bloglist latest

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.

Sound System Operators (Pinewoods, Agassiz)

Dates: July 15-August 26
Commitment: 1 week
Locations: Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth, MA (July 15-August 26, 1 week commitment)
Agassiz Village in Poland, ME (August 13-19)
Compensation: $800-825
Primary duties: Set up and manage sound systems for program spaces at evening events and during the day for classes that require amplification, working with program staff to provide optimal auditory experience for campers and staff.

Lifeguards with CPR/First Aid Certificates (Pinewoods, Cascade)

Dates: See locations
Commitment: 1 week
Locations: Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth, MA (July 15-August 26, 1 week commitment)
Camp Louise in Cascade, MD (August 14-20)
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.

Doctor or Nurse (family weeks)

Dates: See locations
Commitment: 1 week
Locations: Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth, MA (July 15-22 and August 19-26))
Agassiz Village in Poland, ME (August 13-19)
Camp Louise in Cascade, MD (August 14-20)
Compensation: Program tuition and room/board
Primary duties: Be first point of contact for campers experiencing health concerns

In addition to these jobs, we will have scholarship and work exchange opportunities for each camp session. Full details will be available when camp registration opens in mid-January. Click here for a full listing of camp weeks, dates, and Program Directors.

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

March 2023: Free and Easy to Ramble Along
Submitted by Sue Burgess

This is a re-written version of a traditional Irish song called “Free and Easy to Jog Along,” sung by—among many others—Kevin Mitchell and Roisin White.

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. As I was very keen on the ‘equality’ idea for my own repertoire, Peta kindly gave me her revised text and a recording.

After a while, I realized that the Irish tune just didn’t suit my singing style, but eventually found an English one which did. My choice grew out of listening to Sam Larner’s tune for “Bold Princess Royal,” which is very like that sung for “Yellow Handkerchief.” Unfortunately, it has a lot more notes in it, so I had to re-write the re-write with a few ideas of my own, and now very much enjoy singing the result.

Listen to Sue singing “Free and Easy to Ramble Along:”

Download the sheet music for “Free and Easy to Ramble Along”

Lyrics

(trad, arr Sue Burgess, after Peta Webb)

It’s a tale of my rambles that I surely will sing
Just like any small bird or thrush in the spring
When the sun she arises for to greet every morn
I am free and I am easy for to ramble along

Now the first one of my rambles, it was to Derry Quay
For to see all the lads there, and lasses so gay
And I sat me down among them for to sing them a song
I sang free and I sang easy for to ramble along

Well, the next one of my rambles, it was to Glasgow Green
Where the lads and the lasses were all to be seen
And I was the merriest all among that fine throng
For I was free and I was easy for to ramble along

Now I had not been there but a very short space
When a handsome young man he did smile in my face
He said: had I a husband or any such one?
No, I’m free and I am easy for to ramble along

I went along then with this young man all into some inn
Where we did drink brandy, strong ale and some gin
Then he asked it of me for to pledge heart and hand
And forget free and easy for to ramble along

Oh, no, my jolly young man, such things cannot be
For I’ve a fine notion to cross the stormy sea
When a girl she gets married, all her joys they are done
She’s no more free and easy for to ramble along

But if ever I return it will be in the spring
Once more of my rambles I surely will sing
I’ll drink a health to the lasses that will join me in song
That remain free and easy for to ramble along

Ever since her early years with the Songwainers at Cheltenham Folk Song Club in Gloucestershire, Sue Burgess has been a distinctive voice in several well-known harmony groups (notably Regal Slip) and duos; her love of traditional music has remained constant ever since.

Now living in Yorkshire, these days Sue appears regularly as a solo performer, recognised for her interpretation of a unique repertoire which has often been re-arranged to give a fairer representation of female characterization in traditional folk song.

Most recently, Sue has also become part of The Gilchrist Collective—together with Peter & Barbara Snape and Brian Peters—in a project celebrating the work of Lancashire collector Anne Geddes Gilchrist, with a CD entitled Most Truly Yours.

