{"items": [{"author": "Perry", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432", "anchor": "fb-906367854432", "service": "fb", "text": "I think that ContraCopia has been going on a bit longer than since 2015. And it basically replaced the ButterBall that had been going on long before then.", "timestamp": "1508509904"}, {"author": "Angela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906369645842", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906369645842", "service": "fb", "text": "→ EDIT: this is not what happened; see Donna's comment below.
Yes: the woman who ran the ButterBall passed away, and in her will left a specific note that she wanted the dance to continue, but for the name to change. Thus, it is now called ContraCopia
It's also worth noting that ContraCopia isn't a full dance weekend; is more of a special all-day dance event, but still big enough that they hire multiple bands.", "timestamp": "1508510871"}, {"author": "Angela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906369815502", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906369815502", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Also, I think that the dance has had the new name for longer than 2 years, because it was ContraCopia when I was dancing in Philly in 2012.", "timestamp": "1508510941"}, {"author": "Perry", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906370564002", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906370564002", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Yes I remember all of that. Though nowadays ContraCopia seems to be paired with ValleyCopia, which is a special dance on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and there is a special rate for both dances I believe. Perhaps this pairing of the events is what began in 2015? I seem to remember Bethlehem having Thanksgiving Friday events long before then as well, but I don't remember if they were paired together.
To your other point about all-day and special events, I am also curious if Contrastock (a one-day event but often paired with NYC's Contrashock, both with the same bands and callers), and balls like our Mid Winter Ball are on the list of what Jeff calls a \"weekend\". If ContraCopia is on the list.", "timestamp": "1508511160"}, {"author": "Angela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906371018092", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906371018092", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Ah, all good points. I bet someone like Donna could tell us more.
I think my first ContraCopia was in 2011, upon further reflection.", "timestamp": "1508511302"}, {"author": "Perry", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906371302522", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906371302522", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I'm pretty sure I was there too - I guess we did not know each other yet!", "timestamp": "1508511394"}, {"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906391696652", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906391696652", "service": "fb", "text": "→ The first Contracopia was 2011. We offer combined tickets with Valleycopia for people who want to dance Friday and Saturday. Mostly Waltz on Sunday completes the weekend.", "timestamp": "1508518782"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906397989042", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906397989042", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Removed ContraCopia from the list; thanks for the correction!", "timestamp": "1508520686"}, {"author": "Donna", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906556750882", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906556750882", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Angela Your recollection of the Butterball>ContraCopia is quite wrong. I spoke with Tori Barone while planning the first CC. She did NOT want the Butterball dance to continue and only acquiesced when I assured her we wouldn't use the name or the 12 hr format. I know of nothing about her will.", "timestamp": "1508602792"}, {"author": "Angela", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906367854432&reply_comment_id=906628836422", "anchor": "fb-906367854432_906628836422", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Ah! Thank you so much for correcting me, Donna. I'm sure the version I knew was a third-hand paraphrased version of what happened. I knew you would know what *actually* happened!", "timestamp": "1508635048"}, {"author": "Dave", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906374236642", "anchor": "fb-906374236642", "service": "fb", "text": "It's quite possible that only the pace of growth has changed. Those 135 dance weekends mostly started in the past 20 years. If we've gone from netting six new weekends per year to netting zero, that seems like a significant, noticeable change.", "timestamp": "1508513035"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906374236642&reply_comment_id=906414890172", "anchor": "fb-906374236642_906414890172", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I have the impression that the growth stopped ~5-10 years ago?", "timestamp": "1508527047"}, {"author": "Dave", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906374236642&reply_comment_id=906422405112", "anchor": "fb-906374236642_906422405112", "service": "fb", "text": "→ That's my impression, too. So it might be an even shorter period of rapid expansion than 20 years. I wouldn't be surprised if half of all dance weekends started between 1995 and 2010. Makes the slight decline now even more jarring.", "timestamp": "1508528979"}, {"author": "Janet", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906375529052", "anchor": "fb-906375529052", "service": "fb", "text": "I suspect that the feeling of events ending is dependent on your location. And form the ocean is \"women only\", so I'm not sure you can really count that if all members of the community are not welcome.", "timestamp": "1508513508"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906375529052&reply_comment_id=906398338342", "anchor": "fb-906375529052_906398338342", "service": "fb", "text": "→ If I excluded Form the Ocean for that reason I think I would also need to exclude the gender balanced events that end up turning away a lot of women in order to get enough men.
