Meraki Tuesday March 11, 2025 on Zoom
Attendees: Shelagh (ingatherer), Erin (facilitator), Marion (timekeeper), Kari (vibe checker), Tasha (notetaker), Mellen, Jimmie, Eva, John, Kiara, Parks, Bart, Andrew, Katharine, Emily, Lori, Rebecca, Kellie, Blair, Lily, Nate, Julian, Carol, Brian, Leigha
Meeting format
- Choose roles (Ingatherer, Facilitator, Timekeeper, Vibe Checker, Note Taker)
- Ingathering
- Briefly review How We Roll
- Summarize previous meeting notes
- Gather new agenda items
- Set order and time for items
- Attend to agenda items
- Schedule future meeting(s)
- Evaluation
- Outgathering
Agenda
- Vision Quest Update - Shelagh
- Make PCD sets available for sale - Tasha
- Lighting - Kiara
- WIZ Update - Kari
- DJ Monitoring Speakers - John
- Retreat Committee Update - Marion
- Capacity Planning Ideas - Rebecca
- Recorded DJ sets - Mellen
1. Vision Quest Update - 5 min
Shelagh: We haven't made any progress, we had to cancel a meeting.
Tasha: The goal is to have a member-wide vision quest meeting after the retreat.
Shelagh: The vision quest is planned to answer questions about who do we want to be as a community and to look at what's not working now and how to address it with creative new solutions. This committee is designed to plan the Vision Quest.
Kellie: I would like to be on that committee.
2. Make PCD sets available for sale - 5 min
Tasha: Someone wrote into PCD asking us to make the DJ sets available for sale.
Mellen: I can share my sets and they're public. They are in Spotify. Not sure about other DJs. Probably we'd run into copyright issues. So I say we shouldn't do that.
Parks: They can ask the DJ directly and many will give it to them.
Lori: If it's a Spotify set, then artists do get money.
Tasha: I'll follow up with the person who emailed and say we can't do that for copyright reasons but ask DJs and some will send the link.
Agreed: We will not offer DJ sets for sale for copyright reasons.
3. Lighting - 5 min
Kiara: Fluorescent lighting is distracting to my dance and have heard the same from others.
Bart: Would like to be on committee to look at lighting.
Kari: Since we started opening the curtains behind DJ, the natural lighting is much better. When both walls are open, we get more natural light as well. In which case we won't need the lights.
Lori: At the last dance we in fact turned all the lights off. The back lights were on until part way through the dance because they were hard to work with.
Rebecca: The goal is to keep the big wall open, but we need help with that from the temple and it was stuck this time.
Mellen: One side is broken, so until they get it fixed, we will only have one open. It's our intent to open both sides of the back wall for all dances.
Kiara: Thank you to the Wiz!
Agreed: Keep lights off, use natural daylight with open curtains and open walls, as possible.
4. WIZ Update - 5 min
Kari: We have a new rug and it keeps the dirt off the floor. Ushering people downstairs has helped the traffic jam. Wiz is available for retreat, as needed. We've decided to stand up at the end of dance to let people see people's faces. Kari is the new contact for the temple, so if you have a question or need, contact me.
Shelagh: Thank you to the Wiz for standing up at the end. It really holds the circle.
Lori: People clapping at the end is not why we're standing up. Wondering if we could have one person stand and then ask the others to stand.
Kellie: I think it would be appropriate for the DJs to add that to what they do. I'd like the Wiz to stand up.
Erin: Can we have DJs introduce the Wiz as part of their script?
Mellen/Parks: We will let the DJs know.
Agreed: DJs to add to their script introducing the Wiz.
5. DJ Monitoring Speakers - 10 min
John: Any feedback on the new monitor speaker from DJs?
Parks: It was nice, but I couldn't tell if it was equal to what was out on the floor. I was told my sound was too high. I had asked 2 people to let me know if it's too high. I like the monitor but it needs to be perfected. I try to pay attention to volume, but it's hard to do with everything else.
Kellie: I was able to go out into the space and then compare it to the monitor. It was kind of helpful. But the decibel meter is more helpful. It will always go over so impossible to cap at 85 decibels. It's not good to adjust the volume during a set. I think the monitor helps. Better to have another DJ offer feedback on volume rather than dancers. It's nice to be immersed in your own music as a DJ using the monitor.
Mellen: When we set up the volume limit feedback system, it was designed to have DJs give the feedback.
