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Jobs page (bloglist latest)

  • Come work with us at camp!  Are you…

    • Looking for summer employment?
    • Retired and seeking adventure?
    • Between jobs or in a transitional period?
    • Generally looking to spend some quality time surrounded by music, dance, and song?

    If you answered yes to any of the above, then we have several positions open at our dance, music and song camps that are ideal for you!  Each year we need help running our summer dance and music camps at our four facilities: Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth, MA, Camp Cavell in Lexington, MI, Camp Louise in Cascade, MD, and new this year, Agassiz Village in Poland, ME.

    Compensation ranges from full scholarship to paid staff, depending on the job and the session. If one of the jobs below appeals to you, write to Joanna Reiner Wilkinson, Director of Programs, joanna@cdss.org.

    Lifeguards with CPR/First Aid Certificates (Pinewoods)

    Dates: July 22-29 (American Dance & Music Week) and August 12-19 (Early Music Week)
    Commitment: 1 week 
    Locations: Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth, MA
    Compensation: Program tuition and room/board
    Primary duties: Inform campers of swim area rules and safe behavior, be on duty during officially scheduled swim sessions. Lifeguard certification required. 

Song of the Month—This month’s song (bloglist latest)

  • Will Noble pointing across fields May 2023: We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough
    Submitted by Derek Piotr

    This song played an extremely significant role in my early musical life. Around age 7 or 8, I was avidly using our home PC and spent many hours browsing Encarta Encyclopedia, a kind of proto-Wikipedia. Encarta was full of media clips, and Bob Mills’ performance was among them. This became one of the first songs I remember learning, and when I visited Will and Pippa Noble on their farm in Shepley, it was the first song I requested.

    This song seems to have completely fallen out of favor in the twenty-first century; I can’t find anyone else around who still knows it. Hopefully my entry here will correct that.

    Listen to Will & Pippa Noble performing “We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough,” recorded by Derek Piotr in Shepley, 2021.

    Bob Mills performing “All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough,” recorded by Sam Richard in Winchester, 1981:

    Sheet music for "We're All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough"
    Download the sheet music for “We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough”

    Lyrics

    ‘Twas early one morning at the break of day,

    The cocks were a-crowing, the farmer did say,
    
”Come rise you good fellows, arise with good will,

    For your horses want something their bellies to fill.”

    When four o’clock comes, then up we all rise,

    And into our stables so merrily fly,

    With rubbing and scrubbing our horses we vow,

    We’re all jolly fellows that follow the plough.

    Then six o’clock comes, at breakfast we meet,

    Peat bread and pork pies we heartily eat,

    With a piece in our pocket, I’ll swear and I’ll vow,

    We’re all jolly fellows that follow the plough.

    Then we harness our horses, our way then we go
    
And trip o’er the plain boys so merrily-O,

    And when we come there, so jolly and bold,

    To see which of us the straight furrow can hold.

    Our master came to us and thus he did say,

    “What have you been doing boys, all this long day?

    Well you’ve not ploughed an acre, I’ll swear and I’ll vow.

    And you’re all idle fellows that follow the plough.”

    I stepped up to him and made this reply,

    “We have all ploughed an acre, so you tell a lie.

    We have all ploughed an acre, I’ll swear and I’ll vow,

    And we’re all jolly fellows that follow the plough.”

    He turned himself round and he laughed in a joke,

    “It’s past two o’clock, boys; it’s time to unyoke.

    Unharness your horses and rub them down well,

    And I’ll give you a jug of the very best ale.”

    So come all you brave fellows, where e’er you be,

    Take this advice and be ruled by me,
    
And never fear your masters, I’ll swear and I’ll vow,

    For you’re all jolly fellows that follow the plough.

    Derek Piotr is a folklorist, researcher and performer whose work focuses primarily on the human voice. His work covers practices including fieldwork, vocal performance, preservation and autoethnography; and is primarily concerned with tenderness, fragility, beauty and brutality. His work has been supported by The Traditional Song Forum and The Danbury Cultural Commission, and has featured on Death is Not the End and BBC. He recently launched the Fieldwork Archive.

Latest Web Chat (bloglist latest)

  • Dancers at Tapestry Folkdance Center in Minneapolis

    Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers!

    March 7, 2023

    An online discussion to support organizers of dance, music, and song groups

    In our mostly volunteer-powered community, we’ve long faced challenges when it comes to finding and keeping the people who make our organization’s dance, music, and song activities possible. The COVID pandemic exacerbated those challenges and impacted both our organizations and the environment in which we work.

    CDSS Executive Director Katy German hosted this Web Chat to discuss volunteer management and address key volunteer-related questions, such as:

    • Where do we find new volunteers?
    • How do we appreciate the volunteers we have and help them avoid burn-out?
    • How do we create processes for training volunteers and planning for position turn-over?

