What’s New

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.

Derek Piotr presents “I Wonder When I Shall Be Married.” The best-known version is by the Ritchie family of Viper, Kentucky, but writer Roxana Robinson sings it to a different tune, learned from her family in Pine Mountain, KY.

We are in search of a new Director of Development and several camp staff for summer 2024. Please check the Jobs page for details on the positions and how to apply.

Mary’s guest this month on From the Mic is Susan Kevra, a dance caller, musician, and singer who makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee. Dancers on both sides of the Atlantic appreciate her diverse repertoire of singing squares, Western patter calls, contras, and English country dances. Susan is noted for her warmth, clear teaching, and lovely voice.

Andrew Calhoun plays and sings “The Hills of Tandragee,” a traditional ballad from Northern Ireland. The song was collected by James Carmichael of Ballymena, Ulster and printed in Sam Henry’s Songs of the People.

We’re delighted to welcome Karen Axelrod (piano) and Sarah-Hadley Yakir (violin) to CDSS for the second episode of the Pack & Wrap Sessions! They talk about how they met and what they take to every gig and play two English country dance tunes. Help support CDSS programs (including these videos!) by donating to our year-end appeal.

Cozy up with the Winter 2023 issue of CDSS News! Read about our new Strategic Plan and other updates from the Board; learn more about Sharon Green, our 2024 Lifetime Contribution Award recipient; take inspiration from the Dancing Bears of Alaska; and much more.

In this episode of From the Mic, Mary is joined by contra dance caller and community organizer Ben Sachs-Hamilton. Ben started contra dancing at 12 and started teaching dances at 15. Since then, he has called and organized for dances across the northeast, with a focus on LGBTQ and gender-role-free dance communities. 

Marc Bernier introduces “Christmas in the Trenches” by John McCutcheon. The song tells the tale of the 1914 Christmas Truce between the British and German lines in the First World War from the perspective of a fictional British soldier.

In October 2023 in Greenfield, MA, we presented the Lifetime Contribution Award to the New England Dancing Masters: Mary Alice Amidon, Peter Amidon, Mary Cay Brass, and Andy Davis. See some photos and video from the ceremony.

In this episode of From the Mic, we hear from the most wonderful David Smukler. A dance caller, scholar, organizer, choreographer, teacher, champion of chestnuts…the list goes on. David joined Mary over zoom from his home in Syracuse, New York. He grew up singing folk songs with his mom and began dancing contras in New Hampshire as a teen. In 1981 he was drafted to call for his local dance and has been calling ever since. David calls contras and squares, English country dances, and family and community dances.

Sally Rogers presents a recording by Gordon Bok of “The Handsome Cabin Boy,” a classic with a gender twist.