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
Ideas for Weathering the Winter Together
During the CDSS Web Chat on November 1, 2021, participants brainstormed ideas for keeping their music, dance, and song groups engaged and connected through the coming months. See below for a compilation of their suggestions for organizers to try out with their communities. We’re happy to continue adding to this list, so please send your thoughts to resources@cdss.org. All ideas welcome!
Reentry Resources for Organizers
Originally published September 2021.
Introduction
One key question that keeps cropping up as we prepare for restarting in-person activities is: How will we know when the time is right? All music, dance, and song groups need to chart their own course based on their location, state and local public health guidance, type of event, and community needs. We hope the following set of resources will help organizers navigate the myriad decisions involved with safely resuming in-person events.
Sharing the Vision: Themes and Practical Ideas for Vibrant Dance Communities
A pithy article from Max Newman on the importance of a vision, how to create one and how to share it.
From the CDSS News
Lissa Schneckenburger’s Tune A Week
Sign up to get a free tune delivered to your inbox every week, and join a group practice challenge.
Square Dance History with David Millstone
Experience the rich history and regional variety of square dancing in this in-depth, three part video series.
With photographs, audio, and video, we’ll travel:
- from 17th century France to Civil War ballrooms
- from New England Grange halls to Texas cowboy balls
- and from Newfoundland to New Mexico
to explore and discuss how this dance form became a staple of American popular culture.
Shared Weight: Positional Calling Discussion List
This list is for anyone interested in exploring positional calling within traditional dance (contra, squares, ECD, community, family dance, Irish ceili, Scottish ceilidh, etc).
Our goal is to support each other by discussing topics of interest to callers specifically in relation to positional calling. We encourage callers to also join some of the other Shared Weight lists as those communities are valuable resources for other aspects of calling.
Shared Weight: Growing Up Trad Discussion List
Growing up Trad! is an email discussion list for caregiving adults who love traditional dance, music and song. The focus of our conversation is around nurturing these traditions within our families and in particular with the children in our care.
Shared Weight: Dance Organizers Discussion List
This mailing list welcomes organizers and those interested in organizing any form of traditional social dance. This includes contra, English country, traditional squares (e.g., Appalachian, New England, Quebecois, Cape Breton, etc), community/family/barn, ceili, Balfolk, and more!
Fostering Intergenerational Community
These notes from a session at Youth Traditional Song Weekend 2015 list ways participants promote age inclusivity in their own communities.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.