The ROUNDALAB Mini-Lab

The Board of Directors of ROUNDALAB first approved the Mini-Lab concept in 1998. A Mini-Lab is, quite simply, a condensed version of the ROUNDALAB convention. It is designed to provide education to, and in other ways serve, round dance leaders who, for a wide variety of reasons, were unable to attend the actual ROUNDALAB convention. Up to three Mini-Labs may be conducted each year. All of the applications for Mini-Labs will be presented to the full Board of Directors and this body will select up to three sites. Selection will be based on:

  • the distance from the proposed Mini-Lab location to the site of the RAL convention in the current year and the preceding and succeeding 2 years;
  • the time elapsed since a previous RAL Mini-Lab in that area;
  • the estimated attendance.

Clinicians for the Mini-Labs will be drawn from the pool of RAL approved Mini-Lab Clinicians. Upon receipt of a request to host a Mini-Lab, the Mini-Lab Coordinator will poll the Mini-Lab Clinicians to determine if a clinician can be obtained to conduct the sessions for the dates requested. The Coordinator will select, in consultation with the local contact person, a clinician on the basis of cost to RAL, and fair distribution of workload between the Mini-Lab Clinicians. If no clinician is available for a proposed date, an attempt to find suitable alternate dates will be made.

Those wishing to hold a Mini-Lab in their area should request an application from the RAL office. The application must be returned to the office no later than 270 days prior to the first potential date for the Mini-Lab. Those proposing the Mini-Lab should keep in mind that the cost of the facility, materials distributed at the Mini-Lab, the clinician’s room, board and local transportation is the responsibility of the sponsor.

The content of a given Mini-Lab will be determined by the Mini-Lab coordinator and the clinicians, and will be based on the suggested topics from the Mini-Lab applicants and those topics that the BOD have indicated should be included in all Mini-Labs. These required topics to be covered are:

  • ROUNDALAB structure and governance to include the Bylaws of the organization, its creed, the duties and makeup of the Board of Directors, executive committee.
  • RAL standing committees; and the varying types of RAL membership and the benefits of membership.
  • The method of ROUNDALAB’s operation including what is expected of its membership, committee proposals, and the actions of the general assembly.
  • The methods of meeting ROUNDALAB’s purposes and goals to include information of figure descriptions, cueing terminology, cue sheet formats, educational videos and manuals, and information about the annual convention.
  • Education sessions – These are centered improving the teachers ability to teach other dancers.

The rest of the content of the Mini-Lab is to be made up of topics chosen from a priority list of requested topics provided by the requesting entity, and in conjunction with the Mini-Lab Coordinator and the chosen Clinicians.

What Should Your Organization Do??

Mini-Lab Application

Each organization requesting a Mini-Lab is to choose a local coordinator. The duties of the local coordinator are:

  1. Choose a local Coordinator or person to be in charge of the Mini-Lab in your area;
  2. Choose 3 sets of dates for your Mini-Lab. Indicate a 1st choice, a 2nd choice, and a 3rd choice. These dates will be matched to the availability of the ROUNDALAB Mini-Lab Clinicians;
  3. Secure appropriate facilities for conducting both the active and the seminar portions of the MiniLab;
  4. Make sure a hotel or motel is close by (if not the same facility as for the sessions) and they will block out rooms;
  5. Fill out an application and send it to the RAL Executive Administrator (It must be to the administrator no later than 270 days prior to the first potential date for the Mini-Lab);
  6. Provide appropriate sound systems for Mini-Lab sessions;
  7. Provide local arrangements (housing, food, and transportation) for the clinician;
  8. Solicit and compile evaluations and provide a summary and the original evaluations to the MiniLab Coordinator;
  9. Advertise the Mini-Lab in your area (such as making a flyer with a theme, promoting at local Round Dance Associations, etc.). Make sure you get the flyer out to ALL the teachers (or teacher to be) in your area. This should include both RAL members AND non-members;
  10. Provide the ROUNDALAB Office with an electronic copy of the flyer for your Mini-Lab.
  11. Coordinate housing for the Mini-Lab participants;
  12. Provide hosts for the clinicians.

With concern to the costs of the Mini-Lab:

ROUNDALAB will pay for the clinician fee and the transportation costs of the clinicians to and from the Mini-Lab (air, train or bus travel will only be paid to the nearest major terminal or station) within the U.S. Transportation costs paid for travel outside of the U.S. will be determined on a case by case basis by the Board of Directors.

YOUR OGANIZATION would pay for ALL other costs involved in the Mini-Lab and Clinician.

If you, or anyone else in your organization, have other questions about a request for a ROUNDALAB Mini-Lab, please contact the ROUNDALAB office.