meetings | barefoot-dance

Notes of meeting 9th July 2024 at Exeter Community Centre,

The Magdalen Room, 7pm start

Welcome and Introductions

Stephen welcomed everyone

2. Present:

Stephen and Dora (co-facilitators), Dana, Gill (Zoom), Sue-Claire, Richard, Phil, Karen, Penny, Katie, Agnes, Louise L. Laurence (notetaker), (Audaye arrived, stayed briefly and took a few photos and then left)

3. Karen led a short arrival embodied meditation.

4. We had a check in … a couple of words from everyone

5. Apologies

Sandhya, Helen, Sandra Nirvana, Roo, Sharon M, Sharon F, Varuni (Roo), Clare, Gill (Exeter), Cathy, Devora, Andrew B, Kay Chambers, anyone I’ve missed!

8. Our support fund

Every financial year we allocate £500 to support community members who want some financial support with some dance and/or movement related activity. After our last Community meeting, Stephen and Sandhya came up with some criteria so that people would know what they might get a grant for. So far £300 has been paid out this year.

Proposal to keep the support fund as it is for now. Details of the support fund and how to apply are attached at the end of these meeting notes.

A benefit which has already arisen from the process is the offer of live mixing skill sharing.

10. How can we promote the Barefoot Dance and increase the number of participants? (AB)

This agenda item was put on by someone who was unable to attend the meeting. It prompted a lot of discussion.

Firstly, did we want to increase the number of participants? There was a strong feeling that we didn’t. There’s already so much to hold with the current size of the group. Was the size of the hall the limiting factor – it could expand if we had more space.

Then the question what is the Barefoot Dance group anyway? It’s different from going to a big dance or a rave. When the group is smaller it is more intimate. One person said there were already too many people for them.

The group is definitely meeting a need – do we ever need to think of limiting the number of people in attendance. It was thought that we couldn’t do that and anyway there was a sense it was self regulating to some extent. The numbers go up and down. Have the numbers actually increased over time? We don’t count heads but we do know how much money is taken at each session so it would be possible to spot trends from that...

Gill mentioned the newly formed Conscious ecstatic dance group in Plymouth where numbers are limited to 18 - people have to book in advance – they are planning other sessions and other events but finding space in town centres is difficult.

We thought we were lucky to have a hall with a cupboard, so we didn’t have to transport equipment from place to place.

Agreed: any developments to be considered in the future when we were clearer what was happening next.

6. Anything to report since our last meeting

Nothing that wasn’t elsewhere on the agenda

7. Current financial position

Finances were healthy with the current balance around £3,500. It was anticipated that at the end of the financial year (31 Jan 2025) a sum of £2.5K to £3K would be handed over to whoever was responsible for the bank account going forward.

It had been agreed at a previous meeting that we would donate any surplus over £2.5K to a charity of the group’s choice after the end of each financial year.

The accounts are not audited but every single transaction is recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. Everyone is able to ask to view this.

Apart from Gidleigh the main expenses were payments to teachers and the hire of the hall. We also had other expenses such as to pay for Zoom (£15.59 a month) and to keep our website hosted (just going up to £400 for two years). Teachers are paid a minimum of £140 to run a session for us. This can increase, up to £250 if there is very good attendance during that evening. There is a formula to calculate the payment. We have now set a ‘cap’ at £250. We think our payments to teachers are more generous than they get elsewhere.

At our last Community meeting we agreed to pay peers who did a live mix on a Wednesday evening a sum of £60. This is after they have done 3 successful live mixes for free.

9. Equipment for group members use

Here's a list of what we have available free for group members to use:

A portable sound system like the one seen at the hall every week - Lucas Nano 605FX – contact Laurence if you want to borrow; lauriejayok@yahoo.co.uk; ring, text or WhatsApp: 0771 363 7294
A high quality radio microphone *
Various lights suitable for creating an atmosphere*
Anything else we have in the hall cupboard (maybe not including the altar box - negotiate with Angela on this one)*

*These are all items kept in the hall cupboard and may be taken on a Wednesday after dance as long as they are returned the following Wednesday before dance. If you want to book stuff in advance talk to Karen or Laurence.

We also discussed our original sound system 2 x LD active speakers and Z6 mixer. This was now a bit faulty and unreliable It may be fixable but maybe not worth the time/effort. Louise said that last time she used it it buzzed a lot. Maybe okay for playing loud party music? At your own risk! – contact Stephen if you want to borrow: stephentame@gmail.com or ring, text or Signal message: 07742 696345.

