Planning a Ceilidh

Planning

First things first....you need to be thinking well ahead of the dance, maybe 6 months to a year ahead depending on your requirements.

The things that you will need to organise and book in good time are:-

- the venue
- the band
- the invites, posters and advertising

A non-returnable deposit may be required by the band or venue. See also my costs section about the deposits I charge.

But before you do any of this, you should give some thought to the following points regarding the viability of your dance:-

1) Will I be able to invite/attract enough dancers to make the dance a success?

An obvious point but without adequate dancers there simply is no dance! There is no question you can hold a dance with the bare minimum of dancers. For instance, the smallest set dance consists of only 3 couples; there are even dances which can be done as a single couple. But – only having 6 people at your dance wont provide you with much of an atmosphere even if they are the life and soul of the party!

You should aim for a minimum number of 30 people but 60+ will certainly give the dance some life-blood. Remember too that unless they are an extraordinarily keen bunch, not everybody will dance every dance. If you are lucky, roughly 50% of the number attending will be on the dance floor at any one time – so a room of 30 dancers seated will only equate to about 15 people (thats just 7 couples) actually dancing.

It is also easier to attract existing couples onto the dance floor rather single people who will need to find a partner. For instance, a ‘works do’ may look well attended but there may be few if any actual couples. Chatting to a colleague at the water cooler is one thing; inviting Sandra from Accounts to dance a polka with you is a whole new thing! Therefore the ratio of those seated to those dancing may be much more than the 50% guideline!

2) Will I be out of pocket after the dance?

If you are putting on a family event this may not even be an issue. However, if you are fundraising clearly you must ensure you not only break-even but raise the capital you expect to. Undertake some careful budgeting, particulary if you are hiring a venue or a large band. Make sure if you are charging for tickets, that the expected sales of these will cover your costs. You should be aware of how many tickets you need to sell to break-even. 

Once you are confident your event is viable, go ahead and source a venue.