about ydw

history

About three years ago Brian Gallagher was at a dance weekend in Wisconsin. There was a super hot band there and a great caller. The contras were great and the squares were even better. The late night tenting community was awesome. The floor was really good; the hall was neither too cold nor too hot. The stars were beautiful. But alas, at 23 Brian was the youngest dancer there by five years! There were three other dancers there besides Brian who were under 35. One of them, Midwest based caller and then CDSS board member, Carol Ormand, spent a bunch of time with Brian talking.

Together, they came up with the idea of having a dance weekend that was targeted to the under 35 dancer. They discussed many of the factors that younger folks consider when they go dancing. Will there be anyone there I want to dance with? Can I afford the event? How will I get there? Shouldn’t I be doing homework? Is my sweetie going? Hence was born the YDW. Carol quickly passed the torch off to Brian telling him to “run with it.”

In late 2007 Brian assembled a group of oranizers to actually plan a dance weekend that would draw young people. Julia Nickles, Maggie Zander, Sarah Pilzer, Rebecca Lay, and Ethan Hazzard-Watkins worked with Brian to put together the first YDW in September 2008. They received tremendous encouragement and support from the Country Dance and Song Society, as well as many experienced organizers in the community. The 2008 and 2009 weekends were successful, and they decided to do it all again in 2010.

The whole crew from 2008

goals

The major goals of Youth Dance Weekend are:

1. To have a really fun Contra and English dance experience
2. To provide a forum for discussion that can empower younger dancers to become leaders in their local dance communities
3. To create an easily duplicated dance weekend model that other communities can use to have similar discussions surrounding this important issue

The organizers of YDW believe strongly in an intergenerational dance community. We also believe that developing youth participation and leadership is essential to the long-term success of the traditional music and dance scene. YDW is meant to involve people from age groups who are largely under-represented at most dance weekends, as well as being open to people of all ages who are interested to encourage our mission.

faq

Q: Why can't my 17 year old friend come to this event?

A: Insurance & liability. Next year will be better anyhow- bring them then.

Q: I'm significantly over 35, can I come to the dance weekend? I'm very interested in getting youth involved in my local dance scene!

A: Our event targets participants under 35. If you are very interested in being a part of the event and are over 35, there is a pricing option for that. We highly encourage you to bring someone under 35 with you (maybe even pay their way?). We want folks to realize this is an open event, but also need to make sure the event is available to the younger crowd so that they may benefit from what our programming has to offer.

Q: I'm bored with all this bread, butter, toast, and jam. Can't we just dance?

A: We're glad you mentioned it! This year instead of a discussion about youth leadership we're planning a "community master class" - essentially a dance where we all work on specific skills and take time to provide each other with feedback about our dancing. There will also be opportunities for camper callers and musicians to perform and to receive feedback from staff performers. Stay tuned for more details, and be thinking about topics you think should be covered in the session.

Q: What if it rains?

A: It rained all weekend in 2008, and we had a blast. It rained part of the time in 2009 and we still had a blast. What are the chances of rain three years in a row? The dance hall is indoors; we will eat there if need be. Please check the weather before the event and bring appropriate clothes!

Q: Showers? Toliets? You said it’s not the Ritz but….

A: YES there are showers. There are composting toilets. With improved signage and communication everything worked well in 2009. Some people were surprised by a couple of things, so here's a heads up: most of the toilets are open-air outhouses in the woods (i.e. no doors and only partial walls). Most of the showers are located in shared shower rooms. We will have single-gender shower options available again this year. You might not have as much privacy as you're used to, but YDWers are friendly and polite and good at sharing.

Q: I heard it was dusty...

A: That's true. 2008 was killer. 2009 was much, much better. This year we are preparing an even more ambitious anti-dust crusade involving shoe-cleaning, mopping, anti-dust compound, and no rain.

Q: So, Farm & Wilderness is way out in the middle of no-where – why not pick someplace in a city? I could have used public transportation!

A: True, there is no public transportation option for YDW ’08. If you need a ride from an airport or somewhere else, please e-mail the organizers and we’ll do what we can to connect you with someone who can help. We chose F+W because we wanted a camp community feel. When dance weekends are held in cities and people sleep in houses & hotels spread all over the city you lose a lot. We want everyone to be able to hang out, jam, talk, play frisbee, go swimming…etc. We realize that lots of the good communication about how to be an active participant in your local community will happen outside the workshops!

ydw committee

Youth Dance Weekend is organized by a committee. We are (left to right):

• Maggie Zander, Amherst, MA
• Rebecca Lay, Brattleboro, VT
• Brian Gallagher, somewhere in Indiana
• Sarah Pilzer, New York, NY
• Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Brattleboro, VT
• Julia Nickles, Northfield, MA

brainstorming during YDW 08