11. How's it all going?

Overall people thought that Barefoot was going great! There was a good balance of teachers and peer led sessions.

12. Barefoot Zoom sessions (GW)

(Our small Barefoot Zoom community loves being part of the larger Barefoot Community, and we would welcome being included in the discussion about the flow of Barefoot into the future.)

Gill (all the way from Tavistock) reported that the Zoom group love being part of the larger group and feeling connected. It is a small community usually 4-6 people attending. The Zoom group hope the sessions will continue but maybe just monthly going forward?

Someone not at the meeting had written in and wondered why we are still doing Zoom? They were invited to join in with the Zoomers. Maybe someone in the Zoom group could write something for the community?

There was an example of someone who was initially too scared to come to the hall so joined on Zoom first. When they saw what it was about they then came to the hall.

Stephen suggested he could offer the use of his condensing microphone so we could include Zoom at the end of an evening in the closing circle - it was also suggested that zoom participants may want to hear the opening circle

No decision on this, though Stephen is hoping that zoom participants will talk about it (see below) and get back to the wider community.

We will continue to mention Zoom to the hall group in the opening circle.

Stephen expressed an experience of really valuing zoom participants as an important part of the Barefoot Dance community. How can we integrate and offer a better service to Zoom people? They will discuss and come back to Karen/Laurence

15 Other matters

Gill expressed an upwelling of grief at the anticipation of things changing and an appreciation of what had been. Sue-Claire suggested the transition should be marked with some kind of event/ritual/celebration.

Deep appreciation was widely expressed for the holding and work that Karen and Laurence have undertaken for the Barefoot Dance community.

Louise asked about the ethics and values of the group; Laurence replied that for him it was about protecting a safe space where people can dance and can be free to be themselves: From the homepage of the website: ‘It's so great to dance with other people in a safe space where I feel free to be myself.’

It was suggested that the next meeting could be punctuated with more movement.

Laurence offered to show his spreadsheet to anyone interested. Katie said she loved Excel!

Stephen summarised what was coming next which was:

“A nimble core and a constellation of experts”

The ‘formal’ meeting ended around 9pm and we crossed the room for social chit-chat, the most wonderful ginger cordial and assorted snacks.

13. Potential future structures for organising and managing Barefoot Dance

What will happens when Karen and Laurence step down from the organising and holding role they have had for almost 20 years? The timescale for the handover is proposed as the end of this financial year which will be 31st January 2025

Karen emphasised the importance of holding, of providing a sense of container, of safety. Karen has learnt to do this over a long period of time. What follows maybe different. It was acknowledged a level of skill to do the holding will be required. Could there be training or mentoring in this?

Penny said it sounded like a job. How many hours does it take a week? Could someone be paid to take it on. Yes but that would change the nature of the group. We don’t really know how many hours a week it would take.

Some people who weren’t able to be at the meeting had written in with their ideas.

There was some consensus that a small group of people (3/4) could take responsibility for the day to day running and organisation with a wider group of people advising and supporting in the background. (The term ‘elders’ was used a lot in the meeting to describe this wider advisory group but dropped later when the point was made that it excluded newer and younger members who may have different ideas about how things should be managed and organised)

In essence Sandra and Roo put themselves forward to do the work.

Dora also put herself forward. She also suggested that people could do one year at a time as an idea?

Do we need to set up an advisory group? Stephen suggested something along the lines of a collective? Did we need a constitution? Let’s not make it complicated or too bureaucratic for ourselves.

There are often multiple opinions about things (e.g. the recent issue around touch and consent). The point was made that organisers need to be resilient.

We went round the room and everyone wanted to offer their support and be involved in any way they could to ensure the group continued. Stephen, Dora, Dana, Gill, Sue-Claire, Richard, Phil, Karen, Penny, Katie, Agnes, Louise L. Laurence.

Specific offers included: Gill-Admin help, various, writing, and research skills; Sue-Claire Advisory group; Richard Help but not core group; Phil -Help set up; Karen-Advisory group; Penny-Have training to offer group holding; Katie-Lots of admin skills but not much time; Louise L –Happy to step in with live mixing or anything else.

14. What happens next?

Agreed that Dora would meet with, Sandra and Roo, along with Karen and Laurence, to think of a transition sooner rather than later, and take into account the views of everyone who had been in attendance or had written in with their ideas to refine things. There is a lot to be done before January!

