Country Dance & Song Society > Accessibility

Tag: Accessibility

Example Codes of Conduct

Here are some of our favorite codes of conduct from other dance and music organizations to use as inspiration for your own!

Chicagoland English Country Dance
Chicago, IL; English country dance

Olympia Contra Dance
Olympia, WA; contra dance
(links in the “Community” paragraph under “The Details”)

DanceFlurry Organization
Albany/Saratoga Springs, NY (and surrounding areas); several types of monthly dance series and workshops, educational programs in schools and other organizations

Portland Country Dance Community
Portland, OR; contra dance, English country dance, music sessions
Code of Conduct
Community Standards
Guidelines for Event Coordinators Addressing Incidents

Ottawa Contra Dance
Ottawa, ON; contra dance

John C. Campbell Folk School
Brasstown, NC; contra dance, English country dance, community/family dance, many other music and craft workshops

Raise the Rafters
Rhododendron, OR; singing

Have a great policy you’d like to share? Submit it here!

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.

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.

Sitting Square Dances

A collection of square dances for seated dancers. Descriptions of the figures are here.

From Fred Wersan

Fostering Intergenerational Community

This document is a product of groups discussions in a workshop attended by members of the YTS community. It focuses on what works, what doesn’t, and how individuals can raise intergenerational issues within their community.

From Youth Traditional Song Weekend 2015

Welcoming Diverse Populations

2015, Putting on the Dance 2
Sophia Donforth and Julia Bennett
Notes from a workshop given at POTD2: Who are your dancers? Who is missing from your dance floor, and why? We’ll examine ways to reach out to more diverse populations and how to make a more welcoming dance community for everyone. Bring an anecdote to share about a magic moment, or something you’d do differently. Participants will leave with a list of ways to reach new dancers, and make an inclusive dance “commons” that brings them back a second time!