. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:20.720 Several people have said I was in the middle of a huge work job, and I didn't want to come because of that work job, and it was just pulling me down mentally and physically. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:28.000 And I came and I don't think about I don't think about that for the hour and a half, two hours that I'm there at your group. 00:14:28.240

--> 00:14:31.440 And then I can go with a fresh face when I go back tomorrow. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:36.240 And I think that's something we offer that not everybody can offer. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:46.000 It's it's a place for them to escape from their real world for a few hours and then come back and then and replenish their inner and then go from there. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:47.840 For me, it's done the same thing. 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:54.960 I was a teacher for many years, and I would leave school and go over and start teaching. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:07.440 And it was like I had conferences, I had kids with problems, I had parents with issues, and I could put it away for an hour or two, and then I could come back to it with a fresh face, fresh look at things again. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.000 And I think that's something that round dancing offers. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:14.960 The whole dance world, in fact, square and rounds offer that to everybody. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.159 I'm not sure if you're aware that we teach schools. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:19.279 Have you heard that? 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:24.720 Yes, I heard about it, and you teach lessons quite often through the week. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.960 You're you've got almost every night. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:41.679 We we run a school and we can do it a 20-hour curriculum, or we can do a 40-hour curriculum, and people will come from all over to go to the school, and we start at nine o'clock in the morning, we go to nine o'clock at night. 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:43.360 Only time off to eat. 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:48.960 But one of the things that we do that at school is teach this kind of stuff that we're talking about. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:59.360 How to have fun, how to solve problems with people when people are there's all kinds of problems, and inexperienced teachers don't know well how to deal with that. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:02.639 And so we teach them how to deal with those issues. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:04.320 We yes, we teach lessons. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.320 We have beginning lessons, we have intermediate lessons, and we have advanced lessons. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.960 Then we also do teaching of teachers. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:13.120 We teach teachers how to teach. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:27.519 Scientists have actually done research on dancing, and I think because you're moving your body, you're having to use your mind because you have to totally focus on the dancing. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:32.799 You can't be thinking about a problem that you'll have next week or in a week ago. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:42.240 That's what lifts your mood because your brain is is focusing, your body is moving, and it's really a wonderful thing. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:17:07.440 Scientists uh also have proven that dancing helps curtail Alzheimer's and early dementia more because you are exactly that brain and body movement together creates something in the brain that helps not

those whatever those little neurons that float around up there that can create problems for you. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:13.279 Yes, it's it's amazing what dancing can do for you personally, mentally, physically. 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:21.119 When someone finally gets it, and I know how that feels because I was trying to learn, we don't have lessons very much down here. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:34.000 So I learned the waltz from Randy Pratt this weekend, and I finally got it, and I could actually go through the whole dance and starts to love round dancing. 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.279 What moment do you think usually trigger triggers that? 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:43.839 One is when we're dancing and we're turning in our dancing, we need to keep our heads to the left. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:53.759 That helps us to turn, and so we're constantly saying, head left, heads left, heads left, all over so many times, and they just don't do it. 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:59.440 And then they go to some other teacher, and then they come back and say, Guess what we just learned? 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:06.960 We learned that turning our heads left helps, and they're all excited about it as if we had never mentioned it. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:08.079 That's amazing. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:28.079 Another thing when when muscle memory kicks in, muscle memory, when we do something over and over, our muscles be accustomed to do that, and then they that enables them to do something else, and that expands slowly so that your muscle memory becomes more and more capable. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:34.240 So people can pick up a brand new figure much faster later than they can early. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:35.839 It's like riding a sense. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.200 It's like riding a bike. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:39.440 It's that muscle memory that created that. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:47.119 And so all of a sudden, they realize they're learning faster than they've ever learned before. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:52.160 They're picking up figures quickly now, where it took them a long time before. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.680 And that's exciting to them that they can do that. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:05.839 Another thing is our very first night at beginners is we will teach maybe ten different figures how to do them. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:07.440 And they learn all of them. 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:14.640 And I can just mix them up and say, now do this one, now do number two, now do number three, now do number one, now do number eight. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:20.960 Not enough and string them in a random order, and they're dancing as if I had a formal dance. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:30.720 And they learn, they walk out the door saying, I I can dance ten different figures in one lesson, and it's exciting for them. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:34.079 And I think the other thing is you felt accomplished when you did that. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:43.440 You had that, you got it, and you and it is and