Barefoot Community Meeting 11th July 2023 7:30pm

Apologies: Ruth, Johnnie, Cathy, Holly, Sharon M, Louise L, Louise P, Michael, Helena, Helen P, Anna C, Dora, Karen W, Marcus and anyone I’ve missed!

1) Welcome and introductions

Present: Angela, Phil T, Karen, Sharon F, Andrew B, Devora, Sandra, Laurence, Sandhya, Stephen

Karen welcomed everyone. Angela chaired, Laurence noted.

2) Finances

The finances were looking healthy largely due to good attendance and sound financial management. We agreed to keep admission prices the same. (£10 for teacher session; £5 for one of us doing the music) … and always we will accept a donation of any amount if those prices are unaffordable.

We needed a certain surplus to operate in order to pay large bills every now and again (e.g St Matts hall was paid termly in advance around £800/£1,000 and expected to increase from September; hire of Gidleigh Village Hall was around £840 in advance). It was agreed we keep the same surplus at the end of each financial year as previously agreed, i.e. £2,500, earmarked as follows:

£1,000 for running costs including replacing sound equipment.

£1,000 up front costs for supporting annual residential.

£500 to support new initiatives by group members. See later in meeting for more on this.

Laurence said every financial transaction was recorded on a spreadsheet and for total transparency our accounts were published on the website at the end each financial year (31st January).

There were some questions on last year’s accounts which showed a surplus in reserves of £1,777 as at 31st Jan 2023.

It was also agreed, as previous, that any surplus above £2,500 at the end of the financial year would be donated to a charity of the groups choice.

It was noted that we paid teachers a minimum of £140 for running a session. If there was a good attendance they were paid a percentage of the total takings which could amount to up to £260 on occasions.

All the jobs at barefoot are done on a voluntary basis. An executive decision had been made to pay members who had done 3 live mixes, which were well received by the community, a sum of £60 for subsequent live mixes. It was agreed by the group we make this policy going forward.

3) Programme:

We all agreed it was great that the Zoom sessions were continuing. These sessions happen every 2 weeks. Once a month there is a link to the hall when someone brings a playlist which the Zoom folk also dance to at the same time. On the alternate weeks the Zoom people do their own thing. We talked about the scenario when someone put the playlist together but didn’t attend in person, who was holding the space?

ACTION: Stephen is happy to be asked to hold the space if music provider is not present.

Teachers:

Karen draws up the programme a term in advance and books the teachers. At any time anyone can send suggestions for teachers to Karen. ACTION: ALL

We talked about inviting different teachers: Bernadette was mentioned. Also what about Leigh Tolson who runs a Wednesday session in Bristol (natural dance on Facebook) –

ACTION: Andrew to approach Leigh about coming in the Spring term. Karen to approach Bernadette for the spring term.

We agreed to keep all of the existing teachers on the books after a discussion.

4) What our reserves are for - especially supporting new initiatives

We earmark £500 a year to support new initiatives. We wondered if we could promote this a bit better and enable folk to get money for setting up something or even training.

Cathy (in an e-mail) suggested we might get some training in marketing for all members who were doing dance/movement related activities. Devora suggested that anything spent to support new initiatives ought to directly benefit barefoot.

At this point Sandra offered to train people in putting together a wave, and Andrew offered training in live music mixing.

ACTION: Stephen and Sandhya to come up with some criteria about what the money is for and circulate it to those present in the first instance for comment, before circulating it more widely

5) Experiences of barefoot ... How's it going? Could we do better?

Angela reported it sometimes feels difficult to have as many as 40 people in attendance. The space can feel too crowded. Whilst this may be true most people thought we should go with the flow on this one. It is self-regulatory. The important thing is that there is the support for us to look out for each other and be in the space with awareness. This is the way we can avoid unintended collisions.

When a teacher is present it is their responsibility to hold the space and ensure safety for all.

There followed a long discussion on how we hold the barefoot evenings (i.e. when there is no teacher present). Ought we think of having written guidelines or protocols which are available to all and a copy given to new people?

We noted the Totnes Dance Collective had just come up with such guidelines and protocols. We agreed we did not want to copy theirs as they have a different culture and way of doing things.

We also wondered about just a mention of key important things we expect at the beginning of each session in the same way we mention no talking on the dance-floor. E.g. no mobile phones, we dance with an awareness of each other. Maybe these could be read out (in under 30 seconds?).

