The portal contains a vast range of resources by and for the dance, music, and song community. From expert tips from fellow organizers and callers, to databases of dances and songs, find what you need to help engage with the traditions you love!
Resources added before 2022 do not all have explicit permission from the authors. If your resource is in the portal and you’d like it removed, please email us.
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Use the search box and filters below to find resources.
Tip: Selecting multiple checkboxes will give you more specific results. For example, to see specific resources for contra dance callers, select both Callers and Contra Dance.
17 Results
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.
Categories: Callers, Square Dance
Lesson Plans for Educators
The CDSS Educators Task Group presents lesson plans on a variety of topics in traditional music and dance.
Categories: Community/Family Dance, Educators, Resources, Youth
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.
Categories: Square Dance
Anti-Racism and the Folk Revival
This article focuses on racism within our traditions, in particular relating to the work of Cecil Sharp and his contemporaries, and on how our history informs our present and should influence our future.
From Ezra Fisher
Categories: Contra Dance, Early American Dance, Square Dance
English Country Dance and Its American Cousin
ECD and contra dance share some of the same historical roots. This article by describes those roots and how the two styles have changed over time.
From Alan Winston
Categories: Contra Dance, English Country Dance
This book by Patrick Napier (available online as a PDF) provides a wonderful introduction to Kentucky Mountain Square Dancing. The book includes a bit of history and general calling tips prior to describing many Big Set and Running Set figures. It also includes fillers and closing calls.
From CDSS
Categories: Callers, Square Dance
This online version of Bob Dalsemer’s book describes dance figures as done in five rural West Virginia communities in the 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.
Categories: Callers, Square Dance
Contra Dance Choreography: A Reflection of Social Change
This book (available free online) is based upon Mary McNab Dart’s research into the changing choreography of contra dance, including how dances are composed, what aesthetic principles underlie their composition, and how the evolution of the choreography reflects changes in the preferences and priorities of the people who dance them.
Categories: Callers, Contra Dance, Organizers
The Origins of English Country Dance
Mary Peralta Railing provides a brief history of how English country dance came to be.
From Colin Hume
Categories: English Country Dance
This blog contains some historical information about square dancing in the US.
From Fred Feild
Categories: Square Dance
An expansive resource of square dance history, repertoire, and more. Also contains a vast collection of stories, photographs, video, and audio.
Categories: Callers, Dancers, Organizers, Square Dance
The Full English Project is the world’s biggest free digital archive of traditional folk music and dance tunes, and songs.
From EFDSS
Categories: Dancers, Musicians, Singers
The Folk Scholarship Roots and Geopolitical Boundaries of Sacred Harp’s Global Twenty-first Century
This article by Jesse P. Karlsberg describes the history of Sacred Harp from its infancy until today.
From CD+S Online
Categories: Singers
Digital Video Research Archive of Morris, Sword and Clog Dancing
This video archive contains hundreds of videos of morris and sword dancing both from English and American teams 1912 – present.
From Anthony G. Barrand & Francisco J. Ricardo, Boston University
Categories: Ritual Dance
This online collection contains an extensive set of dance notes from various traditions as collected by Roy Dommett. It also includes articles on other topics such as sport injuries, playing music for morris, clowning in morris, and more.
by Dr. Anthony Barrand
Categories: Musicians, Ritual Dance
One Hundred Years of Morris Dancing in America
An article on the history of morris dance in the US by Rhett Krause.
From the CDSS News
Categories: Ritual Dance
City Folk: English Country Dance and the Politics of the Folk in Modern America
A book describing the history of English country dance, from its 18th century roots in the English cities and countryside to its transatlantic leap to the U.S. in the 20th century. Written by a renowned historian and folk dancer, immersed in the rich history of the folk tradition.
By Daniel Walkowitz
Categories: English Country Dance
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.
Isaac Banner
Seth Tepfer
Christa Torrens
Ellie Shogren
Sharon Green
Dilip Sequeira