Greetings friends and fellow dancers.

It’s with mixed emotions that I write my last President’s message. Most of all, I want to thank all those who have supported me during my five years on the board, and helped me to keep the Federation and Rochester Square Dancing working as well as possible.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves in very unusual times. 9/11 and subsequent events gave us a new normal. Air travel changed. There’s now additional security and limits in place at large, or public venues.

Covid-19 will give us another new normal. None of us know exactly what it will be, but life will never go back to what it was. On-line learning was growing at the collegiate level. I suspect it will take off now, and make its way into secondary education. GrubHub and DoorDash were changing dining and other experiences, and I suspect this will even accelerate into the future. Sports stadiums were already getting to where only large metropolitan areas could afford them. Now I suspect pay-per-view will start to be more of a norm for sporting events.

Social distancing will stay with us in some form for a while. As a social activity, this could have a negative impact on square dancing. However, I think it could be something that moves us forward. Human beings are social animals. We need close contact with others. Square dancing is still an activity for the whole family, that works even in small group sessions. This puts us in a select group of activities that can fill those needs going forward.

There are three general impediments to growth in square dancing. The first has been getting the word out about dancing, and getting people to try it. Our promotions committee will continue to tackle this. The second impediment has been the learning barrier to entry. Now, with two mainstream clubs in the Federation and several experiments with the new sustainable square dance program going, we are trying to address this. The last major barrier to address is club finances. With room rental and caller expenses, a traditional club needs 3–4 squares on the floor to survive. Yet we have C1 and C2 “clubs” that are surviving with 1 square. They are doing it with different economics. There are (at least up till the current economic situation) rooms that you can get for free—finished basements or hardwood living spaces in dancer’s homes, senior center community rooms, library study rooms, and free rental space available to residents of some towns or school districts.

From a caller’s business point of view, the biggest expense is travel. We’ve had fun with dances in the past where callers were “put in the closet” or “coffin” and called with their “backs” to the dancers. Now some are calling over the internet, for dancers who had never heard of Zoom before the last couple of months, opening up new possibilities.

Putting all of these aspects together, perhaps we will see groups as small as one square, dancing in a free room, using a caller who is at home on Skype or Zoom. This would allow us to preserve the social experience of dancing in a square, keeping it a fun activity for families and small groups, and getting the economics in line to have MORE (albeit smaller) clubs throughout the Rochester area.

It’s food for thought and maybe a bridge to the future, until I can see you out on the dance floor again.

Jim Gotta

5/17/2020