you can watch around the room when that aha button comes on, like, aha, I got it. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:53.519 And immediately when I see that, I run over and say, Wow, you did that because I reinforced that feeling that you had, plus somebody noticed that I got it. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:55.599 And I think that's huge. 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:05.519 When you get your first compliment from someone else, you they go out dancing somewhere else, and someone comes up and says, Wow, you guys are great dancers. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:07.200 Guess what that does to you? 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:09.359 Makes you want to come back and do some more. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:10.079 Exactly. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.319 What do you think scares people off from round dancing? 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:17.920 I think it's still the fact of there's so much to learn. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.559 When you take lessons, for example, you learn waltz, but you learn this much of waltz. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.920 It's scary to think that waltzing is this much. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:37.920 And uh not only do you have waltzing, but you have cha-cha and you have rumba and you have jive and you have you can everything the ballroom does, we do, and it's overwhelming to think about. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:39.839 That it's so hard to do it. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.519 It's like square dancing. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:53.759 When you first started square dancing, you learned maybe social square dancing, and it took 13 weeks to learn the first part of it, might have taken six months to a year before you even started to dance in a club. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.720 We try to help that, and that's overwhelming. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:58.319 That's scary at times to think. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:03.440 I have to spend my whole life learning something, and it and it's just overwhelming. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:10.720 But we try to we try to help because be on our lesson nights, we always are constantly trying to do dances after the fact. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:17.279 And it's very difficult to get them over that hump that when they think they can't do it. 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:24.720 And so we strive to work on that specifically when we know that that person has that that feeling up here. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:31.759 And we have turned around so many different people who said they couldn't do it, and they became good dancers. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.319 And so it's very scary when they think that way. 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:39.359 And they're gonna be dragged there and put through horrors because they can't. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.039 And I'll be an example. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:45.039 My mom took me to tap dance lessons when I was six, seven years old. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.279 And I think all moms do that to their daughters. 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:51.279 Sign them up for dance lessons, send them up for ballet lessons, send them up for whatever. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:57.839 The first night my mom came to pick me up and she and the teacher pulled her aside and said, Don't bring her back. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.759 She's not ever gonna get this. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:11.039 And so I had that in my it my my mind for so many years that I was never gonna be able to know how to dance because I got kicked out of dance lesson, tap dance lessons when I was seven. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:13.920 I learned in a dir totally different way. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:17.440 So it took me a long time to learn to round dance. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:22.799 Um but luckily I enjoyed the social piece of it, so therefore I stuck with it. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:29.680 But also I had people, I had good instructors that allowed me to learn in the way I needed to learn. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:35.440 And so, and I think that's what we do too, is we tap into how they learn. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:45.440 We try to say, I can't I'm a I'm a teacher by trade, so therefore I have a lot of that training of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:52.880 So I can I can usually pick out a person, what kind of learner they are, within the first night or two nights of lessons. 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.200 And then I'll if they're struggling, I will try to teach it to their strength. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:00.640 So if they're a visual learner, I will make sure that they are doing that. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.599 If they're audio, I'm trying to tell it more. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.720 If they're kinesthetic, I will do some things that I have tricks of. 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.440 Or we'll go up and actually I will take the lady and dance it with her so she can feel it. 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:12.880 It's a kinesthetic. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:19.839 And so we we try to use all of those things to help those people that say, I'm never gonna learn the round dance. 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.960 Because that's that's our biggest battle. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:28.640 It's not dancing per se, it's their belief they're never gonna be able to do it. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:35.759 And we have to overcome that with with with our teaching style and our fun way of doing things. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:38.880 That's a big issue in our schools. 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:51.359 We teach our students how to recognize those three things, and then how to how to mitigate that issue by how the the way we approach our teach. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:55.519 That is so important that you brought that up because I'll tell you my experience. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:24:08.319 I'm a conceptual learner, which means that I struggle at the beginning to put the bits together, but the moment they come together, I get it, and I can learn really fast. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:18.160 And what I noticed is when I took square dance lessons, the person spoke through the steps, and I kept saying, show me. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:27.759 And I don't think a lot of