We agreed we would like to give new people a copy of something written about our group and our vision/expectations. It was noted there was already something on the ‘ABOUT’ page on our website which could be referred to.

ACTION: Stephen to do it and send to Karen to discuss.

We talked about how we welcome new people. It could sometimes feel awkward to approach new people – did they welcome being approached? Maybe this could be more awkward with a man approaching a woman? Sharon said it worked well to suggest people make it clear if they want to dance on their own or not like Laurence did at the beginning of his Sunday dance/movement sessions. Maybe something about this can be included in the opening statement?

We agreed the person on the door has a key role in making all people feel welcomed. We also agreed that everyone has a role in welcoming people.

Phil said that Johnnie had done something at the start of the session last week which he thought bought everyone closer together (An invitation to give a welcome hug). It mixed everyone up. Maybe we could think about how we do something similar each time? Not everyone agreed with this, especially if it involved physical contact.

Andrew wanted to buy some twinkly light things … there were issues about time to set anything up, storage, cost and the fact that twinkly things can be fragile and break.

ACTION: Andrew to bring a proposal to Laurence - Stephen is also happy to be ATTAC (Assistant Twinkly Things Advisory Consultant)

Sandhya reported she is having a nice time.

We all wished to thank Marcus for coming up with the window opening tool. Thank you, thank you thank you!

6) Peace tenders/space holders

Stephen wondered how we came up with the term ‘peace tenders’ – Can we change the name to community mediators? –

ACTION: Laurence to check with Johnnie about us using the term community mediator.

Do we still need such a process? Stephen thought we should just go live with it – he thought it already had and had been sitting by his phone for the last 3 years waiting for a call! ACTION: Laurence to make currently hidden web-pages about this visible.

There was also a proposal to have another day of training in mediation and invite more people in.

ACTION: Stephen will talk to Johnnie about a refresher/starter mediation training.

Space holders

It’s a big group now with quite a lot of new people. Karen suggested we need more people holding the space, energetically at least.

Maybe its just a case of more people having a general awareness. Since Covid a lot of the old regulars who knew about this are no longer so regular.

As a community there are many of us in the space who do have an eye out for others. We are a community who do hold well. Several people can only relax when they feel the group is safe. Karen and Laurence take an active role in seeing to this.

Stephen wondered what he could do to help out, did we need something more formal? Devora offered to hold the space if Karen wanted her to.

When there’s a teacher we expect them to hold the space and mostly they do.

What about the person bringing the music holding the space?

We agreed it’s important there’s at least one person designated as a space holder and that will usually be the bringer of music or someone they designate on their behalf.

Two things were then identified:

First - the opening circle and introducing all we have discussed above and welcoming the group and then

Second - dealing with issues which need immediate attention, for example, what if someone comes in drunk or starts taking photos or is talking in the space or making noise which is disturbing the group atmosphere…?

We wondered if there could be training in handling this? It was thought it wasn’t right that it’s always down to the same 2 people to hold.

How can we handle things when something is not okay? What can we do?

It was agreed that anyone could approach a person directly – everyone has a responsibility to hold the community. If not happy to go it alone for any reason call someone else in?

ACTION: Talk to the whole group about the culture of the group.

These minutes will be a good starting point for a discussion. No further action agreed at this point. Everyone to hold a general awareness.

7) Equipment available for group to use.

Recently our old sound system was put out for sale. No one wanted it. Then it was offered for free. There were a few people interested, some offering a donation to take it away. The first responder to the e-mail about this, however, was Stephen who also offered to continue to look after the equipment on behalf of the group. He does want to use it in 4 years time for a special birthday party, but it’s available for anyone else before then. He will manage it all. Contact him direct if you want to use it.

ACTION: Laurence to write to everyone who expressed an interest in the old system to say what we’re doing with it.

Everyone was very surprised and very pleased(😊!) that Laurence had purchased another portable sound system. This was the same as our current one enabling them to be combined together on special occasions for better quality sound and more of it. It also means we have another portable system that is available for anyone in the group to use which is easy to set up, good quality and relatively light to shift around.

