Promoting Dances

[dancekitten]

I'm working with a local instructor and DJ to start a new night of dancing in my community. It's just a monthly dance, but we're wondering what makes people want to come to a dance (besides the obvious).

We're going to be focusing on swing and want to make it THE dance to go to each month. We're just at the "jumping off a cliff" stage of making sure we attract people in the community.

So if anyone wouldn't mind sharing their thoughts, what is it about a new dance party, or one that's just new to you that makes you want to go?

Are you interested in theme parties? Floorshows? What would make you want to check it out?

[pygmalion]

Great question, dancekitten. :D Welcome to the forums. 8)

[dTas]

the biggest thing that i've found that makes for a good party is what makes any party a good party.... make it social.

there are some studios around that have parties that are very dry. music is bland, atmosphere is cold and feels like a dance studio.

dances that feel more like a party tend to have better attendance.

that's obvious. so how do you make your dance feel like a party? well...

- provide a reason to come out (grand opening, anniversary, celebrate spring, Christmas, etc)

- provide good intimate seating so groups of people can gather and talk

- variety of music to satisfy all kinds of dancers. if doing only one genre then provide variation within that genre.

- market far in advance so people can plan on coming

- be consistent. so people can depend on it. being the same date, same weekend, same type of dancing, same type of music. etc.

- shows are nice but i find that they distract from the social-ness. if you provide a show be sure that its a pro-show not a student showcase.

- another thing that i've found that helps "snowball" a dance from one to another is having a "core" set of people (10 or more) there that will dance with everyone who comes.

these are just some things i've found to work.

[Swingolder]

I wish you were thinking about starting this in my area! We could use another venue for our swing dancing!

Hearing about a new spot for dancing probably would get me there to check it out. Most important to me is a variety of music. Even if it is mostly all swing, there is some that is way too fast for us, non-lindy, dancers. What kind of crowd are you hoping to attract?

Getting the word out, I think, is the hardest part.

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the Dance Forums dancekitten! :D

[dancekitten]

We're actually looking to piggyback off the instructors old parties, so theire's a small core of people already going which helps.

The music is most WCS/Blues and a bit of Hustle (for some reason we get a good hustle crowd coming out) and a little lindy as so far not to many lindy hoppers have been coming out to the old parties.

More or less, this is a reimaging of her pest parties to bring out more lindy hoppers and a larger crowd over all.

Where do you folks normally findout about dances? Besides word of mouth.

[pygmalion]

Several of the dance teachers here have email newsletters that they send out right before dances that they sponsor. They also put up flyers at the local shared dance studio. Hmm. still thinking.

[dTas]

most of the regular dances around here are advertised through e-mails. there are several groups that have extensive e-mail lists that they send out to.

there are also people who hold regular mailings of events (up to 5000 or more houses) that you can add a flyer to for cheap.

fliers at dance other dance events and studios is the best way to get the word out. see if you can take a bunch of 3x5 fliers to a dance event and hand them out (of course the mgmt has to agree to it).

[tanzsegler]

welcome to the forum

In my (not so) humble opinion it is important to make the dance fun. I was on the USABDA board at a local chapter and they were always trying to promote dancing rather then just promoting fun. When I plan a dance or am helping to start a series of dances I find that it works best to find younger DJs as the older ones tend to have the older music. There is plenty of great new music that is available so use it. Get DJs that talk to the dancers. If they just play music, they are less likely to get involved.

I like to invite ALL the good local dancers. I usually give them free cover the first couple of times to get them interested. Keep people interested and keep it interesting. In the lindy treadition (also done at some argentine and salsa clubs/parties) it is great to celabrate birthday's, new arrivals, lucky person (wink wink), and anyother thing you can think of. Give them a dance of there own works great where people take turns stealing the lucky person during the song (do everyone gets to dance with them). Traditional ballroom mixers are boring, use some imagination.

Get people to have fun and they'll bring others next time.

[sanityhaven]

First off, welcome to DF! :D

Where do you folks normally findout about dances? Besides word of mouth.

Well word of mouth is the primary way I find out. Email is another, though I think it tends to be less effective.

I would say if you want to make this a regular thing, make sure information about the event is easily accessible. A nice website comes to mind.

