ECD captivates me because it speaks to both my head and heart—its blend of patterns, precision, and haunting, heart-rending melodies are immensely satisfying to practice, study, and improvise on. It’s led to both sublime moments of connection on the dance floor and extraordinary friendships beyond it.
As someone whose parents both died before the age of 65 and someone who has witnessed problematic outcomes thanks to nonexistent wills, outdated beneficiary designations, and the like, I am a fervent believer in estate planning and maintenance. (Knowing that wills are supposed to be revisited and revised periodically got me past the mental barrier of trying to make the document perfect for Future Me.)
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An avid contra and morris dancer since the ‘70s, and later a caller and co-founder of Houston Area Traditional Dance and Song, I took a few years off from dance leadership while my boys were small. I returned to dancing and calling again in 2000, and there was CDSS, ready with books to buy, read, and incorporate into my calling! When my friend Joseph Pimentel asked me if I would be willing to serve on the CDSS Board, I was surprised but curious. I had the impression that CDSS was a northeast-centric organization, but Joseph suggested that the more that people like me from communities beyond the northeast served on the Board, the broader CDSS’s reach and perspective would become.
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We are grateful to have received a major legacy gift from the James Edward Hudock Trust.
James Edward Hudock, known to his friends as “Sunshine Jim,” was a beloved member of the Melbourne (FL) English Country Dance and the Cocoa Beach Contra Dance communities, enjoying the friendships that developed there and becoming an informal board member. From time to time, he was suspected of being the “Dance Angel” who would make quiet cash donations to keep the slow times solvent. Even when health challenges began to make dancing difficult for him, his presence at dances lifted spirits.
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We met either dancing or playing music—neither of us can remember, as we were both “otherwise engaged”—but those two threads drew us ever closer, and continue to knit our lives together. Our courtship continued after Doug moved a few hours away—he would drive down to the Friday contradance and whisk me onto the floor.
The strands in those threads multiplied—waltz, contra, English, square; early music and recorder, old-time music with banjos and guitars, and oh so many songs (Pat is sure that when she is on her deathbed Doug will sing for her yet another song that she’s never heard him sing before).
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Do you envision a future where the traditions you love flourish and endure? Join others who have promised to help dance, music, and song communities thrive across North America!
Join the Legacy of Joy Society
It’s simple to join the Legacy of Joy Society:
- Include CDSS in your estate plans.
- Notify CDSS that you’ve done so and express your willingness to share your story.
Becoming a member of the Legacy of Joy Society is a great way to make your core values known to others while ensuring the sustainability of our organization. Generations to come will benefit from your gift, and your lasting support of our mission will serve as an inspiration to others.
Learn More About Planned Giving
Find frequently asked questions about planned giving here.
Still have questions? We’re here to help! Email cslaven@cdss.org.
Quick info about CDSS for your will or beneficiary forms:
Legal Name: Country Dance and Song Society, Inc
Address: 116 Pleasant St., Suite 334, Easthampton, MA 01067
501(c)(3) Tax ID: 04-3031125
Meet Our Society Members
Judy GrunbergBy Gene Murrow and David Barnert
Dancers who casually encountered Judy Grunberg on the dance floor—noting her graceful, bird-like movement, animated arms, and frequent smile—would likely have no idea of her powerful role as an entrepreneur and organizer.
Whenever Judy became aware of a community need, she filled it. When a beloved restaurant near her home in Chatham, NY, closed, she reopened it. When the local art house movie theater was failing, she saved it. She single-handedly created the performing arts venue PS21 because she sensed the need in Columbia County.
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John DexterJohn Dexter—morris dancer, musician, teacher, fearless leader and guiding light of New York City’s Bouwerie Boys—passed quietly from this world in May 2023, leaving behind a 50 year legacy of incalculable breadth. Thank you, John! Thank you for the legacy of your years of dancing, playing, and teaching, and for your generous legacy gift, which will help CDSS to flourish this year and well into the future.
I have just finished the somewhat surreal task of planning for my eventual demise by establishing a process by which a portion of my estate will be given to CDSS.
As do others during this process, I evaluated all the possible people and organizations to whom I might give this sort of gift. And I concluded that CDSS is the organization I feel most strongly about.
The reasons are at once myriad and simple.
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Dave Pokorney & Jolaine Jones-PokorneyIt was a beautiful Sunday morning in Gainesville, Florida. Sunlight was streaming through the windows onto the dance floor. The band Steamshovel and caller Alex Deis-Lauby were guiding us through an amazing morning of dance. I said to my partner, “Isn’t this a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning?” She replied, “BEST CHURCH EVER!”
It is a sentiment we’ve heard on dance floors across the country. Many of us consider the music and dance community to be our spiritual community or extended family. We recognize in the friendships and the transcendent experiences, an element of the holy.
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Brooke FriendlyThe country dance form can be thought of as an exquisite vessel, in itself beautiful in shape, yet highly abstract.
We can choose to fill this vessel with whatever meaning we like.
If we like,
we can pursue a particular friendship;
we can rejoice in a sense of community;
we can see in the music and the dance the highest of spiritual values;
we can see it as good fun.
The dance is all of these and greater than all of them.
This lovely quote is from my first dance mentor, Carl Wittman (1943-1986). It has been an inspiration for many years.
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Doug Plummer & Robin ShapiroRobin and I both grew up in families that believed in philanthropy, and it’s a core value that we brought into the marriage. We have enough. Not everyone does. We’ve worked for it, sure, but it’s mostly the result of luck and timing and privilege. We both consider it a duty, a joyful one at that, to see to it that our fortunate circumstances get used to make the kind of difference we want to see in the world.
I found the music and dance scene after college, at a stage of life when I was emotionally not in such great shape. Dancing literally gave me the first sense of belonging somewhere. The long term friendships that I’ve maintained only began then. Dancing saved me and made me more whole.
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Bill WarburtonSure, getting dressed up for the annual Playford Ball is fun, but for over 50 years it’s been the variety of moods in the music and patterns in the dances that have kept me engaged. Not to mention the people I’ve danced them with.
Over those years, what I’ve learned is that it just doesn’t happen all by itself. People who cared kept those dances going, kept that music playing. They learned from someone and they are passing it on – like family love. But dedication and love are not enough. They also need money. So, when I no longer need it, they’re going to get some of mine.
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.