Here's a list of what we have available free for group members to use:

Our original sound system 2 x LD active speakers and Z6 mixer – contact Stephen if you want to borrow; stephentame@gmail.com; ring, text or Signal message: 07742 696345.
Our portable sound system as seen week after week at the hall Lucas Nano 605FX – contact Laurence if you want to borrow; barefoot.dancer@yahoo.co.uk; ring, text or WhatsApp: 0771 363 7294
A high quality radio microphone *
Various lights suitable for creating an atmosphere*
Anything else we have in the hall cupboard (maybe not including the altar box - negotiate with Angela on this one)*

These are all items kept in the hall cupboard and may be taken on a Wednesday after dance as long as they are returned the following Wednesday before dance. If you want to book stuff in advance talk to Karen or Laurence.

8) Any Other Business

A request the next community meeting not in this room – the acoustics are so shit!

ACTION: Stephen to book venue for next community meeting.

We all thought it would be wonderful to have another Community Day. Sharon asked if it could be more central than in the wilds of East Devon to make it easier for everyone to get to.

At this community day we could have some practical workshops such as

How to put together a wave?
Cake making
Marketing
Planning an additional residential weekend as an extra to Gidleigh
How to live mix

ACTION: Sandra to set the ball rolling on organising a community day

Thank you Angela for being the chair, it seemed to cheer you up a bit,

Karen for bringing the herbals, everyone for your fabulous attention and contribution.

Date of next meeting not mentioned! They generally come round every now and again!

Barefoot dancing over the Winter – Our meeting to discuss ideas online Wednesday 7th Oct 2020

Our online collective thoughts on what we might be able to offer over the winter period within the context of the current Government Guidelines/Restrictions regarding Covid 19.

We went through the points/questions which had previously been circulated:

· How are you finding the online dance sessions?

Not everyone warmed to the Zoom format for dancing together. With some it increased their sense of isolation. Having said that, in the circumstances, it has managed to keep us all together and overall the sessions were considered a ‘lifeline’ and much gratitude was expressed for them continuing.

ACTION: Continue with the online dance sessions

· What about the chat and share sessions before the dance?

These were appreciated by everyone. It was good to have the option to join in. The sessions helped us remain in connection. There was a strong sense that the chat and share sessions had enabled us to get to know one another in more depth and in a different kind of way to the dance.

ACTION: Continue with the online chat and share sessions

· Are there circumstances where you would feel safe/able to go back to the hall?

The hall is now available to us again. It would be possible to go back there as early as next Wednesday albeit with restrictions and social distancing. However, with the enormous rise in Coronavirus infections in the Exeter area (500 in the last week) and given that Exeter was now on a lower tier watch list for a local lockdown it was decided it was not a good time to return to dancing in the hall. Maybe in the longer term we could have smaller numbers attending on a rotating basis with all the required safeguards in place?

We had been really pleased to get our regular slot back in the hall on a Wednesday evening and there was universal concern that we could lose our slot if we did not use it. We had a very good relationship with the church and they appeared to support us using the hall.

ACTION: Contact the hall and enquire about our position in keeping the Wednesday nights for our use into the future. Consider paying a retainer in the meantime if that helped. (L)

ACTION: Continually review when circumstances might be favourable for us to return to dancing in the hall. (All)

· What are your thoughts about meeting in barn/open space for a socially distanced dance as a group? If so, do you have a space in mind that might be suitable and what sort of numbers of people would you be happy to meet and dance with?

There was a long discussion about this. It was noted that the barn at West Town Farm in Ide was available to us on a Wednesday evening. It is a proper farm barn with a concrete floor (ouch) and open sides (good ventilation). It has lighting and power for sound equipment and could provide some shelter for winter events. There were a few questions about whether we could have a fire outside the barn. Sandhya offered her fire dish if needed. There were also questions about how people could get there if they did not have their own transport. Angela noted that some people would potentially be excluded if lifts could not be arranged. If suitable maybe this was something we could do every now and again.

It was noted that there were all sorts of procedures we could put in place to keep everyone as safe as possible, such as asking everyone to disclose if they had symptoms of the virus or had been in touch with anyone who had the virus and if so not to attend. We would conduct a risk assessment before planning any meeting.

Ruth reminded us that several people are being very careful not to do anything to put themselves at risk of catching the virus in the group. As a healthy community we need to be mindful of everyone and it was important to respect individual wishes so that everyone could be included in the sessions. We are all in this together!

ACTION: Investigate to possibilities of using the barn and see if there is an outside area where we might have a fire. Determine which safeguards we might need to put in place. (L)

We had a longer discussion about meeting outdoors. The three sessions which had been held over the summertime were ‘loved!’