people understand that not everybody learns exactly the same, and you have to try a lot of different things. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.079 When I was in junior high, I took Spanish because I grew up in Southern California. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:46.240 Spanish is really important, and the teacher would, after the first week, told me that I couldn't take Spanish because I couldn't roll my R's and I had to transfer into French, which I've never used other than to understand French words when I see them. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:59.200 Years later, I took a class from somebody who was from Mexico, and she heard my story, and she said, There's a lot of people who speak Spanish in Mexico who cannot roll their R's. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:01.759 Don't you wish that you'd been told that earlier? 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:09.599 It's sort of like you that somebody makes a judgment because you can't immediately do something that you can never do it. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:19.599 I've heard people say that, oh, I can't dance, I can't do this, I can't do that, because somebody told me in elementary school that I wasn't good at it. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:24.079 And I do think it keeps people from joining square and round dancing. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:24.799 Exactly. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:38.559 It it it prevents a lot of and I luckily I had a uh uncle that was a square dance caller, and when I said that I was thinking about taking square dance lessons, he was so thrilled that I was getting back into it again and doing that. 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:40.799 He said, Karen, you'll have a good time. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:43.839 Even if you can't dance, you can have a good time. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:48.480 And and he said, I don't know why you where you got the idea that you can't dance. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:51.279 If you come and talk talk to me, I'll teach you how to dance. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:56.640 So I had a backup, so if I couldn't succeed at the lessons, my uncle said he was going to help me. 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:04.960 And and along that line, when we take breaks, we see people standing over on the side trying to learn that thing we just talked. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:06.480 They're struggling with it. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:12.480 And we'll walk up and and spend time with them, individual one-on-one, to help them get over that hump. 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:23.119 And if I hear stories what you just said and I had, I try to show them ways that they are dancing, even if they're not truly doing dancing with the stars concept of dancing. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:30.400 Dancing is is having fun, dancing is enjoying each other, dancing is enjoying the music. 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:40.880 And it's somebody said the other night, and they said they hadn't been there for a few weeks, and she said, I just my heart just needed to hear this music. 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:42.960 And I thought, well, that's exactly right. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:50.079 Music provides that that attachment, and they have proven over and over, science has proven music has a tap. 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:52.240 So let's talk about music. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.200 What kind of music can you expect to hear in round dancing? 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:56.960 I'm glad you asked. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.400 I play music I would never play otherwise. 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:21.680 You'll hear pop music, you'll hear you'll hear classical music, you'll hear Pericomo tunes from the back of the old days, you'll hear Ed Shearhan from the New Days, you'll hear Miley Cyrus, you'll hear Brittany Spears, you'll hear Andy Williams, you'll hear Tijuana Brass, you'll hear And the old Tennessee Waltz. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:28.160 So from the old fashioned to the very modern, we we try to make sure we cover all of that. 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:36.880 And it's really cool because I want to say the older days of Browns, we were limited to records, and the records only did certain music. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:50.480 And so when when we were when MP3s and when the Shazam came out, when iTunes came out, when all those things came out, music opened up and we can do so much more music. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:28:03.680 We started doing music from the Beatles and from the 90s music, and the sometimes I'm going, I can't believe I'm listening to this music because it's not my style of music, but somebody enjoys it. 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:09.839 And we have music that we play that I just kind of roll my eyes at go, why are we dancing this one? 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.799 But people jump to go do that music. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:16.000 Flowers by I can't even remember, is it Miley Cyrus? 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:19.039 Now I know you're interested in in youth. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:23.519 One night we were invited to teach at a church. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:26.480 And how many how many couples of youth did we have? 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:27.039 50. 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:29.599 We probably had over 120. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:31.599 120 kids. 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:35.279 It was full house kids, all teenagers. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:42.400 And knowing what I know about kids, we started off as fast as I possibly could. 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:45.759 I taught them as fast as I possibly could. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.960 And I just I ran them into the ground. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:51.359 And then I said, you guys need a break. 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:57.759 And the leaders came to me and said, No, no, don't, no breaks, because they'll never come back. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:59.759 I said, Yes, they will. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:03.839 And when the break was over, they were all back. 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:10.559 Met their need of moving fast and doing things quickly because they learn so fast. 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:14.400 And we use music that was appropriate for them. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:15.680 And that's hard. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.559 We're not 20