Latest Web Chat (bloglist latest)

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)

The Ballad of Little Mary Phagan January 31, 2022
Can Songs Kill? The Leo Frank Trial and the Ballad of Little Mary Phagan

LCA—Most Recent LCA Recipient (bloglist latest)

bloglist latest image-left

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

Spring 2023

Table of Contents PDF Flipbook

Special This Issue
- From the Director of Development, by Robin Hayden
- 2023 CDSS Lifetime Contribution Award: New England Dancing Masters (Mary Alice Amidon, Peter Amidon, Mary Cay Brass, Andy Davis)
- Three Poems:
  - “After the Dance,” by Cathy Hollister
  - “For Pete Sutherland,” by Donna Hébert
  - “Of Course, the Money Musk,” by Dudley Laufman
- Folk Song Fridays: Songs to Bring Close to Our Hearts, by Jacob Chen
  Listen on the author’s website
- COVID Protocols and Outcomes in Western Washington, by Melissa Coffey, RN, and Mike Richardson, MD
- Kwackfest: The Celebration of the Bob McQuillen Centennial, by Lisa Sieverts and Vince O’Donnell
- Playing All of Bob McQuillen’s Tunes: A Centenary Celebration in 2023, by Laurie Indenbaum
Recurring Contributions

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

CD+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)

CD+S Volume 2, June 2019

Table of Contents
- Foreword to Volume 2, by Allison Thompson
- The Dolphin Hey: The Evolution and Transmission of a Dance Figure, by David Millstone and Allison Thompson
- The Folk Scholarship Roots and Geopolitical Boundaries of Sacred Harp’s Global Twenty-first Century, by Jesse P. Karlsberg
- Lock and Dam: A Longsword Dance for the 21st Century, by Douglas Allchin
- Walking for the Cake, by Mark Matthews
CD+S Volume 1, April 2016

Table of Contents
- Foreword to the Inaugural Issue, by Allison Thompson
- Cecil Sharp and English Folk Song and Dance before 1915, by Derek Schofield
- Cecil Sharp and the Origins of the Country Dance & Song Society, by Daniel J. Walkowitz, Ph.D.
- Cousins, A Few Times Removed: Eighty Years of Team Clogging’s Family Tree, by Leanne E. Smith
- Square Dance in the 1950s Rural West: An Oral History, by Tina R. Fields, Ph.D.

bloglist twocol (was onecol)

Latest News page (bloglist twocol)

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
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.
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.

Read more about Web Chats, or email us with questions.
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
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 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!”
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
January 2023 Song of the Month
Judy Cook introduces “Bed Is Too Small,” an anonymous American lullaby that she learned in Girl Scout camp.
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!
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.
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 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.
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 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
August 2022 Song of the Month
Bob Bovee introduces “Yuba Dam,” an old-time song with a humorous tale of verbal misunderstandings.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
April 2022 Song of the Month
Ian Robb introduces “Bold Riley,” a sailor’s farewell that has become a favorite memorial song.
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.
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
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!
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.”
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
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.
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”).
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!
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)

Gaye Fifer
It was definitely time for me to write my will, although I hope not to use it for a good many years. In thinking about what has been a big part of my life, it seems appropriate to designate CDSS as a major beneficiary of my assets. My first husband introduced me to contra dancing over 40 years ago, and I’ve never looked back. After 15 years of dancing, I realized that someone has to do work to keep the dances going. What a revelation! As a result, I learned and grew in taking leadership roles to sustain and nurture my community (local and beyond). This has led me to so many enriching experiences and helped me be the person I am today.

Read More
James Edward “Sunshine Jim” Hudock
We are grateful to have received a major legacy gift from the James Edward Hudock Trust.

James Edward Hudock, known to his friends as “Sunshine Jim,” was a beloved member of the Melbourne (FL) English Country Dance and the Cocoa Beach Contra Dance communities, enjoying the friendships that developed there and becoming an informal board member. From time to time, he was suspected of being the “Dance Angel” who would make quiet cash donations to keep the slow times solvent. Even when health challenges began to make dancing difficult for him, his presence at dances lifted spirits.

Read More
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
Dave Pokorney & Jolaine Jones-Pokorney
It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Gainesville, Florida. Sunlight was streaming through the windows onto the dance floor. The band Steamshovel and caller Alex Deis-Lauby were guiding us through an amazing morning of dance. I said to my partner, “Isn’t this a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning?” She replied, “BEST CHURCH EVER!”

It is a sentiment we’ve heard on dance floors across the country. Many of us consider the music and dance community to be our spiritual community or extended family. We recognize in the friendships and the transcendent experiences, an element of the holy.

