View Poll Results: What is happening to numbers of MJ dancers attending events in your area?

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  • Numbers attending classes have gone down

    3 23.08%
  • Numbers attending classes are about the same

    2 15.38%
  • Numbers attending classes are going up

    5 38.46%
  • Numbers attending parties/dances have gone down

    3 23.08%
  • Numbers attending parties/dances are about the same

    6 46.15%
  • Numbers attending parties/dances are going up

    2 15.38%
  • I don't have time to go to classes/dances/parties as I'm too busy on the forum!

    1 7.69%
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Thread: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

  1. #1
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    Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by emeraldaisle View Post
    I just came back to Scotland after being ' down souf' for a year...and was shocked to find how much the Ceroc scene in Scotland has gone down the pan - eg. Party in Edin 2 years ago : standing room only. Party in Edin now: lucky if 30 people there at end of evening. Glasgow even worse - went there two months ago and at one point counted 10 (yes TEN!) people in the hall . Its a crying shame - I've been an 'addict' since '99 - but at this rate not for much longer. I was at a house party with several kindred Cerocers a few weeks ago and everybody seemed to be of the same opinion - Ceroc party nights are dying. But nobody knows why - music and venues themselves haven't changed - as far as one can asertain..bit of a mystery to us punters!- maybe its the economy on a downturn??:-)
    Anyone got any ideas on reasons for poor attendance?
    Quote Originally Posted by Groovechic View Post
    Aye Hi there emeraldaisle.
    Totally agree with you especially Edinburgh party nights AND I think it is the MUSIC that Scott plays - he could be more adventurous. Is he on automatic pilot DJ ing! A smile now and again wouldn't go amiss. However, Glasgow party nights not much better but music okay. Who really knows why the party nights are so dead... Do they advertise enough? Is there any new blood? Does Ceroc appeal to younger people? If not, why not? Anyone got some suggestions, ideas, anything on how we can turn this lack of numbers around.
    The above exchange seems to have passed with little comment. As an organiser myself it sent shivers down my spine! Is this the start of a trend? Are other venues suffering from the same problems? If they are, what do you think is the cause?

  2. #2
    Registered User martingold's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    All i know for definite is that the class and party numbers at chelmsford are going up we have between 100 and 150 people at a class now and the same if not more at a party
    Having read several threads on here i feel its the same all over the south mainly due to the dancing on the tv and possibly the friendliness of the venue staff

  3. #3
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Only Ceroc HQ would be able to know even roughly what the general trends across the UK were - but it's an interesting question.

    If numbers were going down, then there could be any number of possible explanations. One that springs to mind is brand staleness.

    MJ has been taught in the same way for pretty much the past 20 years. Eventually, the underlying cultural conditions (basically, a massive vacancy in the national UK awareness of partner dancing) allowing this method to flourish will change, such that MJ as-is will be less and less popular. People will want more - their tastes and requirements will be more sophisticated.

    That's already happening of course - but it could be accelerated by resurgent popularity of other dance forms. One might call this the "Once you've gone Tango, you never go back" school of thought

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    Registered User Twirly's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Shame you can't compare this poll, somehow, with the one saying where people dance to get a geographic perspective.

  5. #5
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Our Party Nights are well attended over 250, New Year Night has only a few places to go, just under the 300 mark.

  6. #6
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Cullen View Post
    Our Party Nights are well attended over 250, New Year Night has only a few places to go, just under the 300 mark.
    Problem is, this sort of isolated information is almost irrelevant.

    We know some nights are successful. We know some nights are (so far) less so. What we don't know is, whether there's any trend. And of course I doubt we'll ever know it.

    At the moment, the closest I have to regular venues are Ashtons and Berko.

    Ashtons numbers have fluctuated, I'd say - party nights are well-attended, but I get the impression the regular Wednesdays are less-so now than (say) a few years ago.

    Berko numbers - mmm, dunno really, but the numbers in the Blues Room are definitely up on a couple of years ago, when Marc sometimes played to a near-empty room, so I'd say it's doing well.