    Read More

Songs that Speak—Most recent (bloglist latest)

LCA—Most Recent LCA Recipient (bloglist latest)

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CDSS News—Latest Issue (bloglist latest image-left)

CD+S Online—Latest Issue (bloglist latest image-left)

  • CD+S Online Volume 3 coverCD+S Volume 3, April 2022

    With the 2022 issue of Country Dance + Song Online, we are excited to present three articles on very different topics, two of them by contributors new to the journal. We will time-travel to three centuries of Anglo-American dance—all different, but all evolutionarily connected.

    Articles

    • “The Grand March” by Alan Duffy
    • “Couple Dances, Douglas Kennedy’s English Folk Dance Society, and The British Old Time Dance Revival” by Dr. Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe
    • “A Traditional Square Dance in Upstate South Carolina, 2007-2011” by Bob Dalsemer

    Download PDF View as a Flipbook

CD+S Online—Past Issues (bloglist latest image-left)

bloglist twocol (was onecol)

Latest News page (bloglist twocol)

  • From the Mic with Steve Zakon-Anderson 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.

  • Register now for our next Web Chat

    Communities in Conflict

    An online discussion to support organizers of dance, music, and song groups
    Tuesday, May 30, 2023
    7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)

    Learn More Register

  • A young girl floats in an inner tube Lifeguards Needed for Pinewoods Camp

    Are you a lifeguard with first aid training? Want to spend a week at camp this summer? We’re still looking for lifeguards American Dance & Music Week (July 22-29) and Early Music Week (August 12-19), both at Pinewoods Camp. Find out more.

  • Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum playing guitar and fiddle in the CDSS store room Pack & Wrap Session with Countercurrent!

    We’re delighted to welcome Countercurrent (Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum) to CDSS for the first episode of our new Pack & Wrap Sessions! Named for the store room where it’s filmed, the Pack & Wrap Sessions is a not-so-often web series featuring very short interviews and concerts with dance musicians. In this episode, Alex and Brian talk about the silly things they always have in their instrument cases and play a set of favorite contra dance tunes.

    Read More

  • From the Mic with Louise Siddons From the Mic Episode 13: Louise Siddons

    In this episode of From the Mic, Mary interviews Louise Siddons about her involvement with communities in Michigan and Oklahoma, and across the pond in the UK. We’ll also learn about her work developing and teaching the practice of “positional calling” for social dance, which has recently culminated in a new book, published through CDSS, called Dancing the Whole Dance: Positional Calling for Contra. In the interview Louise shares what it’s been like to step into a leading role in the discussion about positional calling, and how her personal experiences on and off the dance floor have shaped her approach to dance leadership.

  • Will Noble pointing across fields May 2023 Song of the Month

    Derek Piotr presents “We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough,” a rare tale of hard work well rewarded.

  • A young boy participating in a dance at school Lesson Plans for Educators

    The CDSS Educators Task Group presents a new set of Lesson Plans to introduce students to a variety of topics in traditional music and dance. Check out the sample plans, and contribute your own at education@cdss.org.

  • From the Mic with Wendy Graham From the Mic Episode 12: Wendy Graham

    In episode 12 of From the Mic, Wendy Graham tells Mary, “My only job is to help people have fun. Fun, F-U-N, three letter word. That’s it!” Wendy’s passion for music, song and dance caught fire in 1991 on a Danish-American Exchange (DAE) youth dance tour to Denmark. Today, Wendy leads English and American community folk dances and teaches social couples dance across the country and around the world.

  • A fox and a woman, both in Tudor dress April 2023 Song of the Month

    Denise 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.

  • Screenshot of a YouTube video, featuring CDSS staff playing Bob McQuillen's "CDSS Jig." 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.

    Read More

  • CDSS News, Spring 2023 Spring 2023 CDSS News

    The 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.

  • Cartoon of two people moving a cardboard box with the CDSS logo on the side 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.

  • Laurel Swift holding a fiddle “…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.

  • Dancers at Tapestry Folkdance Center in Minneapolis 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.

    Read more about Web Chats, or email us with questions.

  • Two people dancing on the dock at Pinewoods Camp. Photo by Alan Duffy. Special Courses at Camp in 2023

    We’re excited to host four special courses at camp this summer, with Heidi Wilson, Gene Murrow, Dave Wiesler, and the Early Music Week staff!

    The lottery deadline for special courses is March 13; be sure to register by then for the best chance at getting a spot. Scholarships are available for all courses!

    Read More

  • Vintage-style image of a woman traveler March 2023 Song of the Month

    Sue Burgess introduces “Free and Easy to Ramble Along.” Sue writes: “A man goes on his rambles in Ireland and Scotland, having a good time meeting women, and perhaps breaking a few hearts along the way. In 2007, I was interested to hear well-known singer Peta Webb sing a version where the genders are reversed and the story told from a woman’s point of view.”

