Country Dance & Song Society
Individuals nourished and communities strengthened by dancing, singing, and making music together
We connect and support people in building and sustaining vibrant communities through participatory dance, music, and song. We steward the living traditions of English country dance, contra and square dance, morris and sword dance, and the music that is an integral part of these traditions. Learn more
Giving to dance, music, and song creates healing through togetherness.
Donate to our fall appeal today
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Help us reach our goal of 400 donors!
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Total raised so far towards our goal of $140,000!
What’s New
April 2023 Song of the MonthDenise and Stuart Savage present “Reynardine,” an English ballad in which a young woman is led astray by a stranger who may or may not be a tricky fox.
An old jig in a new office!“CDSS Jig” by Bob McQuillen, played by some of the CDSS staff to celebrate moving to our new office and Mac’s centenary this year.
Have you heard about the project to play all of Bob McQuillen’s (nearly 2000!) tunes this year? Learn more in the latest issue of the CDSS News or at mcquillentunes.com.
Spring 2023 CDSS NewsThe Spring 2023 CDSS News is now available! Meet this year’s Lifetime Contribution Award winners; hear how Jacob Chen passes on traditions to the next generation with Folk Song Fridays; learn how a dance camp in Washington state kept Covid in check; celebrate Bob McQuillen’s centennial at KwackFest; and much more.
We moved…down the hall!Hello from our new office, just down the hall from the old one! If you’d like to visit the CDSS store in person, check out the new directions for finding us in the building.
“…whatever Laurel touches turns to morris gold.”How lucky we are to have Laurel Swift as a co-Program Director at CDSS Family Week at Agassiz Village this summer! Laurel is leading classes on tin whistle and clog dance and a special performance class just for teens, and she was just featured in this article from Tradfolk. Find out more and register for camp.
Check out the last Web Chat: Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers!The slideshow, video, resources, and transcript from our March 2023 Web Chat are now available. Executive Director Katy German hosted this discussion about volunteer management and addressed key volunteer-related questions.
In our history, CDSS has…
bestowed 31 Lifetime Contribution Awards
sold well over 50,000 morris bells
published 114 hours of podcasts
fostered 109 years of tradition
In the past year, CDSS has…
hosted over 1,093 campers
awarded 34 grants for local communities and special projects
published over 600 calendar events
added over 60 repertoire resources for callers
Upcoming Community Events
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.