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

Fall 2025 Appeal for Support—please give by December 31!

Together we can make a real difference in the lives of those who are nurturing the living traditions we love.

All donors are entered automatically in a drawing for fabulous prizes!

Donate now Drawing info

Photo by Laura Lewis, Cleveland Butterfly Twirl, CDSS Community Grant recipient.

What’s New

April 2024 Song of the Month
Sara Grey presents “Cobweb of Dreams” by Joy Masefield and Leon Rosselson. This love song is not dedicated to a person—it’s to the town of Towersey, Oxfordshire, England.
Spring 2024 CDSS News
The Spring 2024 issue of CDSS News has sprung! Give a hand to the bands that sparked the contra revival; try a new dance with Princess Katie; take a folk dance tour through the Czech Republic; and much more.
March 2024 Song of the Month
Mary Garvey introduces “The Badger Drive,” written in 1912 by John V. Devine. Although the name suggests that it is about hunting badgers, the song instead sings the praises of log drivers—lumber workers who risked their lives wrangling logs through the rivers near Badger, Newfoundland, Canada.
Digitization of the CDSS Organization Archives at UNH has begun!
You can see the first items—historic posters, maps, broadsides, and other print memorabilia—online now. The collection will eventually include around 8,000 items. Check it out.
Playing All Bob McQuillen’s Tunes
Bob McQuillen (1923-2014) wrote over 1,700 tunes in his lifetime. In 2023, over 750 people in more than 140 places around the world played Bob’s tunes and sent in notes, remembrances, and photos. We’ve now added the archive of this centenary celebration to our Online Library.
From the Mic Episode 21: Penn Fix
On this episode of From the Mic, Mary talks with dance caller, composer, organizer, and devotee Penn Fix. Penn learned to dance in the Boston area and grew to love it in the Monadnock Valley of New Hampshire. After three years of dancing five nights a week, he moved back to his native home in Spokane, WA. There, he says, he had no choice but become a caller and help build the dance community he wanted to be part of.