  • From the Mic with Will Mentor From the Mic Episode 11: Will Mentor

    In episode 11 of From the Mic, Mary talks with Will Mentor, who began his calling career in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1995. Since then, he has called dances, dance weekends, and weeklong dance camps all over the United States. Canada, and Europe. His guiding principle as a caller is “It’s about the dancers!”

  • Mass Cultural Council CDSS Receives $75,000 Grant

    CDSS has received a $75,000 Cultural Sector Recovery Grant from the Mass Cultural Council. Mass Cultural Council, an independent state arts agency, is charged with bolstering Massachusetts’s creative and cultural sector. MCC’s efforts advance economic vitality, support transformational change; and celebrate, preserve, and inspire creativity across all Massachusetts communities.

  • New England Dancing Masters: Andy Davis, Mary Alice Amidon, Mary Cay Brass, and Peter Amidon 2023 Lifetime Contribution Award Recipients: New England Dancing Masters

    We are proud to announce that Mary Alice Amidon, Peter Amidon, Mary Cay Brass, and Andy Davis—collectively known as the New England Dancing Masters—are the 2023 recipients of the CDSS Lifetime Contribution Award. For the past four decades, they have spread the joy of traditional music and dance across North America.

  • February 2023 Song of the Month

    William Pint introduces “The Rose in June,” the sad tale of a Scottish fisherman lost at sea. 

  • Campers clap hands at English Dance Week 2022. Photo by Jeff Bary. Camp registration open now!

    Magic is waiting for you at our 2023 summer dance, music, and song camps! Whether you’re a beginning fiddler or a professional bagpiper, a third grader or a grandparent, a brand-new contra dancer or a seasoned morris squire, you are welcome here. Join us for nine weeks of camps at four camp locations across the U.S. this summer. Learn more.

  • A young camper sweeps the dock over a lake 2023 Summer Camp Jobs

    Are you looking for summer employment? Retired and seeking adventure? Between jobs or in a transitional period? Generally looking to spend some quality time surrounded by music, dance, and song?

    If you answered yes to any of the above, then we have several positions open at our dance, music, and song camps that are ideal for you! Positions are 1-6 weeks long and compensation ranges from full scholarship to paid staff, depending on the job and the session. Find out more.

  • From the Mic with Chrissy Fowler From the Mic Episode 10: Chrissy Fowler

    In episode 10 of From the Mic, Mary interviews Chrissy Fowler. Chrissy co-founded a dance series in Belfast, Maine, which has evolved into a thriving participatory arts nonprofit—Belfast Flying Shoes. In her Flying Shoes bio, Chrissy describes herself as an organizer, leader, dancer and cheerleader. She likes to cultivate community by organizing fun stuff, including BFS programs and Puttin’ On the Dance, a conference for Northeast dance organizers.

  • A child sleeping among gold stars January 2023 Song of the Month

    Judy Cook introduces “Bed Is Too Small,” an anonymous American lullaby that she learned in Girl Scout camp.

  • Two pairs of dancers' hands with a rainbow background Winter 2022 CDSS News

    The Winter 2022 CDSS News is now available! Step into Jane Austen’s world with Graham Christian; learn about positional calling from Louise Siddons; listen to gender conversations with Scott Higgs; and get a year-end update from the CDSS Board, Community Resources Manager, and member survey. Plus much more! 

  • Road construction sign Thanks for checking out our new website!

    If you’re having trouble finding something or if something isn’t working, please fill out this form. We will get in touch to help as soon as we can.

  • Children dance around a man in the street December 2022 Song of the Month

    Matthew Byrne introduces “Jack Ashton,” the tale of a storyteller who brought a little escapism to poor children in a postwar factory town.

  • From the Mic with Sue Rosen From the Mic Episode 9: Sue Rosen

    In episode 9 of From the Mic, Mary interviews Sue Rosen. A leading caller of contras, squares, English country dance and family dance programs, Sue has been actively calling for 30 years in the Boston area, across the country, and overseas. She has built a collection of great dances and has written contras that have become part of the standard repertoire of dance callers across the contradance world. 

  • Heather plant in bloom November 2022 Song of the Month

    “Wild Mountain Thyme,” also known as “Purple Heather” and “Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?”, is one of the rare romantic folk songs. Jennifer Armstrong tells us the history of the song, as well as the story of her parents’ unique lyrical variations.

  • From the Mic with Chris Ricciotti From the Mic Episode 8: Chris Ricciotti

    In episode 8 of From the Mic, Mary talks with Chris Ricciotti, a pioneer in gender-free contra dancing. Chris says, “There’s no greater love than bringing new people into a dance and having them smile and say, I love this, I want to come back. That gives me the biggest thrill and the biggest feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction and joy.”