John: The monitor is helpful. Decibel meter is also helpful, DJ feedback is helpful. However, the current monitor setup is complicated.
John: It's a good portable monitor so let's try to get it working for the DJs. Took it home to do repeatable set up. There's another one by Bose that's $600 that seems simpler. I'll try and set up this one to make it work, but it's hard.
Shelagh: I hear the DJs saying this is helpful. Wondering about renting a new speaker instead of buying one.
Nate: I have a friend who has a lot of speakers who is willing to donate to a nonprofit. The whole Cinamagic sound system!
Agreed: John will keep trying to simplify the monitoring speaker set up and will investigate free monitoring speaker.
6. Retreat Committee Update - 10 min
Marion: We've introduced a sliding scale to support accessibility, we've disconnected room selection from the price, and we are taking advantage of pledge Meraki gave for $2000 for the fall retreat that never happened.
We are committed to paying for 5 meals, but we haven't committed to the number of meals to participants. We'd like to add lunch on Sunday which is an additional cost that we hadn't originally budgeted for.
Nate: We priced things based on 5 meals, but we had already published that pricing so we didn't want to change it.
John: I think we should eat it the difference and offer the 6th meal.
Bart: I agree. Does retreat operate at a profit?
Marion: We have been breaking even. Because we're doing a sliding scale for the first time, we're in the red because more people than anticipated signed up at the Supported level.
John: The goal is break even, but Meraki has offered to support scholarships in the past.
Shelagh: The max deficit is only slightly bigger than the $2000 initially promised by $185.
Nate: Also, this venue is more expensive than previous venues ($185 pp at Ferry Beach vs $255 at Oceanwood), which is why we originally asked for the $2000.
John: Let's cap it at $5000.
Parks: So as not to set a precedent, let's cap it at 2500.
Approved: We will offer 6 meals at the retreat, and whatever deficit we have, Meraki pays for, capped at $2500.
Tasha: Just to note, we could potentially have up to 4 more scholarships if all 4 remaining slots ask for one.
Blair: What is the scholarship that we end up giving? I think it should be a reduction rather than a full scholarship so people are still invested.
Marion: I agree about having a budget for scholarships. It was a reduction last time.
Lily: Last time there were 2 x $50 scholarships.
7. Recorded DJ Sets - 10 min
Mellen: We want to go back to weekly dances, but onboarding DJs takes time. What if we recorded sets as DJs played them to build a library and then started offering dances with recorded music? There's software that records sets onto flash drives that we could use that Pika and Deb suggested. It's only $150 to give it a try.
Erin: Would DJs be compensated for recorded sets?
Mellen: I would vote no.
Parks: I think the recorded sets need to be compensated. We need to run this by the DJs. Are there even DJs willing to do this?
Eva: Has Meraki voted that we want recorded sets? Where are we as a community on this?
Katharine: Is there a way to become a new DJ because I am interested.
John: I looked at the software and it could work with our system. The technology is easy. But someone has to manage the starting and stopping.
Mellen: No we haven't taken this to the DJs yet. We need to have that discussion.
Nate: Propose that we table the topic of whether to do it for another meeting and Mellen should check with the DJs.
Kellie: I propose that I initiate a DJ meeting to talk about this possibility. We know there's interest from the community in becoming a DJ, but we haven't found a way to expedite the process. If there were compensation for DJs training DJs, that might speed up the process.
Marion: Dances with recorded sets is in our next conversation about capacity.
Emily: Could we have a group DJ training meeting?
Mellen: Yes, that's what we've done in the past, but then it's an individual process.
Kiara: Are all the DJs getting all the slots they want?
Mellen: It's hard to fill the roster.
Agreed: DJs will hold a meeting to talk about recorded sets.
New Agenda Item: Consider compensating DJs to train new DJs to speed up the onboarding process.
8. Capacity Planning Ideas - 25 min
Rebecca: This is a weighty topic. We were tasked last time with coming up with some ideas around the ongoing issue of capacity at Temple Beth El. Each idea has pros and cons. We're growing rapidly, average of 100 - 120 people per dance.
Proposal:
1. Cap attendance at 85 with an additional 10 slots for Wiz and others who help set up, so total of 95.
2. Weekly dances, including recorded sets to fill in the additional weeks.
3. We find software that lets you register for the dance 5 days before.
4. Membership has an associated fee and required volunteer time. Only members can purchase a ticket, and each member can choose one additional person per dance.