There was general agreement that meeting outdoors was low risk in terms of spreading infection and there was a suggestion of meeting on Exmouth beach at the other end to where we were before as there were lights there and we could still have a fire. Due to the current restrictions we would need to have groups of 6 which would be a distance from each other. Alternately we could inform the powers that be about what we were doing in advance, claiming to be an outside exercise class which would allow more than 6 people to come together if certain conditions were met. There was no decision about which course of action to take. Stephen offered his battery powered floodlight if that would be helpful.

Sandhya suggested we could think about the music in advance and ask people to bring specific (percussion?) instruments. We would need to have someone hold the whole thing. Any volunteers? If musical instruments were passed around how would we sanitise them between players? Stephen offered to help with risk assessing events.

ACTION: Someone (volunteer required) to organise a beach gathering with percussion and hold this.

Sharon (curly) asked us to think about people who could not attend events because they were shielding or we had lost touch with over the months since lockdown.

Angela wondered if we could put something in the post to circulate around the group to support connection?

Phil suggested we could meet outside together and dance to music using our own headphones and phones. It would be possible to broadcast the music so we were all listening to the same thing at the same time (a bit like a silent disco).

ACTION: Phil to come up with a proposal about how we could achieve this – maybe as a ‘pop-up dance’ … see below. (Phil)

· What about the idea of Pop up Dances? The idea would be that anyone from the Barefoot Community can offer a time and date, with a speaker and music downloaded for 6 people to move and dance together, socially distanced outside. Each month we would compile a list of Pop Up Outside Dances to circulate to the group, with contact details of the 'Pop up dance facilitator' for that session who would be responsible for finding the location, providing a speaker and downloading the music to play and taking bookings for up to 6 people to attend. Group members would contact the 'Pop Dance Facilitator' to book a place and would receive exact details of the location at that point, once a place was confirmed. It would operate as a first come first served system and once 6 people were reached the Pop up dance would be full. The facilitator would need to have access to Spotify Premium if they wished to download music from the barefoot archives.

We talked about dancing with each other in people’s gardens. This is already happening to a limited extent where people arrange to meet up and dance together on Zoom on a Wednesday evening. Maybe we could invite ourselves to other peoples’ gardens ?

ACTION: Invite someone over to dance if you want company and it feels safe.(All)

· Outdoor moving events that Sue-Claire and Karen are facilitating, online sessions run by Xenia or any other movement provision locally or online, to what extent do these meet your need for movement and contact on a regular basis.

People who had attended the outdoor sessions run by Karen (Saturday mornings) and Sue-Claire (Monday mornings and Friday afternoons) really appreciated them.

MEETING CLOSED AND WE ALL WENT AND DANCED TO JOHNNIE’S SELECTION OF MUSIC

Update: Ruth is organising and co-ordinating a Wednesday evening session on the beach at Exmouth on 11 November … from 6:30pm.

One of our Zoom meetings from this time -

though not the one noted on the left

Notes of barefoot dance community meetings in words and pictures

Notes from Barefoot Dance Community Meeting 17th April 2019

Held at: St Matthews Community Hall, Exeter

Present: Angela, Tom, Karen, Curly Sharon, Louise, Sandhya, Laurence, Ruth, Andrew

Laurence welcomed everyone

Last years notes reviewed

It was noted that we haven’t been consistent with the termly charity plan.
A request was made for Moving the Small Group series to begin again.

Money Matters

In the last financial year we had spent £839 more than we had taken. This was largely due to the purchase of new sound equipment.
£150 deposit from the women’s dance was a return of the grant given the previous year.
Teacher sessions overall made a loss. In particular the Live Connection sessions had not been particularly well attended. It was not sustainable to pay them a fixed sum of £300 which we agreed last year.
ACTION: It was agreed if we are to book them again, we will pay a guaranteed sum of £220, plus any extra after the hall rental was paid for.
Entrance fees were reviewed and it was agreed to keep them at the same level. ACTION: We agreed to write on the entrance fee that ‘we request payment to cover our costs’.
Payments to teachers were reviewed and it was agreed to keep at the same rate.

Timings of Sessions.

There was a ‘Thank you’ from Tom and Louise to all the people who hold the barefoot space week in and week out.
A preference was stated from Tom for the sessions to begin a little earlier. It was explained that we are not able to get hall earlier than the set up time of 7:15am, so unfortunately its not possible to change this.
Laurence spoke about feeling disappointed that people seem to be frequently leaving the sessions early. We discussed finishing the session earlier, but decided against this.
ACTION: It was agreed that we would make a statement about how much we would like the group to stay to the end of the dance and also how lovely it is if people join us for the circle too.