  • Dancers taking hands across a line Check out the last Web Chat: Building Cultural Equity in Communities

    The slideshow, video, transcript, and resources from our October 2022 Web Chat are now available. We heard from organizers who have used CDSS grants to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion training for their groups. Email us with questions.

  • Handwritten score for "I've Lived in Service" October 2022 Song of the Month

    Margaret Walters sends us her rendition of “I’ve Lived in Service,” as well as a version by Vic Gammon. The song was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and it tells the tale of a young servant who strikes a hard bargain with his employer over the maid he loves.

  • A person reading the CDSS News on an e-reader outdoors Fall 2022 CDSS News

    The Fall 2022 CDSS News is now available! Stroll through some English country dances with Paul Ross and Philippe Callens; learn how the Bloomington Old-Time Music and Dance Group celebrated their first 50 years and launched their next; hear Armand Aromin’s cheeky response to the question “Have you got a girlfriend yet?”; learn by ear with Lissa Schneckenburger; get ready to Welcome Yule with Louise Doud; and much more.

  • CDSS T-shirt design, showing a person playing recorder surrounded by musical instruments 2022 CDSS T-shirt

    We’re excited to show off our 2022 shirt design! Created by illustrator Marian Bailey, the design is printed on high-quality, 100% cotton, Bella + Canvas shirts, made in the US. Also printed in the US using environmentally-friendly practices and vibrant water-based inks. Get one while they last!

  • Working on digitizing old documents Digitization of the CDSS archives has begun!

    During our 2015 Centennial Campaign, the CDSS community raised $50,000 to fund digitization efforts for the CDSS collection at the University of New Hampshire. In June of this year, after two and a half years of putting so much on hold for pandemic-related business, CDSS and UNH were able to return attention to the work of making the CDSS archives digitally accessible, and the project is now underway! Read more in the CDSS News.

  • From the Mic with Chris Page From the Mic Episode 7: Chris Page

    In episode 7 of From the Mic, Mary talks with caller and choreographer Chris Page, who has called contras and English country dance in San Diego for about 15 years.

  • Irish construction workers in London after World War II September 2022 Song of the Month

    Ed Miller introduces “London Town,” written by the world-renowned fiddler Kevin Burke. The song is a tribute to the many Irish laborers who helped rebuild London after World War II.

  • A town in the Old West with a sign reading 'Yuba Dam' August 2022 Song of the Month

    Bob Bovee introduces “Yuba Dam,” an old-time song with a humorous tale of verbal misunderstandings. 

  • English soldiers in battle July 2022 Song of the Month

    Kim Wallach introduces “Bibble A La Do.” Also known as “Buttermilk Hill” and “Shule Aroon,” “Shule a Ghra,” “Siúil a Rún,” and by many other names, the song laments a lad gone for a soldier—sometimes one for whom the singer has sold everything to supply with the tools of war, only for them to die anyway.

  • A barefoot person reads the CDSS News in a hammock Summer 2022 CDSS News

    The Summer 2022 CDSS News is now available! Take a deep dive into the Irish Howle with Graham Christian; remember Lifetime Contribution Award recipient George Fogg; dance via Zoom at a Ball-That-Would-Have-Been; find out how the recorder can shine as a musical star; hear an oral history of old-time and modern Western dance from Bill Alkire; and much more.

  • A cabin boy stands on deck holding a mop June 2022 Song of the Month

    Joel Mabus introduces “The Golden Willow Tree,” in which a duplicitous sea captain strikes a bargain with a cabin boy to take down a pirate ship.

  • Soldiers and horses drowning in the Kabul River May 2022 Song of the Month

    George Stephens introduces “Ford o’ Kabul River,” a poem by Rudyard Kipling set to a tune by Peter Bellamy. The song tells the story of a regiment of British Hussars who drowned while attempting to cross the river and occupy Kabul during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879.

  • 19th-century engraving of dancers at a quadrille Country Dance + Song Online Volume 3

    With the 2022 issue of Country Dance + Song Online, we are excited to present three articles on very different topics, two of them by contributors new to the journal. We will time-travel to three centuries of Anglo-American dance—all different, but all evolutionarily connected. Read more and download the issue.

  • Women wait outside an Irish sod cottage April 2022 Song of the Month

    Ian Robb introduces “Bold Riley,” a sailor’s farewell that has become a favorite memorial song.

  • The CDSS News with chocolate Easter eggs Spring 2022 CDSS News

    The Spring 2022 CDSS News is now available! Learn about the Johnny Appleseed of morris dance; try a two-couple ECD or a happy march; read an interview with the late, great Tony Barrand; and much more. 

  • Flash Phelps playing accordion and Dick Corbett singing March 2022 Song of the Month

    Nick Dow tells of a visit to a pub in Broadwindsor and an evening of memorable songs. One of these, “The Foggy Dew,” is the story of a bachelor who takes in a young woman on a chilly night and ends up as a single father.