My goal with this list is to include everything.", "timestamp": "1508520883"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906375529052&reply_comment_id=906398378262", "anchor": "fb-906375529052_906398378262", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Similarly, if there were an \"experienced dancers only\" or \"beginning dancers only\" weekend I'd also include it.", "timestamp": "1508520900"}, {"author": "Janet", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906375529052&reply_comment_id=906466367012", "anchor": "fb-906375529052_906466367012", "service": "fb", "text": "→ This makes sense. And seems to suggest there are multiple factors contributing to one's view that there are less dance events. I don't see this. When I see a new one advertised, my immediate thought is \"another one?\"", "timestamp": "1508545388"}, {"author": "Michael", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906375539032", "anchor": "fb-906375539032", "service": "fb", "text": "It might be interesting to group them by region, to see if there's sufficient attrition in (a) particular region(s) and/or growth in (an)other region(s) to be causing people who see a loss in their area to complain while people who are seeing growth don't speak up.
If you were to take that additional step, defining overlapping regions might be a way to get a more accurate approximation of that picture, rather than trying to figure out transportation boundaries, which can be weird (for example, the Manhattan dances are in easy reach of NJ dancers, but the reverse is not true, since most New Jerseyites have cars and most Manhattanites do not).
Perhaps a better example would be that medium sized Greenfield dances draw from both Boston and Albany, but neither Albany nor Boston draws from the other except for very large events (i.e. NEFFA and FLURRY).", "timestamp": "1508513519"}, {"author": "opted out", "source_link": "#", "anchor": "unknown", "service": "unknown", "text": "→ this user has requested that their comments not be shown here", "timestamp": "1508606173"}, {"author": "Les", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906466272202", "anchor": "fb-906466272202", "service": "fb", "text": "The last Dancing Fool will be next weekend (I know people have talked about carrying on, but AFAIK, no one will be).", "timestamp": "1508545313"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906466272202&reply_comment_id=906468348042", "anchor": "fb-906466272202_906468348042", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I wasn't sure whether to include Fool. There have been dance weekends in the past where I was told \"this year is the last one\" and then it wasn't.", "timestamp": "1508546830"}, {"author": "Les", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906466272202&reply_comment_id=906471117492", "anchor": "fb-906466272202_906471117492", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Jeff Kaufman Meghaa left Seattle and could confirm or deny.", "timestamp": "1508547640"}, {"author": "Meg", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906466272202&reply_comment_id=906491940762", "anchor": "fb-906466272202_906491940762", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Jeff Kaufman I'm the organizer of the Dancing Fool events (Feb and Oct). The last of each are in 2017. It isn't failing, but I've left Seattle and after 21 events, I'm burned out. I tried to pass it on, but I don't think anything is happening.", "timestamp": "1508560014"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906516775992", "anchor": "fb-906516775992", "service": "fb", "text": "I do think we're going to see a contraction, I just don't think we're seeing much of one yet.
Specifically, a large portion of dance weekends / series are run and attended almost entirely by baby boomers, and as they get older fewer baby boomers will still be up for dancing. Baby boomers are currently 53-71, so I think this is mostly not happening yet, but will be a big change.", "timestamp": "1508587585"}, {"author": "Chris", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906516775992&reply_comment_id=906616660822", "anchor": "fb-906516775992_906616660822", "service": "fb", "text": "→ I agree. Some Philly dancers in this age group spend more time English or Zydeco dancing. The number of millennial dancers ebbs and flows month to month", "timestamp": "1508628798"}, {"author": "Jacqui", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/906362594972?comment_id=906634624822", "anchor": "fb-906634624822", "service": "fb", "text": "Desert Spring is a new one starting in 2018 in AZ. They are calling it a \"re-vamp\" of May Madness. They are run by the same organization but at a new venue two hours away. To me, that's one dance weekend ending and a new one starting. YMMV. http://www.danceinaz.org/", "timestamp": "1508638508"}, {"author": "Luke", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/104785381669836716439", "anchor": "gp-1510346476743", "service": "gp", "text": "It doesn't seem to be on their website yet, but the e-mail I got encouraging folks to sign up for Stellar Days & Nights in CO says 2018 will be the final year.", "timestamp": 1510346476}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1510347502012", "service": "gp", "text": "Another point is that \nhttp://www.oldtonemusicfestival.com\n started in 2015, and this year had two contra callers and two contra bands. (Thanks Luke).", "timestamp": 1510347502}]}