Our program and teacher preferences

Tom spoke of his preference for peer group evenings to the teacher led sessions.
There was a poll of teacher preferences which will be taken into account when booking teachers.
Heart space/altar. Angela requested a system for managing this.
ACTION: it was agreed to put a calendar on the website for the heart-space.

A Community Day this year? In November. ( Karen/Ruth/Tom?)

Community Day 2019. It was agreed that another Community Day would be organised for November 2019. (Karen/Ruth/Tom).
Resolution Facilitators training is due to happen on the 30th April – 12 people are involved.
Group guidelines, we now have some

Other new initiatives

Healing Moves is a new group beginning on a Sunday once a month, led by Xenia Berdt (information on the website). Barefoot are supporting the start up of this group.

Any other business

The women's group box
ACTION: Karen will email Aslihan to let her know we are going to deconstruct the box.

Some delicious cake brought by Ruth was shared with tea. Thank you everyone for attending and contributing to another fruitful meeting.

Notes from Barefoot Dance Community Meeting 9th May 2018

held at: the meeting room, Phoenix Arts Centre, Exeter

present: Karen, Angela, Dave, Debbie, Ruth, Andy, Laurence, Richard, Sharon M, Martin, Sandyha, Phil H, Phil N.

Karen welcomed everybody.

1. Last years notes review

◦ It was agreed to give the surplus of funds (over the agreed reserves of £2,500) in 2017/18 to Wendy who works at the St Petrocks Centre for street homeless people in Exeter. This amounted to £58.91.

◦ We decided to continue to have one session a term where any surplus, after the hall was paid for, was given to a good cause selected by the group.

◦ Everyone who had attended thought the small groups which were held last autumn and facilitated by members of barefoot dance worked really well. Karen was thanked for co-ordinating these.

2. Money matters

◦ We looked at what we had spent money on in our financial year 2017/2018. It was noted that most of our financial surplus comes from the barefoot nights. There was a question about what ‘things’ were and this included lights, audio leads and public liability insurance which we now needed as a condition of booking St Matthews Church Hall.

◦ We agreed to keep the reserve targets the same for our current financial year (2018/2019). Except as we had just spent £1,000 on new sound equipment we would have to build that figure up again over the next few years.

◦ It was agreed we try and keep a minimum figure of £1,500 for contingencies

3. Ongoing differences of opinion (volume of music and temperature of hall)

o We discussed what happens when some people are too hot and some people are too cold. The thermometers had maybe been useful as an objective measure about this? Maybe we could dig them out again.

o No easy solutions were forthcoming. There was a suggestion that if it was generally warm the door should be left ajar so that people could go in and out of the hall if they needed fresh air, but pushing the door to on their way in/out.

o If some people experienced the music as too loud was it possible they could be encouraged to think of ear plugs?

4. New sound system

◦ Some people thought it sounded better the first week we had it and some people thought it sounded better the second week! We’re still experimenting with it and getting used to it. Maybe we could experiment a bit more with the small speaker position?

◦ Need to be careful setting it up – esp small speakers – care needs to taken when screwing them onto their stands. It would be easy to drop one.

◦ We agreed that anyone can borrow the old sound stuff for private parties etc

◦ If borrowing the new stuff then people to sign a disclaimer that they would replace anything if it were damaged in any way.

◦ The new equipment was extremely easy to set up and put away.

◦ Thanks was proposed to Laurence for sorting it all out.

5. Our programme

◦ Teacher sessions – Over the last year we’ve had 3 new teachers and everyone was very positive about them.

◦ There seemed some consensus that we ought to have one or two new teachers over the course of a year to keep things fresh. Everyone was invited to suggest new teachers.

◦ Karen is now responsible for booking teachers and the group gave their feedback about different teachers.

◦ Barefoot dance sessions

◦ It was great we have a wide variety of people putting the music on bringing their own unique taste and style to the evening.

◦ We thought it was important there was an invitation for people to hold the space even if they didn’t want to bring the music.

◦ The altar/focal point/heart space

◦ Angela was feeling her altar creations had become predictable. It was great when people bought things in – but that’s mostly fallen away now, just Helena does this now and again.

◦ Angela had decided not to do the altar any more but had relented after talking to a few people, it is a focal point, but has it become taken for granted and not really appreciated?