  • Contra Pulse with Dave Langford Contra Pulse with Dave Langford

    On this episode of Contra Pulse, Dave tells us all about his early years and how his journey as a fiddle player began on a spur-of-the-moment whim. We explore his identity as a New England Style Fiddler, and get to hear Dave demonstrate his unique fiddle strum, and a few beautiful tunes on the guitar. Dave leaves us with a cliffhanger about new developments coming out with his band, Stomp Rocket, so we’ll just have to wait at the edge of our seats to find out. In the meantime, enjoy!

  • Saro Lynch-Thomason on YouTube Songs That Speak: The Ballad of Little Mary Phagan

    CDSS is pleased to support “Songs that Speak,” a monthly YouTube series by Saro Lynch-Thomason. Learn about the history, folklore, and modern-day relevance of traditional songs, and sing along as Saro teaches each song through sing-and-repeat. Saro’s latest offering is “Can Songs Kill? The Leo Frank Trial and the Ballad of Little Mary Phagan.”

  • Sculpture of a Scottish couple during the Highland Clearances February 2022 Song of the Month

    Ken Willson and Kim McKee present “Scarborough Settler’s Lament,” in which an exile to Canada during the Highland Clearances sings about longing for the beauty of Scotland.

  • Contra Pulse with Becky Tracy Contra Pulse with Becky Tracy

    On this episode of Contra Pulse, Julie sits down with fiddler Becky Tracy. Becky has been a defining presence in some of the most popular and innovative contra dance bands from New England—Wild Asparagus and Nightingale. 

  • Engraving of Tom o'Bedlam from 1608 January 2022 Song of the Month

    Tim Edwards introduces “Tom o’Bedlam’s Song,” an early 17th-century tune that has been described as the finest anonymous poem in the English language. Tom is a licensed beggar discharged from the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London (“Bedlam”).

  • The Winter 2021 CDSS News magazine cozies up with a latte and a tangerine Winter 2021 CDSS News

    The Winter 2021 CDSS News is now available! Learn about Ignatius Sancho, a country dance composer who started life on a slave ship; dance the Pandemic Waltz; get some tips for weathering the winter together; and remember that “Songs Stay Sung.” Plus much more!

  • Ed Stern smiling in a flowered hat 2022 Lifetime Contribution Award Recipient: Ed Stern

    The Country Dance & Song Society is proud to announce that Ed Stern of Minneapolis, MN, is the 2022 recipient of the CDSS Lifetime Contribution Award.

Meet Our Society Members (bloglist twocol)

  • Doug Young & Pat Petersen Doug Young & Pat Petersen

    We met either dancing or playing music—neither of us can remember, as we were both “otherwise engaged”—but those two threads drew us ever closer, and continue to knit our lives together. Our courtship continued after Doug moved a few hours away—he would drive down to the Friday contradance and whisk me onto the floor.

    The strands in those threads multiplied—waltz, contra, English, square; early music and recorder, old-time music with banjos and guitars, and oh so many songs (Pat is sure that when she is on her deathbed Doug will sing for her yet another song that she’s never heard him sing before).

    Read More

  • Sam & Sandy Rotenberg Sam & Sandy Rotenberg

    In writing our will, it was clear that supporting CDSS was important to both of us. Watching the response of the Country Dance & Song Society to the COVID-19 crisis on our continent confirms all that we admire about our national organization.

    Musicians play to calm our souls and camp weeks hold virtual gatherings that unite friends and families with joy and good cheer. CDSS web talks convey vital information concerning critical decisions by our local organizations about reopenings. CDSS also created a venue to support musicians and callers who depend upon events for their livelihood. This year’s virtual camp weeks provided an opportunity to enjoy sensitive and uplifting songs, stories, fun, and games. Viewing these moments helped us through yet another week or two of no dancing, no socializing, and no meals with family and friends.

    Read More

  • Peg Duthie Peg Duthie

    ECD captivates me because it speaks to both my head and heart—its blend of patterns, precision, and haunting, heart-rending melodies are immensely satisfying to practice, study, and improvise on. It’s led to both sublime moments of connection on the dance floor and extraordinary friendships beyond it.

    As someone whose parents both died before the age of 65 and someone who has witnessed problematic outcomes thanks to nonexistent wills, outdated beneficiary designations, and the like, I am a fervent believer in estate planning and maintenance. (Knowing that wills are supposed to be revisited and revised periodically got me past the mental barrier of trying to make the document perfect for Future Me.)

    Read More

  • Craig Meltzner & Elaine Walter Craig Meltzner & Elaine Walter

    L’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) is a Jewish phrase which refers to continuity, the responsibility of passing on knowledge and traditions to sustain them for the future. This concept informs our plans to leave a bequest to CDSS.

