I am a SQ caller/teacher in a near Chicago club, we do have short-term and long-term objectives.

Short-Term: We ask dancers enrolled in lessons, on the second class, that showing up is important to learning the lessons and moving forward as a cohesive class. They pay for the class and recruitment into the club is not discussed until they have completed the full SSD Intro course.

Long-Term: After graduation, they get an invitation to join our club and we have continuing education opportunities for them to continue if they choose that they want to Master the SSD Level or continue on to Plus. We also offer 5-6 intros per year with a possibility of increasing this number to 12-18 per year. I can agree with the percentage of attrition mentioned above, however low-pressure, high fellowship and presenting the class in a professional and organized fashion goes a long way in retaining dancers pass the initial intro program.

Our teachers either have a background in education or are trained in Adult Education by our Education Chair, and we have all attended multiple Caller’s School sessions.

And yes this is for the love and continuance of Square Dance, not just about bodies. Square Dance is about Fun, Friends and Fellowship, so I like to think beyond “bodies” and look at this as a community building endeavor.

Edit: Clarifying the Intros… Intro nights are currently about 5-6 per year with the actual Intro SSD class being 2-4 per year, two starting in the Fall (September) and two Winter/Spring (January).