So, you have friends who have started to take dance lessons, or you met a couple at another dance who are interested in our club. Here is what you need to know to smooth the invitation/registration process and to make them feel welcome.
Set the date:
- Be ready to make the invitation when you meet the potential guests – keep the Debonair’s calendar on your cellphone or enter debonairdancers.org in your search bar to see the dates of upcoming dances. It is (almost) always the 2nd or 3rd Friday of the even-numbered months.
- Find the first dance date that works for both you and the guest couple.
- Make sure that they know where we meet – currently the Sunnyvale Community Center, but this may change.
- Be sure to exchange contact information: first and last names of both members of the couple, phone number(s), email address(es) and/or postal address(es).
Make the reservation and pay the dance fees
The club is now offering optional online reservations. RSVP either with the paper form that is mailed to you as usual or online – not both.
If you prefer to stay with paper reservations
- when you receive the invitation, let your guests know that it is time for you to register and that they need to provide a check (unless you are paying their fee). See the “pay by check” details below.
- Fill in the first and last names of your guest couple(s) on your form.
- Fill in the amount due for you and your guest(s).
- You may include your guest’s check when you mail the reservation form to the club or note that they will send a check separately. See “pay by check” details below
If you use online reservations
- you will be asked for the first and last names of each guest
couple that you invite. - there will be a link to a guest reservation form included in the guests section with instructions to email that link to your guests. They can then fill in their information, including payment method.
to pay by check
Checks should be made payable to Debonair Dancers. You may pay for your guests by including their dance fee in a single check. If paying separately, your guest couple(s) can either give you their check to include with your reservation form or, especially if it is close to the deadline, they should, send it directly to Event Director at the address given on the invitation. In the latter case, note on the reservation that the checks are coming separately.
Shortly before the dance
A few days before the dance, remind your guests of the date and time. If you have not already done so, let them know what to expect:
- Location of the building. Although the current address is East Remington Drive, the access to the parking lot is off Manet Drive and the Senior Center is the first building on the left as you enter the parking lot
- If there is a dance lesson or a special event, such as beer tasting or wine and chocolate pairings, it will begin at 6:15 pm, i.e. 45 minutes before dinner starts.
- Dinner service is buffet style, and each table will be called up in turn, in order to avoid long lines at the buffet tables.
- Water, coffee and tea are provided. Attendees are allowed to bring their own wine, beer or soft drink if desired and glasses are provided. Our lease does not allow hard liquor.
- Following dinner, or perhaps at an intermission from dancing, the club Presidents will make announcements, including welcoming guests and new members, and recognizing their hosts and sponsors, respectively. These people are asked to stand.
- When we have a DJ, a playlist with the name of the piece and a recommended dance style is available at each table. We give bands the freedom to choose their own numbers.
- We ask that dancers follow the “rules of the dancefloor” for the dances that have a line-of-dance counterclockwise around the perimeter of the room, namely waltz, foxtrot and tango. “Stationary” couples are requested to use the center of the floor in order to avoid collisions with those following the line-of-dance.
- Socializing with people at different tables is encouraged, but please be respectful about sharing chairs especially with those who return from the dancefloor needing a rest and/or refreshment.
- Dancing continues until 10:30. The last hour or so is often the best time to dance as a few people may leave early and the floor gets less crowded. We encourage you to stay until the end, whether to dance or to socialize.
- The catering staff will begin to clear the tables as their occupants leave, but this is merely for efficiency in cleaning up and should not be taken as a signal that the dance is over. The dance is over when the band or DJ stops playing and starts packing to leave.
At the Dance:
- Welcome your guests as soon as they (or you) enter the room.
If necessary, help them to find their table – they will be sitting with you. - Introduce them to others whom you know at your table and during the course of the evening, to other members of the club.
Dance On!!
Joyce and Campbell Scott, Editors