    Does anybody else have evidence of any trends - not "We've got loads now", but "There seem to be more / less people at venue XYZ" type information?

  7. #7
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Problem is, this sort of isolated information is almost irrelevant.

    How can a referance to Glasgow nights be isolated, and irrelevent.

    "I just came back to Scotland after being ' down souf' for a year...and was shocked to find how much the Ceroc scene in Scotland has gone down the pan - eg. Party in Edin 2 years ago : standing room only. Party in Edin now: lucky if 30 people there at end of evening. Glasgow even worse - went there two months ago and at one point counted 10 (yes TEN!) people in the hall . Its a crying shame.

    I get what you want in the form of a Trend.

    the venue XYZ just before christmas was a bit low. ZYX the numbers went up, and ABC was very busy.
    you said "We've got loads now" not me.
    Last edited by Billy Cullen; 27th-December-2007 at 06:47 PM.

  8. #8
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirly View Post
    Shame you can't compare this poll, somehow, with the one saying where people dance to get a geographic perspective.
    I did consider this when setting up the poll. The nearest I could get was to make it an open poll so we could see who was saying what and then look to see where they're from.

  9. #9
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    There's probably a seasonal effect to consider too.

    I bet many classes will see increased numbers in the next few weeks as New Year's Resolutions kick in...
    Love dance, will travel

  10. #10
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Cullen View Post
    How can a referance to Glasgow nights be isolated, and irrelevent.
    Because that's just one figure, one out of - what, 700-odd venues in the UK, something like that anyway.

    And even then it has no context - is that more than last year? More than 4 years ago? What are other venues in the area like? Are they all doing well, all doing badly, are they having mixed fortunes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Cullen View Post
    I get what you want in the form of a Trend.

    the venue XYZ just before christmas was a bit low. ZYX the numbers went up, and ABC was very busy.
    Yep, that's pretty much it.

    I'd like to hear from organisers, if they've noticed any general trends, compared to - say - 2-3 years ago. It'd still be purely hearsay anecdotal evidence, of course, but it's better than nothing.

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Cullen View Post
    you said "We've got loads now" not me.
    I exaggerate for dramatic effect

  11. #11
    Commercial Operator Gus's Avatar
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidY View Post
    There's probably a seasonal effect to consider too.

    I bet many classes will see increased numbers in the next few weeks as New Year's Resolutions kick in...
    Dancing tends to pick up for the first quarter, die off over the summer, and come back strongly, a least for freestyles, in December. As usual, all clubs seems to have done really well for Xmas freestyles, but my (limited) observation of clubs in the N West is that Q3 was a noticeably quieter year on year. It seems that the expected bonanza from SCD has not materialised and the number of newer clubs opening up have diluted the number of existing dancers rather than added to it (with some exceptions). Spoken to couple of franchisees outside London and some have had similar experiences.

  12. #12
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    Are other venues suffering from the same problems? If they are, what do you think is the cause?
    As DavidJames said, it's impossible to draw trends from isolated examples. Some of the nights are going up, and others are going down. In December, we sold out the Stirling Christmas Party, The Edinburgh Xmas Part and the Hogmanay party in Perth.
    The Glasgow Party was quieter, but that is due to venue problems, so I would say on the whole, numbers are going up, especially if you factor in all the special events like the Aberdeen Beach Ballroom which sold out again in November, the BLAZE week-enders which attract hundreds of dancers.
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

  13. #13
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    "is that more than last year? More than 4 years ago? What are other venues in the area like? Are they all doing well, all doing badly, are they having mixed fortunes"

    Venue XYZ has gone down from last year, but 4 years ago the venue ABC was by far the best, as for the other venues in the area, what area! I don't have that amount of information to hand.

    005 classes in XYZ area are great, and seem to be on the up in comparison from last year, and up again on the last 4 years. showing a 15% trend.

    006 class in ZXY are all having a mixed fortune. That's a fortune with a bit of a mix to it, 15% up then 20% down.

    Yep, that's pretty much it.

  14. #14
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Andy said "went there two months ago and at one point counted 10 (yes TEN!) people in the hall".

    have numbers gone up?

