Yuletide Frolick
Lawrence, KS
Hosting a festive dance weekend and callers’ workshop
Women/Black/Indigenous/POC/LGBTQIA+/People with Disabilities Music Instructor Nominee Directory
This spreadsheet shows a list of recommended music teachers from marginalized communities. The list is the result of a survey form created in 2019 by A’yen Tran with the intention of making it publicly available, particularly to music camp directors. The goal is to increase representation for women, people of color, people with disabilities, and gender-diverse people in music camps and other musical learning opportunities.
A Google map with many local dances in the US and Canada. Also searchable by zip code, for special events, and for dances using non-gendered calling. Created by Jeff Kaufman.
Colin Hume presents descriptions and commentary on all of the 200+ square dances in Northern Junket, a magazine published by Ralph Page from 1949 to 1985.
Communities in Conflict
May 30, 2023
An online discussion to support organizers of dance, music, and song groups
From disagreements about COVID protocols to strong feelings about role terms on the dance floor, dance leaders and organizers have been in the middle of passionate community discussions the past few years. As an organizer, what approaches and techniques can you use to help your group through these rough patches? And what can you do to keep your own balance along the way?
CDSS Executive Director Katy German joined Jenny Beer, Dana Dwinell-Yardley, Sue Songer, and Kathy Story for a conversation about working through conflict as a community.
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
Michigan
Archiving the full set of historic Marley family dances, from the Vaudeville era
Funded by the Anthony Barrand Research & Stewardship Fund
Lesson Plans for Educators
The CDSS Educators Task Group presents lesson plans on a variety of topics in traditional music and dance.
New England Dancing Masters Teaching Blog
A blog for teachers wanting to teach traditional dance, including videos of dances suitable for classrooms.
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?
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.