I think tanzsegler nailed it when he talked about inviting all of the good local dancers. You should also try and talk with all of the local studios in your area about promoting the event. If they're interested in it, flyers are a must!

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df dancekitten!

Everyone has made really great suggestions, so I don't have anything to really add, but just wanted to welcome you. :)

[dancekitten]

Thanks everyone for the advice! If any of you are in New York on December 17, stop by our party!

I put the details in the ads/events section of the forums
http://dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6545

And we're working on someone big for the hustle lesson!

I hope some of you can make it!

[dancin/dj]

hello dancekitten,you already have good suggestions,-one,food yes thats right food,snacks etc.. if your dance grows you can increase what you put out.this really works well in phila,north jersey dances, south jersey dances.if you want more detail as too who when and where this happens let me know :)

[heartgrl2k]

There's a lot of good suggestions, sorry if I'm repeating:

Keep the cover charge, if any, to $5 or less, especially since it's new

Offer finger foods

Good variety of music - you could also ask people to bring their favorite song if they have one they'd like played --- Swing dancers DO like to dance to other music - play occasional line dances, free style, etc to keep it fun

Door prize drawings - our club has given away tickets to comps, free dance lessons @ a studio

I'd keep any organized activities to a minimum - people are there to dance, let them!

Take lots of pics and display them on your website and/or at the next dance so everyone else can see how much fun it was!

[Swingolder]

Thanks everyone for the advice! If any of you are in New York on December 17, stop by our party!

I hope some of you can make it!

Aw, heck, New York! No where close to me out here in the heartland!

Good luck on your event. :lol:

[etchuck]

If you're just starting out... from my own experience:
the most important things are
1) the music
2) the mix of dancers

They both feed off each other, but without both working in your favor, you're going to find failure really fast.

The mix of dancers: network really hard and make sure some of your better dancers who are very amenable to social dancing schedule themselves to appear at your dance. Obviously keep the fee as low as you can.

In return, get some excellent music that these really good dancers can dance to.

I'd say you'll always have some difficulty attracting new dancers, but until they actually know they won't be the only people on the floor, or that other people are willing to dance with them at your event, they're not going to come.

Water should be mandatory. Food would be good (I don't like finger foods because then you have sticky hands when you're dancing). Breath mints would be really nice (and you can buy per pound I think :) ).

I like the idea of some sort of "occasion" being a reason to hold a dance. Celebrate someone's birthday and promise that you'll have cake. Have someone else bring ice cream. Etc. (Lesson learned from the swing dancers in Raleigh.) This also guarantees your critical mass of dancers who are your friends (unless you don't have any friends).

As you get more involved, plan on having a lesson before the dance. Do mixers. Hold drawings. Plan weird party themes or contests. This stuff I find as extraneous to the general success of a particular dance event, though nice to have occasionally.

[pygmalion]

Wow. Sounds like you've been there and done that, etchuck. 8)

Any thoughts on how to raise the price later? Meaning, I understand the penetration pricing approach -- start cheap to get people to attend. But what happens later, if costs rise? Is there a way to raise ticket prices without scaring away your hard-won clientele?

[DancePoet]

Welcome dancekitten!

Probably not much new here, but anyway ...

1. No what music will be played.

2. Plan the calendar well in advance

3. Market with email, website, and flyers

4. Have a theme/name for the dance siince it's monthly

5. Have places to sit

6. Have beverages to drink, particularly water

7. Have breathmints

8. Food is good, but keep it light, unless there's time for a sit down meal at a special occassion

9. Have a beginners lesson the hour before

10. Have a couple of dance hosts, and make sure at least one is a male to help with the ladies.

[etchuck]

Wow. Sounds like you've been there and done that, etchuck. 8)

Any thoughts on how to raise the price later? Meaning, I understand the penetration pricing approach -- start cheap to get people to attend. But what happens later, if costs rise? Is there a way to raise ticket prices without scaring away your hard-won clientele?

Been there and done that, but whether it was a success or a failure, it was fortunately done without a major financial investment on my part (thank goodness).

Raising the price would be good, especially if you can justify it. At the last dance I collaborated with, we included a 1 L bottle of water and advertised "intermediate-level lessons". That and the price tag controlled the size of our party a lot, and those who did come were a lot happier to have the additional square footage. But we also got the best and friendliest teachers to bring their students and fans too. :)