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The following information is published with ROUNDALAB's permission from the ROUNDALAB Reference Manual compiled by Richard & Jo Ann Lawson, 1987.

Festival or Clinic

Bob and Barbara Wilder

There has been much written and more verbalized during the past few months concerning the dance workshop level at various festivals.

We believe the real problem is one of semantics. Is the event which is advertised as a "festival" really a festival, or should it have been more correctly called a "clinic"?

Our dictionary defines festival and clinic as:

FESTIVAL
  1. a time of celebration
  2. a periodic season or program of cultural events or entertainment
  3. gaiety, conviviality
CLINIC
a group meeting devoted to the analysis and solution of concrete problems or to the acquiring of specific skills or knowledge in a particular field.

When we attend a "festival", we are looking for and expecting what the name implies - entertainment, conviviality, fun, fellowship, etc. During the workshop time, we expect the dances taught to be interesting and more than a "cue through", but not so hard that we're left exhausted to the point we can't enjoy the evening dance. On the contrary, when we register for and attend a "clinic", we expect hard work (that's what we're there for) and are disappointed if we don't sharpen our skills and acquire added knowledge in the dance field.

Don't most dancers view the two in a similar manner?

We would respectfully suggest that festival or clinic planners consider the above when planning and advertising their events.

We have made one observation which we think is significant: an advertised "festival" usually draws a larger crowd than an advertised "clinic". From this, what would you conclude?

If a particular "festival" gains the reputation of really being a "clinic", what can be expected?

Likewise, if the festival gains the reputation of usually having a dance program so esoteric that only a few can dance much of the program, what would be the results?

We must keep ourselves mindful of the fact that round dancing is not a spectator sport. Its popularity is dependent on the active participation of all.

Roundalab Journal, November, 1984