teenagers anymore. 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.079 What music is they're out there. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:24.480 So we we took some work for our to do that, but it was it was fun. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:25.920 It was fun to watch the kids. 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:27.359 So they learn swing. 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:28.079 Jive. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:31.759 So but you change terms to fit your audience. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.000 What's swing is nothing but jive. 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:35.279 Oh, oh, you're old. 00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:36.240 It's just Lindy. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:41.759 So you just change the words to fit them because of of what where they are in their generation. 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:47.279 Waltz is waltzing no matter what generation, but some of the others they want to learn samba, they want to learn salsa. 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:50.720 Round dancing provides all those, and that's where kids are. 00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:52.640 The younger people are. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:30:02.960 And what we have found is if you give a youth a good experience when they're young, they get involved with college, they get involved with families, they get involved with different things. 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:08.400 But if you give them a good experience, when their family is gone, they will come back to dancing. 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:13.440 They may not be able to do it while they're raising a family, and but they will come back. 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:18.799 But their the kids' lifestyles take over their take take them over, and and it's okay. 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:22.960 But if you give them a good experience, they will be back because they won't remember that. 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:28.400 I don't know if you've seen our podcast with the Lang family, but what they did is they brought their kids with them. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:36.400 They have un but they have I think it's 22 or 23 people in the club under 25. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:37.279 That's wonderful. 00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:45.200 There was a round dance group up in Northwest Oregon, the Dancing Jewels, and they were amazing round dancers. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:51.440 They put all of us to shame, and they were between the ages of 15 and they had to be kicked out at 21. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:57.279 So, yeah, and they they had probably a hundred youth involved with that group. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.519 So if you give them what they want, they'll come. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:04.799 It's kind of cool to do, but you have to meet them where they are, not where we want them to be. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:08.960 And what's trending right now among younger people is dance clubs. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:30.559 One of our things that we're doing was on April 26th, when uh Colorado Round Dance Association has their spring dance, we're going to film some short interviews to put on social media just to introduce people to the idea of round dance, and we have tapped into the available younger round dancers so we can they'll be interviewed as well. 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:38.319 A lot of people know what square dancing is, but they have wrong assumptions about what modern square dancing is. 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.119 Exactly. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:43.440 And round dancing, I think there's people who don't even know what that is. 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:46.240 We've always said it's the best kept secret in the world. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:49.920 And if we can figure out how to get that secret out, it would explode. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:52.880 But we haven't figured out how to make the secret go. 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:57.839 We're gonna try, and it will take a long time, but I think it's worth the effort. 00:31:58.079 --> 00:32:08.160 What would you like to say in closing to clubs who and round dance queuers that are trying to get more people to take round dance and start round dancing? 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:12.720 One of the things that strikes me is many clubs discourage round dancing. 00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:22.240 They, when you go to a square dance club, they often won't have rounds at their square dance club, or they'll have limited rounds at their square dance club. 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:23.920 That's not promoting rounds. 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:33.359 I think if we can make round dancing more accepted in the square dance world, that would help because then they're more apt to come to round dance lessons from the square dance. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:40.400 We also, as round dancers, we need to encourage people to come and dance with us that are off the streets and then send them to square dancing. 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:43.440 We need to create a two-way street between rounds and squares. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.240 We would get all of our round dancers from square dancing. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:52.720 But I think times have come now where we need and we have gotten round dancers off the street. 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:58.640 We've gotten round dancers through different methods of advertising and marketing that we've tried. 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:00.480 And it's been successful. 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:05.279 But you also need to have a two-way street going from the squares and the rounds. 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:08.960 At our school, we have one section just on marketing. 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:12.480 So we'll spend a couple hours just talking about how to market. 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:18.640 Uh, we go to our international association of round dance teachers. 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:22.240 Uh we go there every year, and all the teachers come there. 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:22.559 Okay? 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:28.480 And we've taught them many times there how they can increase their numbers. 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:31.920 And what's interesting is they do not want to spend money. 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:34.079 And you do have to spend a little money to make money. 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:38.640 We went to Google Ads and we went

to other places where we had to spend money. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:41.680 We paid$250 to put an ad out. 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:45.359 But we got two couples out of that$250. 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:50.640 And they only have to come to 10 dances, and we've recouped our losses, right? 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:52.240 And they stick with us. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:57.759 But most of them are scared to put money into the effort of advertising. 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:04.480 We've got a document that tells people all the different kinds of things they can do to market their activity. 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:05.680 But they don't use it. 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:11.840 Putting up a website, for example, and then you can put ads out somewhere and just says, go to the website. 00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:15.039 And that advertising website helps. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:15.920 But they won't do it. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:16.400 Tough. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:24.880 There are some people who are really enthusiastic about uh building their clubs, but there are a lot of people who don't want to do those things. 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:33.760 Or I think it was last year I was at a festival in New Mexico, and a guy came up to me and said, We spent$600 on flyers and got nobody. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:35.760 Flyers don't work anymore. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:49.280 One of the things we're doing at Square Dance Revival is putting this material out there, how to advertise, how to do, how to create a free website, and what to put on it. 00:34:49.519 --> 00:35:02.480 I'll have to tell you, I went to a district website in the Midwest, and their opening thing on the top of their homepage is memorials to people who have died. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:05.199 That's not encouraging to new dancers. 00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:11.519 So we've got to think more about what's going to attract new dancers. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:13.039 Fun and community. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:13.840 Exactly. 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:15.440 And focus on that. 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:21.119 So how to do a good photo, do a good video from your phone and that kind of thing. 00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:22.480 But you've got to do it. 00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:27.360 And it's not, it's more about consistency than putting in a bunch of hours at the beginning. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:28.159 Exactly. 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:36.320 Another example of what we do is we have a giant banner and it says learn to dance,$15. 00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:39.199 And it sits on the top of our building. 00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:43.440 And all the highway goes by there and a street goes by there. 00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:47.119 Now, what would it be like if we had those banners everywhere? 00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:50.880 They cost about$50, between$50 and$100 to make them. 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:58.239 If we plastered the area with those banners, we get all kinds of phone calls and people off the street from that. 00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:03.679 So I think the biggest thing we can do is work at having fun. 00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:07.920 Work at providing an environment that's welcoming to all dancers. 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:16.400 And so that I think it's important that the squares welcome the rounds and the rounds welcome the squares because it's not a it's not a division. 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:18.320 It should be a family together. 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:22.960 And I see too many times the division between the two, the contrast. 00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:27.119 Yes, there is a time and place for squares and rounds to be separated. 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:34.480 Um but there are times when squares and rounds need to come together and encourage that to happen for both both sets type things. 00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:37.039 So I think that's the biggest thing that can happen. 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:44.880 I think we also need to be open to new ideas and open to welcoming because youth can scare people. 00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:49.760 I think it's being open to welcoming the youth and not being afraid of that. 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:53.360 Welcoming singles because more and more people are single. 00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:54.400 Or families. 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.840 Or or welcome the families as a family situation. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:04.800 We've been told that our group is welcoming, and they said, What did you do to your group to tell them to become welcoming? 00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:07.840 I think basically it's because John and I are welcoming. 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:12.800 If anybody goes to the hospital, if anybody gets sick, if anybody doesn't show up. 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:14.400 No, they get a card from the group. 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:18.559 Not just a few, but even people who don't know them sign it. 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:20.639 It was it was uplifting for them. 00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:25.840 And I think that's it's that whole welcoming that they walk in the door and you say hello. 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:34.559 And when they pay for coming in, we'll watch the money. 00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:37.679 They know we don't care about money. 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:39.119 They don't pay us tonight. 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:40.719 We know they'll pay next time. 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:45.280 But it's like that's that's the kind of things that they do because they feel part of the family. 00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:47.360 It's like they're taking We're not in this. 00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:49.280 They know we're not in this just for money. 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:54.400 And they know, but we have to pay for certain things, so that's that's it's a love that we share. 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:55.599 Oh, I love that. 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:56.639 Thank you so much. 00:37:57.360 --> 00:37:58.960 See you on the 26th. 00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:06.880 If you believe in the fun friendship and community of square and round dancing, help us to introduce it to a new generation. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:12.719 Visit squaredancerevival.org to support our national outreach campaign. 00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:18.320 Click on the button on the right side of the homepage and help us reach more dancers. 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:22.480 Thanks for listening, and we'll see you in a round or something.