LEGACY: 50 Years of Dance and Song

A celebration of the best!

For over 50 years the CDSS News, the journal Country Dance and Song and their predecessors have chronicled the activities of the Society, often featuring dances, songs and tunes contributed by members. An editorial board selected and Allison Thompson edited the best of these and created – Legacy.

Legacy compiles an estimated 75% of the songs and dances published from 1940 to the completed arbitrary cutoff date of 1993. It contains 52 American dances (mostly New England contra style), 46 English dances (mostly in the historical or "Playford" style, with music), 18 songs with music, and 13 tunes. Interwoven among the dances are short essays and remembrances, poems, letters and historical reflections.

This book is more than just the sum of these parts; it is a photograph of the Country Dance and Song Society and its members over the last half century. The word, Legacy, speaks to the art that we have inherited, that we mold to suit our present tastes and needs and that we pass on to the next generation for their own use. Tempos speed up or slow down, dances are modified to suit prevailing trends, song verses are forgotten and dropped or else rewritten, but the quality of the material endures.

Included are dances by many well-known contemporary composers and dance interpreters. In addition, you will find such English dances as Jack's Health, Soho Square, The Punch Bowl and Mistwold; songs such as the Good Ale, The Miller's Will and The Soldier's Return; American dances such as Fairfield Fancy, Mary Cay's Reel, as well as many other great contras and some classic square dances from the 1950s; plus tunes by Jay Ungar, Larry Unger, Paul Prestopino and others.

Legacy cover

Many people had a hand in this publication. Allison Thompson, of Pennsylvania, compiled and edited the material. Helene Cornelius, Christine Helwig, Bob Dalsemer, Ted Sannella, Mary Lea, Peter Barnes, Jerry Epstein and Jeff Warner all served on the editorial committees. Sharon Green and Kathy Anderson proofread the dances. John Roberts typeset the music; Chris Reynolds designed the cover. Pat MacPherson, Publications Coordinator on the CDSS staff, designed and produced the final book.

Legacy is available exclusively from The Country Dance and Song Society for $25 (plus shipping).

To order: