Contra dancers at the 2023 Lifetime Contribution Award ceremony

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

July 2023 Song of the Month
Mark Gilston presents “How to Make Love,” a set of tongue-in-cheek instructions for young men wishing to court. The necessary ingredients include hairstyling lard, a harmonica, gold tooth, red bow tie, and ten cents’ worth of drugstore perfume.
Bob McQuillen Curated Tune Lists
Over 1500 of contra musician Bob McQuillen’s tunes are now available on the Apple App Store. Check out Bob McQuillen Curated Tune Lists to narrow down the tunes and find some new favorites!
Summer 2023 CDSS News
The Summer 2023 CDSS News is now available! See contra dancing through the eyes of a young person; learn to shoot good dance videos with Don Bell; dance the New Jersey Commute with Alex Laursen; and much more.
Check out the last Web Chat: Communities in Conflict
The slideshows, video, and transcript from our May 2023 Web Chat are now available. CDSS Executive Director Katy German joined Jenny Beer, Dana Dwinell-Yardley, Sue Songer, and Kathy Story for a conversation about working through conflict as a community.

Read more about Web Chats, or email us with questions.
June 2023 Song of the Month
Lea Coryell presents “The Lazy Farmer (Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn).” Lea writes: “Did the young man fail because of laziness or bad weather? Traditional verses offer conflicting reasons, so perhaps we were meant to wonder. In my shortened version, the farmer has nothing and no one to blame but himself.”
From the Mic Episode 14: Steve Zakon-Anderson
In this episode of From the Mic, Steve Zakon-Anderson shares stories about the people and places that have shaped him as a caller and as a person, as well as some pretty deep thoughts about what this calling thing is all about.