Rollout in July or Sept. For this meeting, we hope to get approval for 2 new committees to investigate membership and registration.
Eva: What is Temple Beth El capacity?
Rebecca: 200 for seating. We chose 95 because we're dancing for safety and not to inhibit the dance culture. Last week we had about 100 at closing circle plus 10%. 24 new waivers were signed at dance on Sunday. There were 17 new people!
Nate: We're considering Temple Beth El as our capacity. But it's not safe to dance there long term because of the cement floor.
Parks: I felt like the last dance was really crowded. How many people at the dance I DJ'd. 75 closing circle + 10%.
Lori: I acknowledge that the floor is an issue, but the contra dance people have been dancing there for years albeit with shoes.
Brian: I appreciate that there is a capacity issue. And I also appreciate the energy that all the new faces have brought. It feels challenging to put up barriers when I would like it be more inclusive. It's a challenging issue.
Bart: I like the idea of going back to weekly dances and support paying the DJs for recorded dances. There are a lot more people and more dangerous as well. If there are more people coming, it's a good thing! If it's increasing, I want to support that!
Erin: Capacity discussion is around Temple Beth El. Vision committee is about how to allow for growth and other options.
Kiara: I like the idea of starting capacity discussion. I'm enjoying moving into the new space and shifting how I dance. Getting the ideas in place around capacity is great, along with a community discussion around how to move safely in the current space.
Katharine: At Open Floor in CA, they do two dances on the same day with the same DJ. First dance is capped. The second dance is naturally smaller.
Shelagh: I'm noticing that I'm contracting during this discussion. Looking at the different options, none of them feel good to me, and it probably means that I drift away from this community. Any choices we make will work for some and not for others. It's heartbreaking for me.
Brian: If we start capping attendance, then I think the greeter needs to be a paid position as it becomes much more of a responsibility. Maybe one volunteer and one paid person. It no longer becomes a greeter position. It becomes more like a bouncer.
Erin: Are we going to entertain two dances? Asking Kellie to bring it to the DJ meeting. I don't love the idea of adding competitiveness to buying tickets ahead of time.
Kellie: Yes, I will bring that to the DJ meeting as well.
Andrew: A dance every Sunday may lower attendance. If you miss one dance, you wait a month to dance again. People might be more flexible if there were a dance every week.
Parks: Having a dance every Sunday might have the opposite effect. I like the idea of two dances every Sunday. I entertain the idea of capping, but I don't like the idea of tickets. I don't like the idea of membership as it will kill the inclusivity of the community. Agree it's an issue. If you cap it at 100 that means people show up on time, which holds a better container. To say you have to become a member feels icky.
Eva: We've only been at Temple Beth El for 6 dances. There are seasons to dance. What if we take 6 months and see what the numbers are after that. I hear the safety issues as well. I've heard what everyone has said about the community and inclusivity.
Erin: We're seeing more people at One Dance as well. Wonder if closing the doors at 1:00 would help.
Mellen: Seasonality is a thing. We'll dance at 10am in the summer. I like giving things time to settle.
Rebecca: It's a weighty topic. We need to keep talking. Mixed values of inclusion and exclusion and growth. Propose creating 2 committees to look at registration and membership. We want to be more nimble when it comes time to make a change.
Marion: Getting more data doesn't mean we're making any decisions. So no harm in creating committees.
Eva: Let's ask Jeff not to include it in his email.
Mellen: We've told him he can list the website but not the specific dance. We can ask him to stop (again).
Blair: Nobody wants to interfere with this beautiful freeform thing we've created. But it's unrealistic to think it's going to get better. There's no slowing the growth. PCD is an outlier. All other ecstatic dances have pre-registration. To be a member should be a value, and we're not valuing it as much as we should. For me personally, it's too crowded. We have to do something. To me it makes sense to cap it. We can advertise well in advance so people aren't surprised.
Rebecca: We need 5 for each committee.
Registration: Marion, Lori, Bart, John, Emily, Rebecca
Membership: Mellen, Eva, Leigha, Blair Jimmie Kari
Nate: Noting that we didn't officially vote on forming the committees.
Agreed: Capacity Committee to add consideration for closing the doors at 1:00 and holding two dances on a Sunday, not currently included in the proposal.
Agreed: DJs will discuss the possibility of holding two dances on the same day, one of them possibly a recorded set.
Agreed: Two committees formed to look into registration and membership.
Next Meetings
Sunday April 6 after dance
Tues May 6 in person (location TBD)
