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Databases
Dancing Across the PondDancing 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 DatabaseBarnes 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 CompendiumRobert 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.
Books
Mary Dart: Contra Dance ChoreographyMary 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 DancesRobert 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 NextTed 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 NotesRoy Dommett’s Morris Notes Online Edition — the foundational resource, long out of print, available online.
Patrick Napier: Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing
GEMS: The Best of CDSS’s Diamond Anniversary Music, Dance and Song Contest
Magazines and Newsletters
The Country Dancer Archives, 1940-1966The Country Dancer Archives: CDSS’s magazine published from 1940-1966
Country Dance and Song Archives, 1968-1996Country Dance and Song Archives: CDSS’s magazine published from 1968-1996
Country Dance and Song Society News Archives, 1979-2009Country Dance and Song Society News Archives: CDSS’s magazine published from 1979-2009
The Contra Connection, 1988-1995The Contra Connection: a series of 24 articles for organizers and beginning callers by Larry Jennings, Dan Pearl, and Ted Sannella, published in the Country Dance & Song Society News between 1988 and 1995.
Dances and Other Resources
A Barn Dance RepertoireA 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 DancesCharles Bolton’s collected dances: The entire collection of both Bolton’s “Retreads” series and his original dances.
Cracking Chestnuts VideosCracking 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 WebsiteColin Hume, a folk dance caller and composer, shares many resources related to English and American dance styles.
Bob McQuillen Curated Tune ListsBob McQuillen Curated Tune Lists: Curated lists of Bob’s 1500 tunes, for making the collection more accessible!
Playing All Bob McQuillen’s TunesPlaying All Bob McQuillen’s Tunes—A Centenary Celebration in 2023
Bob McQuillen wrote over 1,700 tunes in his lifetime. In 2023, over 750 people in more than 140 places around the world played Bob’s tunes and sent in notes, remembrances, and photos.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.