◦ Angela’s altars were praised as beautiful and appreciated by the whole group. Angela has decided to put in at the end of the dance asking people to have a go at an altar the following week.

◦ Do any men want to do an altar?

◦ Angela would like more spectacular things in a box which could be used for the altar e.g. oracle cards with big writing. It was agreed she could have a budget of £60 …

◦ One suggestion was that some weeks we could have a short ritual at end of session which was based on the altar.

◦ It was agreed to put on website that altar offerings were welcomed.

6. Community dance/movement day in the autumn

◦ The idea for a peer led day, had largely come out of the decision to have Jo Hardy facilitate Gidleigh this year. Lots of people still liked the peer led sessions/events.

◦ Karen proposed that people who were interested in planning and organising a day in the autumn should meet up and discuss the arrangements.

◦ Members of the group could be paid to lead sessions as they were with the small group initiative.

◦ We would look for a bigger venue so that everyone could be involved and attend if they want to.

◦ The following people volunteered to join a planning group – Ruth, Phil H, Sandhya, Karen, Sharon M

◦ Andy would like to be involved in running things for people in recovery from mental ill-health.

7. Anything else:

o Dave would like to set up a Sunday social – at the Phoenix or Double Locks. The whatever Sunday afternoon of the month. There was general support for this idea. Information will be put on the website ….

o Small groups – people liked these and it would be good to do it again.

o Meeting at the Phoenix - Phil H said he really liked the venue for a meeting. Much better than the pub last year

We all sang happy birthday to Angela and ate delicious cake which Ruth had made.

8. Men’s dance

o The men stayed on and talked about the men’s dances. Notes of the discussion were not taken.

We then had a jolly time in the café/bar area and eventually we all wandered off home.

happy birthday Angela!

High-lights from our meeting - 24 May 2017 in words and with pictures

there was action and emotion .....

there were smiles and laughs .....

there was thoughtfulness and interesting ideas .....

There was a gathering of barefooters on 24 May 2017 at the Globe Inn. A few things were discussed and a few things were decided. Below is a summary of the decisions made:

Present: Karen, Cathy, Phil, Lesley, Richard D, Sandyha, Andrew, Stephen, Angela, Sharon F, Laurence.

1. Donations to good causes

It was agreed that we would give 100% of surpluses to 'good causes', keeping enough reserves to cover costs of:

a. Replacing sound equipment (£1,000)

b. Funding for Gidleigh or other residential setting up front (£600)

c. Helping new/ongoing groups with subsidies and covering costs (£900)

Total = £2,500

This would be achieved in two ways. Holding a charity night once a term where all profits (minus the cost of the hall) would be given to an agreed charity. Also at the end of the year any profits minus the above would be given to charity. The group as a whole will be invited to suggest worthy causes.

2. Payment to teachers

It was agreed to give teachers a small pay-rise. Live Connections will be paid £300 per session (up from £200). Teachers will be paid £125 (plus a complex calculation of half the surplus after the hall is paid and plus an extra £10)

3. Entrance fees

It was agreed to make explicit on the website that payment is by donation and that those who feel that payment is a barrier to attendance need only pay what they can afford. It was also agreed to change the price bracketing to £3 to £6 on a barefoot night and £7 to £10 on a teacher led night, and to emphasize that any surplus in barefoot accounts goes to good causes.

4. The Programme (1)

There was a movement exploration around how the group felt about a variety of teachers. It was agreed to invite if possible one new teacher a term. Names of new potential teachers mentioned were: Joanna Waters, Sue Rickards, Andrew Holmes (Stroud), Denise Rowe. It was also agreed to invite the group to make suggestions.

We agreed to stick to the current format whereby we invite teachers every other week.

5. The Programme (2)

We don’t meet in the hall in August, suggestions for Wednesday's in August were invited. These will be put on the website as they emerge. Sue-Claire and Richard have offered an event in Budleigh which everyone thought was great.

6. Coming soon: a new small group venture

A new venture is in the planning phase which will take the form of offering space for group members with movement facilitation skills and newly establishing teachers to run a session for a small group. The details of this are still being finalised and will follow. It has been agreed that facilitators/teachers will be paid £50. If you are interested in facilitating a session please speak to Karen.

7. Other business

A cabaret night has been suggested, if you are interested speak to Andrew or Kathy

It was also requested that Gidleigh is on a different weekend to the RESPECT weekend in Exeter next year.

there was creativity and careful recording .....

there were great ideas and gorgeousness .....