    We met folk dancing, and our marriage and family life has been enriched by community dance and song, largely from our home base in Northern California. We’ve danced throughout the U.S. and even in Jerusalem, courtesy of an American expatriate dancer. As toddlers, our daughters fell asleep on the sidelines of contra dances, and as they grew, joined us on the dance floor and at summer camps. This summer we look forward to CDSS Family Week at Ogontz with our daughter and 2-year-old granddaughter—the next generation to share the tradition with us.

    Read More

  • David Millstone & Sheila Moran David Millstone & Sheila Moran

    We each started country dancing in the early 1970s with Dudley Laufman, Sheila in Maine and David in New Hampshire. Music, song, and dance have been central to our lives for most of our adult lives.

    Over the decades, our involvement in these activities has included playing in a dance band, singing with Village Harmony, joining a longsword team, performing in the Hanover Christmas Revels, singing in a hospice chorus, and calling dances. David’s calling and our travels were, in roughly equal parts, devoted to English country, contra and squares, and community/children/family dancing.

    Read More

  • John Dexter John Dexter

    I have just finished the somewhat surreal task of planning for my eventual demise by establishing a process by which a portion of my estate will be given to CDSS.

    As do others during this process, I evaluated all the possible people and organizations to whom I might give this sort of gift. And I concluded that CDSS is the organization I feel most strongly about.

    The reasons are at once myriad and simple.

    Read More

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Previous Web Chats (bloglist twocol noimage)

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For Affiliates (bloglist threecol)

  • Register now for our next Web Chat

    Communities in Conflict

    An online discussion to support organizers of dance, music, and song groups
    Tuesday, May 30, 2023
    7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)

    Learn More Register

  • CDSS News, Spring 2023 Spring 2023 CDSS News

    The 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.

  • Two people dancing on the dock at Pinewoods Camp. Photo by Alan Duffy. Special Courses at Camp in 2023

    We’re excited to host four special courses at camp this summer, with Heidi Wilson, Gene Murrow, Dave Wiesler, and the Early Music Week staff!

    The lottery deadline for special courses is March 13; be sure to register by then for the best chance at getting a spot. Scholarships are available for all courses!

    Read More

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Community Grants—Recent Recipients (bloglist threecol largeimage)

  • Burlington Family Contra Dance

    Burlington Family Contra Dance

    Burlington, VT
    Creating a community family contra dance for all ages and abilities
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

  • The Marley Project

    The Marley Project

    Michigan
    archiving the full set of historic Marley family dances, from the Vaudeville era
    Funded by the Anthony G. Barrand Research Fund

  • Workshop participants working together at table

    Make Every Space Safer in Trad Music Communities

    Nasons, VA
    Creating a set of community agreements that people in our music communities can commit to

  • Family dance at the New England Carousel Museum

    New England Carousel Museum

    Bristol, CT
    Hosting a family dance
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

  • Workshop participants sit in a circle

    Madison Contra Collective

    Madison, WI
    Hosting an open band workshop for the Madison Contra Collective Band
    Funded by the Mary Kay Friday Leadership Training Fund

  • Stars in the Rafters

    Stars in the Rafters

    Brattleboro, VT
    Creating a podcast to provide comfort and community connections through traditional music, song, and poetry

  • DanceFlurry

    DanceFlurry Organization

    Albany, NY
    Participating in online diversity, equity, and inclusion training

  • Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts

    Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts

    Northampton, MA
    Providing online lessons with New England musicians

  • Participants in the Bloomington Callers Workshop, 2021

    Bloomington Old-Time Music and Dance Group

    Bloomington, IN
    Hosting a workshop for new contra dance callers
    Funded by the Mary Kay Friday Leadership Training Fund

  • Raise the Rafters

    Raise the Rafters

    Rhododendron, OR
    Creating a youth-oriented traditional singing event in the Pacific Northwest
    Funded by the May Gadd/Phil Merrill Fund

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Publications—Read (bloglist threecol news)

  • CDSS News, Spring 2022 CDSS News Magazine

    The CDSS News is a quarterly magazine featuring articles, letters, and art about dance and song.

  • CD+S Online Volume 3 cover CD+S Online

    CD+S Online is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published every couple of years and features more in-depth articles than the News.

  • Cover of Playford's The Dancing Master Online Library

    The CDSS Online Library contains free digital copies of previously out-of-print dance books and databases, including Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes, Ken Sheffield’s “From Two Barns” collection, and various indexes from the Colonial Music Institute.

  • Dimond Library reading room at the University of New Hampshire Archive & Collections

    The CDSS Archive & Collections are housed in the Milne Special Collections & Archives at the University of New Hampshire. The CDSS Library is a collection of nearly 3,000 books, 400 periodicals, pamphlets and sheet music, and close to 2000 recordings. The CDSS Archives is a collection of manuscripts, personal papers, microfiche recordings, and archival materials from CDSS history.

