Ghiblified for privacy

We invited people ages 9-13: I really wanted to keep the age range narrow so the kids got the feeling of dancing with people their own age. I set up a spot for parents to hang out in another room, or they were welcome to drop off and head out. The lower age limit meant Nora (nearly 5) was watching from the sidelines, and a few other younger siblings stayed home. I did allow two 8yo younger siblings who can hold their own at a regular evening dance.

Overall, I think of this sort of age restriction similarly to advanced contra dances or Galhalla: while I love that we have a default of "everyone welcome", there are also benefits of limited-admission events. I think it's good to have occasional events for a more specific crowd.

With the table turned on its side (first time doing that!) we had a clear area of 7ft x 21ft:

This width would be tight for a contra dance with adults: you normally want a minimum of 8ft per set. For example, the Cambridge Masonic Hall (where BIDA is) is 47ft wide, and is comfortable at five sets (9.4ft/set) and danceable but squishy with six (7.8ft). Luckily, the kids are on average less than 7/8 adult size, so the width was not an issue. The length was just right for the crowd (~20 kids) but a larger group would have needed to take turns.

Andrew called, and while many kids are on the short side it was still helpful to stand on the couch for a better view:

Of the ~20 kids, all but one had contra danced before, and most of them had been many times: children of contra dancers, plus a few friends. You might think we'd have a room of experts who could dance regular evening fare, and they certainly thought so! But actually we had a group who didn't understand quite the extent to which the adults around them had been helping them through dances. This was a very hard crowd to satisfy! They were intense dance snobs ("We want to do real contras!" "This was great, but next time I want harder dances!" "Can we do a dolphin hey?" "Moneymusk!!") but did not reliably remember their roles, or distinguish left and right. Andrew did a really good job picking dances that felt like "real contras" and not "family dances", without pushing the difficulty past what the crowd could handle.

We did a snack break in the middle, which was definitely the right call. Chips, grapes, crackers, someone brought lemonade, and I made eclairs.

I organized an acoustic open band, which grew from two people to five over the afternoon, including two kids. Garth and I have been jamming some lately, and while he's still new to contra it was great to have him on piano. I played fiddle for most of the time (except when Jeremy stopped by for a bit), and while it isn't my strongest instrument it does carry well. I've started wearing an earplug in my left ear when playing fiddle energetically, something I learned from a former boss, and my ear feels way better these days.

We didn't amplify the band, but I did have a mic for the caller. It would probably have been possible to do without this, but not good for Andrew's voice.

Overall, I'm really happy with how this went, and my kids are pushing hard for another one soon. If you're in the Boston area this sounds like it could be a good fit for you or your kids, let me know so I can tell you about future ones?