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July 2007 Blog
Rick Hampton Square Dance Caller

July 4th
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Hampton clan is all back from travels, A great national, Mrs. Rick and Kid # 2 had a "once in a lifetime" tour of Italy, Austria and a drive across London.  The Dress code is once again in the news, due to an incident in Charlotte-Maybe we should NOT throw out dancers (from overseas) at an event- Sheeezz What's wrong with a woman wearing slacks anyway??????.  I had no voice Monday so Thanks Rob!!!! for a last minute fill in.  Thursday it's the Mountain, Saturday the coast and off and running again next week. 

Rick

July 5th
I'm dog sitting (2 Pit mix puppies) for Kid #1 ,My cats/dog are NOT happy and I'm not sure who wore who out -They're laying down and I'm blogging-I guess I won........ A fun but small nite on the hill- I hope that this group can survive (Thursdays) but I wonder?? I refuse to bankrupt a club!!! I may have Thursdays off soon.- Saturday it's a trip to the Central Coast (California) and a visit with Lynn's Dad

Rick

July 13th
Did I mention that a great way to get your truck washed is to leave it with a Prez.......hehehe.  A fun trip to the coast, a new format for Mondays (small crowd-I hope a fluke)  Tuesdays class is doing GREAT.  I enjoyed Wed in Oakhurst and Thursday was small-still.  Tonight it's a SquareDanceParty in the Mountains and then 2 days of Yard work. Next week is normal and busy..........  The dress issue from nationals has created the biggest "buzz" I've seen , let's hope it changes attitudes and if a green coat gets lost Oh well.

Rick.
 

July 13 Cont.
What A Fun Party- 70+ People enjoying a no Hay Bale Dance- A wedding pre-party- average age 25
Makes me wonder why MWSD with the old, tired, stereotypes (i.e the dress BS) doesn't want these folks- Heck they gave up on the Hay Bales, how about MWSD give up the dress code (Everybody at this party would've been thrown out of nationals-My Gosh they were wearing nice slacks, short sleeved shirts, Girls had Jeans on- all would have been seated in most 4 star restaurants- Just not allowed at a MWSD)  

Rick

July 17th
Well another lite crowd Monday, Perhaps the club's decision to move to "Full Plus DBD" instead of my recommendation to a Plus Class was not the best idea- Fun stuff but a notably smaller group.  Tonight was unusually lite- Lotsa Vacations among the Club- the class was 95% in attendance.  I'll be at Oakhurst Wed. and must ask why a flyer with my name on it is out- I have not agreed to do this date-It's probably the result of a date I previously did for them- That flyer also had the wrong caller- sheeeezzz publicity people talk to your caller bookers. I'm still "dog-sitting" for kid # 1 as she tries to find another place, My cats and "dog" who might as well be a cat-are not happy.

Rick

July 29th
It's been a busy month, I've been playing catch up after the summer travels, I'm once again the gardener and I have the allergies to prove it- The Monday Full Plus DBD is 1) fun and 2) not well attended- I hope the gang realizes the marketing whoops here- Tuesdays remain great for class, lite for club.  Kid # 2 got baptized in the Pacific Ocean
on Friday-Church Beach Camp-Lynn and I were there!!! YAY, A fabulous recording session Sat.......... I'm starting off the season with a fairly full August, Then a no days off Sept thru Oct.

Rick

July 30th
One of the biggest reasons I blog, is to start communication.  This was solidified tonight when 2 groups of folks came back together and we had a great workshop- 1 group wanted more and the other thought they weren't wanted. Thanks to this communication forum all's well- Sometimes an open discourse, filtered thru (in this case me) can achieve the results ALL want.................So here's another discourse- This happened in a conversation tonight with a Southern California club-who averages 5-6 squares and has 6 couples for pre-rounds-Why are clubs letting R/Dancing get such a major drain on the finances and attendance?- For Example a cuer may ask for (and receive) nearly 50% of a clubs budget on a given dance- And with an hour of pre-rounds insure a early departure of those dancers. This to cue for perhaps 15-20% of the dancers???????????? Why is that?? I don't mind a few pre-rounds, and quickly done double rounds but when the R/D gang feels "it's all about us" at a square dance- It feels upside down. Hmmm save 50% of the budget at a possible 15-20% loss of attendance (I doubt it) It makes NO sense to do this- This is one of the main reasons that European Style No Rounds dances are prospering-  I don't want to see r/d go away from s/d but cuers- Get a grip, or rent a hall for r/d parties- We must stop the drain on existing s/d dancers, r/d actually sells better to non dancers-Get em in. PS to soCal Clubs -Charge more at the door-the 3 or 4 bucks a person days are over, The s/d part brings in the majority of your attendance and to insure your club's health-ADJUST!!!

Rick