  • Map and graphs from community surveys Community Studies

    CDSS Community Studies are recent surveys conducted by us, including CDSS Affiliate Surveys from 2019-2021, the 2018 US Organizer Survey, and the 2017 Canadian Organizer Survey.

Publications—Listen (bloglist threecol news)

  • Contra Pulse Contra Pulse

    Contra Pulse is a podcast taking the pulse of contra dance music today through a series of conversations between host Julie Vallimont and prominent contra musicians from all corners.  Join us in this journey through music, dance, time, space, and community.

  • From the Mic From the Mic

    From the Mic is a podcast about North American social dance calling. Through conversations with callers across the continent host Mary Wesley will explore the world of square, contra, and community dance callers. Why do they do it? How did they learn? What is their role, on stage and off, in shaping our dance communities? What can they tell us about the particular corner of the dance world that they know, and love, the best?

  • Singers at the Youth Traditional Song conference. Photo by Lorelei Erisis. Song of the Month

    The Song of the Month is an ongoing collection of folk songs, curated by members of our community. Each song comes with a story, sheet music, and audio recording for learning.

Publications—Watch (bloglist threecol news)

  • Dance It Yourself! Dance it Yourself

    Dance it Yourself is a multigenerational dance video series, originally produced during the pandemic. The six interactive videos feature well-known traditional dance callers, musicians, and a wide variety of dance styles, all of which can be done solo or in a couple.

  • Saro Lynch-Thomason Songs That Speak

    Songs That Speak is a monthly YouTube series by Saro Lynch-Thomason, supported in part by CDSS. Learn about the history, folklore, and modern-day relevance of traditional songs, and sing along as Saro teaches each song through sing-and-repeat.

  • Darlene Hamilton with guests in a Zoom chat 5 Things: Inside the Dancing Mind of…

    “5 Things: Inside the Dancing Mind of…” is an online video series featuring movers and shakers in the English country dance community. Each guest discusses the five things they feel are most important to their passion for ECD. “5 Things…” is hosted by the Historical Tea & Dance Society and archived by CDSS.

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Online Library—Databases (bloglist threecol news publications)

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dancing Across the Pond

    Dancing Across the Pond by Robert M. Keller, Margaret Keller Dimock and Anne Keller Geraci: 362 Original Country Dance Figures, 191 with Music, ms or Printed

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Peter Rogers Country Dance Index

    Peter Rogers Country Dance Index, 3rd Edition (1986)

  • The Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes Volume Three Database Barnes Three Dance Database

    Barnes Three Dance Database: A database of the tunes and associated dances in Volume Three of the Barnes Book of English Country Dance Tunes, with links to dance instruction and further information about many of the dances.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold The Performing Arts in Colonial American Newspapers, 1690-1783

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Mary Jane Corry, Kate Van Winkle Keller, and Robert M. Keller): The Performing Arts in Colonial American Newspapers, 1690-1783 — This publication fills a major gap in access to eighteenth-century American sources for research in the performing arts and related humanities fields. It includes all references to music, poetry (lyrics), dance, and theater found by our readers in American newspapers, from the earliest extant copy (1690) through the end of the Revolutionary War (1783).

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Early American Secular Music and Its 
European Sources, 1589–1839

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert M. Keller, Raoul F. Camus, Kate Van Winkle Keller, and Susan Cifaldi): Early American Secular Music and Its 
European Sources, 1589–1839: An Index — This is a series of indexes derived from a data base of musical information compiled from primary sources covering the 250 years of the initial exploration and settlement of the United States. It consists of over 75,000 entries that are sorted by text (titles, first lines, recitatives, chorus and burden), by music incipits (represented in scale degrees, stressed notes and interval sequences), with additional indexes of names and theater works.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dance Figures Index: American Country Dances, 1710-1830

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Dance Figures Index: American Country Dances, 1710-1830 — A guide to the basic figures in all American printed and manuscript longways country dances in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century sources. It is drawn from a computer database of information which was gathered from 82 sources, 53 printed and 29 in manuscript.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Early American Songsters, 1734-1820

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Early American Songsters, 1734-1820: An Index —An index of all of the known songsters currently available. The index draws heavily from Irving Lowens’ Bibliography of Songster Printed in America Before 1821 (Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 1976), for titles and other bibliographical information. Lowens defines a songster “as a collection of three or more secular poems intended to be sung.” Most of the songsters do not include music, although many contain references to the names of tunes to which the song could be sung. This publication comprises those songs published through 1800.

  • A treasure chest filled with gold Dance Figures Index: English Country Dances, 1650-1833

    The Colonial Music Institute (compiled by Robert Keller): Dance Figures Index: English Country Dances, 1650-1833 — A guide to the basic figures in major English printed longways country dances in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century sources. This database only includes sources for dances with instruction for country dances, or dances that could be identified as such. It does not include other dance forms, such as Cotillions or Allemand or similar dances.

