Here’s a list of things you can do to foster a dance community. It was written from a contra point of view, in Contra Dance and Community, but most of the points work for modern western square dances also.

• Volunteer to help clean up at the end of a night of dancing
• Have a dance party at your house once a year
• Ask a new person to dance, or show a new dancer a basic step
• Volunteer a service (running off flyers, researching sound equipment, carrying equipment, storing equipment, offering rides to and from the dance, etc.)
• Learn how the sound system works at your dance and volunteer to help run it for an evening
• Take money at the door
• Musicans: ask dancers for input on: tempo, phrasing, etc.
• Callers: ask dancers for input on teaching techniques, approach, etc.
• Dancers: Listen to the music, the caller, the teacher
• Organize a potluck dinner before a dance
• When things go wrong, and the evening is not perfect, smile
• When things go right, and the evening IS perfect, smile
• Feel joyous and pass that on to the next person you dance with