I’m writing this article in response to all the letters concerning Lynette’s interview with DeeDee Asad and the commentary Lynette provided on the issue of territorialism undermining event producers.

As I read through all the sometimes very long letters, I was floored by the level of bitterness and acrimony expressed. The conflicts of interest are obvious, why can’t they be avoided or at least tempered by better and more professional communication? Also, I’m appalled that anyone would demand that Lynette write a retraction; it implies that they do not know the difference between “reporting” and “investigative reporting”.  Lynette was reporting and certainly aired other’s comments when they responded. [can you depersonalize this? don't want a chat room dialogue. the ideas are great, just need expansion and applied to g public]

But, I digress, what I really want to address is how event producers can negotiate better from the start and engage in up-front cooperative win-win negotiations with other event producers, rather than the “lose-win” tactics of undermining each other that I’ve seen for DECADES in this business and I’ve seen it across the board and across the county. 

Everyone always has the very best intentions when organizing an event, but as my title says:  “The Road to Heck is Paved With…… good intentions!  And the “heck” of it is that the dissension turns into bitter rivalries and does not reflect well on the Middle Eastern dance community in general.

The ME dance community needs festivals, shows & workshop events for our growth as dancers and as an education for the general public that we are a serious dance art form. 

But event producers for decades have not been able to communicate with each other in a constructive manner so I’m suggesting the following guidelines for review and comment by the MED community at large. 

Feel free to embellish or suggest even more ways that event producers can work together; then we all “win”.

1. When a new event producer announces intentions of scheduling an event, why not initiate productive dialog, for example chat on-line to get dates firmly established that everyone is fairly comfortable with.  And if issues do come up, talk to everyone again! And keep talking, even if “opinions vary” – that’s okay, at least it’s all out there up front.
2. New event producers should be open to suggestions from the established producers in the regions; in return they might just learn something very valuable!
3. Established event producers; how about bringing a list of “pitfalls” to avoid  in organizing an event; after all, it benefits no one if dancers have such a lousy time at an even that they stay away from EVERYONE’s workshops because of a bad experience!
4. IMPORTANT:  have regular on-line meetings with other event producers so there are no misunderstandings about pricing of different facets of an event that will surface as problems when it is too late to correct it.
5. Make sure lines of communication are ALWAYS open, ALWAYS clear, and not judgmental. 
6. Realize that just because you are “business competitors” does not mean that you shouldn’t work together for the benefit of all.

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