We’re excited to make Isaac Banner’s book of contra dances, Free and Open Dancing for All, available in the Resource Portal! This free book includes nearly 50 new dances, along with tips for running a workshop, glossary, and index by figure and dance type. It’s a great resource for new callers, as well as experienced callers looking for new dances. Check it out, as well as dozens of other resources for callers.
Rapper Sword Dance in America, by Rhett Krause, details the 110-year history of rapper in the US, with details of the movements, music, stepping, and major influences, along with how the dance has evolved differently in America than in the UK. All proceeds from this book benefit the Anthony Barrand Research & Stewardship Fund, which provides financial support to the next generation of song and dance researchers.
Check out the new and improved History page, tracing the story of CDSS from the early 20th century to the present.
We’ve added a new article from the CDSS Cultural Equity History Working Group on the hidden history of Black and Indigenous Americans in our dance and song traditions.
The 2023 CDSS Annual Report is now available! Take a look back at our progress last year.
This episode of From the Mic features George Marshall. George says: “My philosophy as a caller is that I would like to be the enzyme in the reaction between the music and the dancers—help them interact with each other, like the glue that keeps them together.”
This episode of From the Mic features Maia McCormick. Maia says: “Calling feels like a puzzle to solve and a skill to build, and something that can be constantly honed. I’m never going to be done developing as a caller.”
Julie Henigan introduces “The Cuckoo” or “The Coo Coo Bird.” This banjo tune, played for us here by Clarence Ashley, is a cousin of the gambling song “Jack of Diamonds.”
Last fall, we surveyed 18-44 year-olds in the folk community in order to better understand the needs of this demographic and to learn how to best serve our communities in the coming years. Find our preliminary reports and a video recording of our first town hall here.
Harry Tuft introduces “Matty Groves,” an old ballad of an unfaithful wife who shares a sad fate with her lover when they are caught by her returning husband. The song may trace its roots as far back as the fifteenth century.
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.