Quote:
Originally posted by julie
I was upset to read Your comments yesterday " sorry to hear that some of you have stopped going to the thursday nights it is possible that you have literally "outgrown" the place "
Maybe you could explain what you meant by that because it sounds like that although you are sorry peole have stopped coming you have so many new members who are coming back that you are not concerned at losing so many regulars.
I hope I have picked this up wrong. |
Yes, I think you picked this up wrong. What I meant is that O'Donoghues is fine for most Cerocers / beginners, but for some, who have reached a certain stage, the limits of O'Donoghues are a real problem.
I was dancing last night, and I had a fantastic time, there was plenty of space on the dance floor (and I am not a restrained dancer by any means
).
Once or twice the main dance floor was busy and I danced in the bar area (yes, on the cobbles) and I did not find this a problem at all (maybe it is just me).
Quote:
Originally posted by julie
You may have had over 100 people last night and well done for that but I remember the old days at the palace when ceroc first started and there were very few people and you would have been pushed im sure to cover your petrol costs from falkirk.
We showed you loyalty then by coming week after week supporting you, telling our friends about ceroc attending your workshops when you didnt have enough numbers all because we loved dancing.
It would be nice now if you could acknowledge that loyalty. You could start by publicly acknowledging that people have expressed concerns about O'donohues.
I know you have received a number of petitions but you have not to my knowledge publicly given any reply.
It is no wonder that we have decided to use this forum to push the issue with you. |
I remember these days very well too, I am very grateful and proud that Aberdeen has become so successful...
I also remember that the Palace was not perfect and neither were any of the other alternatives.
I am happy to acknoledge that I have received complaints about O'D, including a petition (signed by about 50 people, and I am not ignoring it. I have been looking for an alternative venue, with very little luck so far.
There is an alternative venue with a large dance floor etc... already, and it is the Tuesday night in Culter.
At the moment, in the absence of a suitable alternative for a Thursday night, I am left with 2 choices:[list=1][*] Open a 3rd night (Monday?) at the Forum, and keep the other 2 nights as they are.[*]Change everything round and have Tuesdays in the Forum and Thursdays at the Culter Mills club (though I do not think it is available at the moment)[/list=1]
I have to balance many factors when choosing a venue: accessability, availability, dance floor space, facilities (ie bar, sound, etc...). The Forum, for example is great for all of them except regular availability on Thursdays / Fridays and Saturdays...
Bearing in mind that O'Donoghues is *extremely* popular, and by that I do not mean busy, I mean popular as a venue. Attracting new people to Ceroc *and* retaining new members. I am reluctant to just throw it away.
I do not see how abandoning the most successful venue in Aberdeen I would do Cerocers any favours at all, much better to have more nights / venues to choose from...
I am very keen to offer all of you a proper choice of venues, and indeed you already have a choice with the Tuesday night. I appreciate that Peterculter is not accessible to everyone, so my preference would be to offer another city centre venue on another night of the week.
Option 2 is very risky as I risk alienating pretty much everyone and lose far more dancers that way.
I am open to suggestions / 3rd ways etc...
I am happy that the subject is discussed in this Forum (this is exactly what the Forum is for). I have already posted about my discussions with the Forum. I am very aware that any night (regardless of how successful it is) can fizzle out very quickly by moving venue or changing nights etc...
Keep the feedback / suggestions coming
Franck.