Read More
Luanne Stiles & John Lam
Adding CDSS to our estate plans this year was a natural step in setting up our legacy, because we trust CDSS to carry forward the things that matter most to us far into the future.

When we began dancing in our home communities in Massachusetts, we were focused on our own challenges of becoming competent dancers and thoroughly appreciated the patience and skill of our local leaders. Thanks to Helene Cornelius in the ‘70s and Robin Hayden in the 2000s! We focused on our local groups and were not very aware of CDSS.

Read More

bloglist twocol

Previous Web Chats (bloglist twocol noimage)

Building Cultural Equity in Communities October 26, 2022
Let’s Talk About Reentry, Part 7: Singing Together Safely May 4, 2022
Let’s Talk About Reentry, Part 6: Prioritizing Safety at In-person Dances February 28, 2022
Weathering the Winter Together November 1, 2021
Let’s Talk About Reentry, Part 5: News from Groups That Have Resumed In-person Events August 12, 2021
Let’s Talk About Reentry, Part 4: Addressing Legal and Other Burning Questions May 19, 2021
Let’s Talk About Reentry, Part 3: An MD Discusses Vaccines, and We Discuss Our Sector’s Needs March 1, 2021
Singing and Playing Music in REAL TIME! An online discussion for organizers of song communities and open bands January 13, 2021
Let’s Talk About Reentry: Working Together Now for a Strong Return to Dancing October 21, 2020
Supporting Song Communities Across the Continent September 16, 2020
Let’s Talk About Reentry: Recommendations and Q&A for Organizers July 8, 2020
Yes we CAN keep in touch! Connecting Our Communities During the Pandemic April 29, 2020
Diversifying Income: Thinking Outside the Money Basket February 12, 2020
Connecting Community Sing Organizers October 16, 2019
Building Safe Dance Communities July 11, 2019
Family/Community Dance Organizers Unite! April 4, 2019
Increasing Youth Involvement January 16, 2019
Creating a Thriving Open Band September 20, 2018
Boosting AttenDANCE June 21, 2018

bloglist threecol

For Affiliates (bloglist threecol)

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.
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
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.

bloglist threecol largeimage

Community Grants—Recent Recipients (bloglist threecol largeimage)

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
New England Carousel Museum

Bristol, CT
hosting a family dance
Madison Contra Collective

Madison, WI
hosting an open band workshop for the Madison Contra Collective Band
Stars in the Rafters

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

Albany, NY
participating in online diversity, equity, and inclusion training
Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts

Northampton, MA
providing online lessons with New England musicians
Bloomington Old-Time Music and Dance Group

Bloomington, IN
hosting a workshop for new contra dance callers
Raise the Rafters

Rhododendron, OR
creating a youth-oriented traditional singing event in the Pacific Northwest

bloglist threecol news

Publications—Read (bloglist threecol news)

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

bloglist threecol news publications

Online Library—Databases (bloglist threecol news publications)

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

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.
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.
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’s Morris Notes
Roy Dommett’s Morris Notes Online Edition — the foundational resource, long out of print, available online.
Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing
Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing (17MB PDF)
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)

The Country Dancer Archives
The Country Dancer Archives: CDSS’s magazine published from 1940-1966
Country Dance and Song Archives
Country Dance and Song Archives: CDSS’s magazine published from 1968-1996

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

A Barn Dance Repertoire
A Barn Dance Repertoire by Thomas Green and Colin Hume includes over 140 dances, plus resources and tips for barn dances and ceilidhs.
Ken Sheffield’s Collected Dances
Ken Sheffield’s collected dances: The entire collection of Sheffield’s “From Two Barns,” Volumes 1-10.
Charles Bolton’s Collected Dances
Charles Bolton’s collected dances: The entire collection of both Bolton’s “Retreads” series and his original dances.
Cracking Chestnuts Videos
Cracking Chestnuts videos: A page with links to YouTube videos of all of the classic American contra dances that are featured in the CDSS publication Cracking Chestnuts: The Living Tradition of Classic American Contra Dances.
Colin Hume’s Website
Colin Hume, a folk dance caller and composer, shares many resources related to English and American dance styles.

bloglist fourcol

Song of the Month—Past Songs (bloglist fourcol)

LCA—Past Recipients (bloglist fourcol)

bloglist fourcol news

Homepage—Latest News (bloglist fourcol news)

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
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.
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.

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