  • Cover of The English Dancing Master The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium

    Robert M. Keller: The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium (online database)—The Compendium is a searchable database of all known country dances published in the various editions of The Dancing Master, published by John Playford, Henry Playford and John Young, from 1651-1728 in London, with facsimiles of each “unique” dance with its music. This reference work is published by CDSS with the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the New Hampshire Library for Traditional Dance and Music at the University of New Hampshire.

Online Library—Books (bloglist threecol news publications)

  • A blur of contra dancers, with band in the background Mary Dart: Contra Dance Choreography

    Mary Dart: Contra Dance Choreography: A Reflection of Social Change—Originally published by Garland Publishing, Inc., New York & London, 1995. Mary Dart’s classic study explores “the way the choreography of the contra dance, a folk dance tradition brought to us from the British Isles, has been changing, particularly over the last twenty years.” The book, based on interviews with callers, dance composers and musicians, looks at new dances, how they are composed, and what aesthetic and cultural principles underlie the choreographic choices made. 

  • Map of West Virginia Robert G. Dalsemer: West Virginia Square Dances

    Robert G. Dalsemer: West Virginia Square Dances—Originally published by Country Dance and Song Society, 1982. Dalsemer describes dance figures as done in five rural West Virginia communities in the mid- to late-1970s and reports on their regular dance events, including programming, type of audience, price and method of admission, and the traditions of figure calling and musical performance. The history of each dance event is discussed, as is their on-going process of evolution. With appendices: a list of tunes commonly played for square dances; transcriptions of calls; and tunes for caller Worley Gardner’s singing and semi-singing calls.

  • A stack of books Ted Sannella: Annotated Discography and Bibliography from Swing the Next

    Ted Sannella: Annotated Discography and Bibliography from Ted Sannella’s Swing the Next — The annotations and introduction for the Discography and Bibliography in Swing the Next (CDSS, 1996) are included here in their entirety. Swing the Next is a collection of 80 American square, contra, triplet and circle dances, the majority of them written by Ted Sannella, a master of the art of calling American traditional dances.

  • Roy Dommett playing the accordion Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes

    Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes Online Edition — the foundational resource, long out of print, available online.

  • Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing cover Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing

    Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing (17MB PDF)

  • GEMS: The Best of the Country Dance and Song Society's Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest GEMS: The Best of CDSS’s Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest

    CDSS, GEMS: The Best of the Country Dance and Song Society’s Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest

Online Library—Magazines (bloglist threecol news publications)

Online Library—Dances and Other Resources (bloglist threecol news publications)

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Song of the Month—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol)

LCA—Past Recipients (bloglist fourcol)

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Homepage—Latest News (bloglist fourcol news)

  • From the Mic with Steve Zakon-Anderson 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.

  • Register now for our next Web Chat

    Communities in Conflict

    An online discussion to support organizers of dance, music, and song groups
    Tuesday, May 30, 2023
    7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)

    Learn More Register

  • A young girl floats in an inner tube Lifeguards Needed for Pinewoods Camp

    Are you a lifeguard with first aid training? Want to spend a week at camp this summer? We’re still looking for lifeguards American Dance & Music Week (July 22-29) and Early Music Week (August 12-19), both at Pinewoods Camp. Find out more.

  • Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum playing guitar and fiddle in the CDSS store room Pack & Wrap Session with Countercurrent!

    We’re delighted to welcome Countercurrent (Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum) to CDSS for the first episode of our new Pack & Wrap Sessions! Named for the store room where it’s filmed, the Pack & Wrap Sessions is a not-so-often web series featuring very short interviews and concerts with dance musicians. In this episode, Alex and Brian talk about the silly things they always have in their instrument cases and play a set of favorite contra dance tunes.

    Read More

  • From the Mic with Louise Siddons From the Mic Episode 13: Louise Siddons

    In this episode of From the Mic, Mary interviews Louise Siddons about her involvement with communities in Michigan and Oklahoma, and across the pond in the UK. We’ll also learn about her work developing and teaching the practice of “positional calling” for social dance, which has recently culminated in a new book, published through CDSS, called Dancing the Whole Dance: Positional Calling for Contra. In the interview Louise shares what it’s been like to step into a leading role in the discussion about positional calling, and how her personal experiences on and off the dance floor have shaped her approach to dance leadership.

  • Will Noble pointing across fields May 2023 Song of the Month

    Derek Piotr presents “We’re All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough,” a rare tale of hard work well rewarded.

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Country Dance & Song Archives (bloglist fourcol newsmag)

The Country Dancer Archives(bloglist fourcol newsmag)

CDSS News—Past Issues (bloglist fourcol newsmag)

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CDSS News older issues (bloglist fourcol smaller)

Song of the Month—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol smaller)

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Songs that Speak—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol noimage)