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Well, summer
has finally arrived in my neck of the woods! Last
week it was fifty degrees, today it is above ninety!
My dad used to say, " It's hotter than a"
...oh wait, I don't think I should finish that statement
in this newsletter!
Last week, I posted a letter from Brian McDonald,
President of the National Dance Council of America
regarding relations between the council, the member
organizations and their members, who are registrants
of the NDCA. Did you get all of that? It's a bit confusing,
so I will once again give a brief explanation of how
this works. We have the National Dance Council of
America, which is the governing body for professionals
in our industry. There are numerous organizations
who are actual members of the NDCA (The PDF, NADTA,
Imperial Society, Terpsicore, Arthur Murray, Fred
Astaire etc....). These organizations represent their
members (the professionals) and vote on new rules
and issues discussed at NDCA meetings. Each organization,
depending upon their status with the council, receives
so many votes. Registrants themselves do not vote.
It is the job of the member organizations to inform
and update their members as to what is going to be
voted on and to inform it's members of what new rules
and changes have been made to the NDCA rules and regulations.
Mr. McDonald has two suggestions for helping to improve
relations between the council and it's registrants,
who feel they do not have a voice and are being left
out of decisions made by the council and the member
organizations. These were his two suggestions:
1.) Mr. McDonald states in his letter
that he has agreed with the president of USABDA to
run a joint congress on an annual basis for all NDCA
and USABDA members. It is his hope that this type
of annual project will provide an avenue for all NDCA
members to meet with officers and delegates of the
NDCA and air their views on dance and dance related
problems in America. The basis of the congress is
to provide lectures and squad training (what is squad
training?) for both amateurs and professionals.
2.) Mr. McDonald's second idea that
he would like to implement is to hold a series of
open forum discussions for pro/amateur teachers and
organizers throughout the country.
Two good ideas! Nothing wrong with
that. But.......what does the first idea have to do
with improving relations between the NDCA and it's
registrants? It sounds like a great way to improve
relations between the NDCA and USABDA and I think
improving any relationship is usually a good thing.
Having a congress for dancers to attend would be a
nice event to offer, but is it really the best venue
to discuss issues regarding the professionals and
the NDCA? Let's face it. There is no way in you-know-where
that the NDCA is going to please everyone, but I think
there are several ways that the council could show
that they are more in touch with the majority of their
registrants. My opinions are based on my own personal
observations and are strictly mine and I give them
with the utmost respect to the people like Mr. McDonald
who have given of their time to run the council.
1). Get rid of the middle man. That's
right, the middle guy, the member organization. At
one time, maybe, this was a good way to approach the
dance business in America, but not today. Our roster
has grown over the years and communication is easier
and quicker than ever with the introduction of fax
machines, e-mail, cell phones etc...
Does this mean that member organizations
would no longer exist? Of course not. They can still
offer many good things to the dance professionals.
They could provide training, certifications and testing
and other things that could be accomplished on a smaller
scale, rather than at a national level.
2). Quit wondering why people aren't
coming to you and start going to them. Why not offer
a free one hour seminar (held by a coach appointed
by the NDCA) at all recognized NDCA events? For the
cost of one hour of a coach's time, the NDCA would
be A.) Showing support of the organizer. B). Showing
support of all the dancers who attend the event. C).
Getting connected with dancers from all around the
country, instead of just those who are able to attend
a congress.
3). Place an announcement in competition
programs. An example:
THE NATIONAL DANCE COUNCIL OF AMERICA
WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS
EVENT AND WISH EVERYONE ATTENDING THE VERY BEST. THE
OFFICIAL NDCA OBSERVER AT THIS COMPETITION IS_______________________________.
SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS EVENT
OR ANY OTHER ISSUES, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE
OBSERVER..... You get the idea.
4.) Be visible as an official of
the NDCA. If you want to be approachable, you may
have to start by doing the approaching. Has an NDCA
official ever come up to you and introduced themselves,
maybe to thank you for attending an NDCA event or
just to tell you how much they appreciated your dancing?
I think they need to let you know who they are. Then,
if a problem arises, they feel they do have someone
to go to, someone who is approachable.
A while back, I was asked by a fellow
judge, (someone who I have a lot of respect for),
"Why do you hate the NDCA?" Just because
I have an opinion and I am willing to share that with
others means I must hate someone or something? They
expressed to me that I didn't have all the facts.
You know what? They were right. But who does? Someone
lucky enough to be with an organization that is organized?
Someone who was able to attend the NDCA meeting? Someone
who can afford to take the time and spend the money
to attend a congress? The NDCA depends on the middle
man to get the information to it's members and the
members depend on the organization to get the information
about the NDCA. Does this make any sense to anyone?
I do think the NDCA is headed in
the right direction. Will it include the registrants
having more of a say in how our national organization
is governed? We will see.
Dan
Messenger
06-14-2001
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