  15. #15
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Interesting thread, lots of reasons for possible decline in class/party attendance from a punters point of veiw.

    Teachers coming to "work" do there bit and go.
    The same teachers/DJs in autopilot doing the same set ...havent heard much in the way of creating an atmosphere at classes or parties.

    By the way this is not a blanket slate at everyone it is more of a "what i have experienced"

    Some DJs teachers are very good at the above others are totally ruining a good night.

    Expense ?? classes run very expensive at £7-8 per night and parties @ £10-£20 well it doesnt look good value for money..

    Then there is the competition ...new classes different styles....much more personalised and better customer service/care and to some degree an actual interest in their clients.

    Hope this is some help.....

  16. #16
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Cullen View Post
    Andy said
    Ah. This is about "Emeraldaisle" (I don't recall seeing his name on the original post!), who joined the forum on the 21st Dec, made one post, saying about the low numbers of dancers at some Ceroc venues in Scotland, and hasn't logged on since....

    You know Andy well then Billy?

  17. #17
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    Do you think he or she is another plant, another spy, should you call Taggart or Columbo, let’s look at the evidence,

    1post!!!, 21st Dec!!!, not logged on since!!!, very very suspicious, something dodgy is going on. I think it’s a job for MI5.

    As far as Andy and myself are concerned, we met up for Christmas dinner he met the family had a few drinks, watched a few dance video's nothing unusual in that.

    Over.

  18. #18
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    I can not substantiate it but it appears there is just so much choice of dancing now in terms of freestyle nights and class nights/weekenders and organisations so the result of this is bound to be dilution of the numbers and quality of dancers coming through the doors. Also the pricing may put some people off. Not much point paying extra for free drink etc as most dancers don't drink anyway on nights out.

    (Hammersmith Xmas freestyle party appeared to be relatively quiet compared to previous ones).

  19. #19
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    The last two dances that I went to at Hipsters, Halloween and the first Friday in December, I was shocked at the turn out. The last time I was there it was packed which was over a year ago, this time I reckon there could only have been 100 dancers max.
    Its a real pity as this used to be a cracking nite

  20. #20
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    Re: Are Class & Party/Dance Night Numbers Going Down?

    I can't comment on Edinburgh – I am rarely over there – but I can say a few words about Glasgow.

    Comparing recent attendance at Glasgow Ceroc parties in Glasgow with a couple of years ago – numbers are definitely down. The Henry Wood Hall (HWH) used to be rather busy. Now in the Glasgow University Union (GUU), the event doesn't seem to attract as many people – especially from Edinburgh and further afield.

    Part of this could be to do with the venue – the GUU just doesn't seem as popular with dancers as the HWH was. I have mixed feelings about the place myself.

    Another aspect is that there is now a wider choice of events each month in other cities, meaning that folks are less likely to travel for a party. There's now 2 parties a month (one Ceroc, one independent) in Dundee when before there were none. Edinburgh has also gained Red Hot & Blue, which attracts the keen sort of dancer who used to travel over to Glasgow previously.

    The quote "went there two months ago and at one point counted 10 (yes TEN!) people in the hall" means nothing – what time was this? The parties don't really get going until after the class, and numbers also drop towards the end of the night. (Same with the comment about the Edinburgh party – how many people do you expect to be there at the end of the night?)

    What is interesting is that while the attendance at monthly Glasgow parties has fallen, the attendance at the weekly classes in Jumpin' Jak's (at least on a Tuesday) is higher than ever. Don't know the official numbers, but I'd guess it's regularly around the 200 mark.

    Maybe people are getting enough quality dancing each week at the classes and don't feel the need to go to a monthly party as much? That's pretty much how I feel.

    I'd like to try out Billy's Leroc party in Glasgow again soon. I never seem to be free the weekends they are on at the moment (I think they usually clash with the Ceroc parties in Dundee which I normally attend). Last time I was there, which admittedly was a while ago, the music wasn't really to my taste, and the place was too busy to dance comfortably. If the typical attendance is 250, it sounds like it'll still be too busy for me.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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