New in 2026! Contra Callers’ Corner is a series of free monthly Zoom calls for contra callers of all levels. It’s a place to ask questions, network, and address hot topics from your local dance community in a safe space.
Hosted by Seth Tepfer
Featuring Lisa Greenleaf
Wednesday, January 14
8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT)
Register here
We’re excited to share that the December issue of the CDSS News is returning! This issue will feature ads for 2027 events, plus dances, puzzles, and other fun! Ad reservations for all three 2026 issues are available now. See deadlines and rates here.
Judy Cook introduces “Three Men of Gotham,” a poem by Thomas Love Peacock set to the tune “Courtiers.” The three men set sail in a bowl to try to rake the moon from the sea—but are they foolish or wise?
This episode, Chrissy sits down with the wonderful Carol Compton and Thal Aylward of Trip to Norwich to talk about the wild paths each of them have taken to playing English country dance and contra and contra music and where they are today. The conversation takes place in between a range of original and traditional tunes played by the duo. Listen and subscribe!
Save the date!
Sunday, January 25
4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT)
Join us for rousing community singing led by the creators of Rise Up Singing, Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, and a screening of We Began to Sing, a documentary about Peter and Annie and Pete Seeger by Polly Wells and Candida Paltiel.
Support staff positions are now open at all of our camp locations. Most jobs are for single camp sessions, which are 4-7 days long. If you’re interested in a longer commitment, check out the two 6-week positions at Pinewoods.
We’d love to have you join our 2026 camp team! Learn more about open positions and apply here.
This episode of From the Mic features Bill Olson, a contra and square dance caller, guitarist, and dance composer. It’s a fascinating look into the mind of someone who has dedicated himself to keeping these traditions alive in Maine and everywhere.
Episode 4 of the Flying Shoes Radio Hour involves chatting (and laughing) with the Quebecois band Genticorum. Listen and subscribe!
We are delighted to announce that David Millstone of Lebanon, NH, is the recipient of the 2026 CDSS Lifetime Contribution Award. David is a dancer, caller, teacher, historian, and leader specializing in contra dance, New England squares, and English country dance.
We’re excited to announce that our long-running song sharing archive is now accepting submissions! Have a favorite song that works at pub sings, song circles, and other community singing events? Share it here!
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.
Isaac BannerIsaac Banner (Seattle, WA) has been dancing and calling in the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade. Originally from Saratoga Springs, NY, they grew up surrounded by the music and dance communities of the Greater Adirondacks, regularly volunteering at Caffè Lena and The Dance Flurry.
Seeking community through the folk and American barbershop traditions, Isaac danced his way across the country in 2015 and, since relocating to the west coast, they’ve been passionately involved in creating safe and inclusive dance spaces for dancers of every identity and background. They believe strongly that open, affordable, and accessible dance spaces are fundamental to carrying forward the folk tradition to the next generation of dancers, callers, musicians, and more.
Isaac’s professional background is primarily in online services and digital security, through which they’ve served in a technical capacity to support and organize several events in the Pacific Northwest. When they’re not calling for dances, they can be found writing original choreography, coaching new callers, or making surprisingly convincing chicken noises.
Seth TepferSeth Tepfer (Decatur, GA) first started Scottish country dancing in 1987. Ballroom dancing led to Cajun dancing, which led to contra dancing. From there, Seth started helping run dance events and, in 1997, started contra dance calling.
In the years since, Seth has organized dance weekends (What the Hey, Butterfly Whirl, Atlanta Dance Weekend) and dance weeks (Florida Rhapsody (1997-2001), Bonaire Dance and Dive (2005), Terpsichore’s Dance Holiday (2015-2019), and Rhapsody Adventure in Paxos, Greece (2025). Seth has called dance weekends and dance events across the United States and in Bonaire, Canada, England, Denmark, France, Germany, and Greece.
Seth is passionate about teaching dance leadership. He has taught contra, square, English, and community calling intensives. His website is a valued resource for essays, choreography collections, and thoughts about dance calling.
Seth loves sharing the joy of dance for people who have never danced before, for experienced contra, English, or square dancers. He is excited to work with other leaders to promote dance, music, and song.
Christa TorrensChrista Torrens (Bigfork, MT) was volunteering at a Western Massachusetts folk music weekend in 2001 when she wandered onto the contra dance floor—and has been an avid contra and English dancer ever since. It took a few years, but she was eventually willing to give up a little dance time for mic time: Christa started calling contras in 2011 and English in 2021 (online!). She is particularly drawn to the welcoming, community-centered aspect of contra and ECD, and loves that, as a caller as well as a dancer, she can share some of her own dance joy with others.
While Christa has lived—and danced!—in most regions of the US, she has spent the bulk of the last 20 years based in the Mountain West and is grateful to call both the Missoula, MT, and Front Range, CO, dance communities home.
When she’s not dancing, Christa works as an aquatic ecosystem ecologist and ecosystem modeler, occasionally sloshing around in streams, but more often sitting in front of a screen fiddling with code and confronting models with data. She loves being outdoors and spends much of her time hiking, biking, skiing, and simply enjoying wild spaces.
Ellie ShogrenEllie Shogren caught the dance bug early in life, attending her first contra dance at two months old. Decades later, she is still an avid dancer and has served numerous folk communities across the country as staff, crew, board member, and enthusiastic participant.
Originally hailing from Tennessee, Ellie has been fortunate enough to develop folk connections all over the country and overseas, having lived in the South, New England, and the United Kingdom. Ellie and her husband, Ethan, now call the Nebraska/Iowa region home after meeting at a contra dance.
Ellie is honored to serve the CDSS community as a board member in memory of her mom, Chrissy Davis-Camp, who was an influential caller from Tennessee. Both Ellie and her younger sister, Anna Claire, have followed in their mom’s steps; if they are not on the dance floor, you can find them behind the mic calling contra, English, or teaching youth morris and rapper sword.
Because of her parents, Chrissy and Pat, Ellie was taught the importance of community and instilled with a responsibility for inclusion and respect for all through the lense of folk arts. Ellie still carries these important lessons with her as she shares her passion for all things folk.
Sharon GreenBack in 1984-1985, David and Sharon Green had an annus terribilis, a terrible year. In 14 months, they lost all four of their parents. Then in 1988, Sharon found country dancing and refound joy.
Since then, Sharon has danced and called in England, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and throughout the United States. She has organized dance weekends and weeks on both coasts and has served on the boards of both the Bay Area Country Dance Society and Country Dance New York. While living in New York, she edited the introductions to three books of dances by her mentor, Fried de Metz Herman. Emulating Fried, Sharon has also choreographed some 40 dances herself.
In 2024, Sharon had the great honor of being chosen to receive CDSS’s Lifetime Contribution Award for her and her household’s work promoting English country dancing. Sharon maintains that it has been her great joy to be part of CDSS, and now in her 80s she is both happy and honored to serve on the board.
Dilip SequeiraDilip Sequeira (Seattle, WA) hails from London and contracted a severe case of the folk dance virus (Scottish variant) while a student in Edinburgh. On escaping Britain for St. Louis in 2003, he discovered the joys of English country dance, and it was only a few short years ago that he found his inner contra dancer, too. He has been calling ECD on the West Coast since 2017 and enjoys working with all levels of dancers, helping them improve their skills and get more out of their dancing.
He is now a recovering software engineer, on a mission to make the English country dance repertoire available to the world.