CDSS News
CDSS News Issues
The CDSS News is a print publication and, in a slightly shorter format, an online publication. Below are articles and other material from the most recent issues. We hope you find it informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining. Please contact us if you have comments or questions.
Our Upcoming Events calendar of workshops, balls, special events, weeks, and weekends throughout North America, is only available online. There is no charge for a simple listing (date, event name, town/state, sponsoring group's name, contact info); send to events@cdss.org.
To submit letters, articles, dances, tunes and songs for possible publication, send to news@cdss.org. Information about advertising (print edition only) is here. To receive the printed newsletter as a benefit of CDSS membership, join here.
All material in the CDSS News is copyrighted by CDSS, the individual author or the original publication and may not be reproduced—other than for personal use—without permission. Views expressed represent those of the authors and not necessarily of CDSS.
Masthead
Letters and Announcements
Poetry and Painting
- Orbit, by Sarah Hirsch
Columns
- Balance and Sing: Store Update
- News from Canada: Celebration of Callers - A Workshop at Hands Across the Water 2019, by Peggy Roe and Rosemary Lach
- Stories from the CDSS Legacy of Joy Society: David Millstone and Sheila Moran
Read more about the Legacy of Joy Society
Articles
- Great Start, Right Direction, More to Do! A CDSS Year-End Review and 2020 Preview
- CDSS Supports Local Communities in Addressing Safety, by Diane Silver and Nikki Herbst for the CDSS Community Culture and Safety Task Group
- CDSS Lifetime Contribution Award 2020: Kate Barnes
- Shared Weight: A Powerful Networking Tool for Traditional Dance, Music... and Very Likely Song!, by Emily Addison ~ in collaboration with Shared Weight listserv founders
- It’s Time to Plan for 2020 Summer Camps!
- A Place to Be: Margaret MacArthur’s Gift to Vermont Traditional Music, by Nora Rodes
Web Extra: Read more about Margaret MacArthur - Traveling Exec Goes to Camp: CDSS and the Lady of the Lake Forum, by Doug Plummer and Penn Fix
- Puzzling Out Ease and Elegance, by Paul Ross
- Celebrating CDSS Scholarships, by Linda Henry, CDSS Community Resources Manager
Dances
- Contra Dance: Half Mad, by Beadle
Songs
Last Page
Photo taken by Deborah Payne during Harmony of Song & Dance Week, Pinewoods 2019View as a Flipbook
Masthead
Letters and Announcements
Columns
- Balance and Sing: Store Update
- All Join Hands: Dispatches from the World of Community Dance - Organizing a Family/Community Dance Series, Part 2, by Marian Rose
- CDSS Sings — A Timeless Song Remains, by Lorraine Lee Hammond
Articles
- Published Study Shows Dance Helps Veterans with PTSD, by Deborah Denenfeld
- Stories from the CDSS Legacy of Joy Society: Nancy Boyd & Arthur Munisteri
- Response to: "A Figure by Any Other Name: Exploring Alternatives to Gypsy,", by Dragan Gill
- Remembering My Mentor, Legendary Caller Ralph Sweet, by Nils Fredland
- News From Canada—True North Music and Dance Takes Its Final Bow, by Sheila Scott, Chair, TNMD
- "A truly triumphant evening,", by Keith Murphy
- The CDSS Affiliate Network Speaks: A preliminary look at the first annual CDSS Affiliate Survey, by Emily Addison & Katy German
- Thirty and Thriving: The birth and long life of Capital English Country Dancers, by Nancy Yule
- Remembering Joan, by Brad Foster, Emeritus Executive & Artistic Director
- Contra: Homegrown in Saskatoon, by Liz James
- A Beloved Voice Stilled, a Folk Legacy Preserved: Remembering Caroline (Swenson) Paton, by Kathy Westra
Dances
- Contra Dance: Danny's Red Shoes, by Bob Dalsemer
Last Page
Masthead
Letters and Announcements
Columns
- Balance and Sing: Store Update
- All Join Hands: Dispatches from the World of Community Dance - Organizing a Family/Community Dance Series, Part 1, by Marian Rose
- CDSS Sings — The Bluebird Songs of Summer, by Lorraine Lee Hammond
Web Extra:
Articles
- Stories from the CDSS Legacy of Joy Society: Jane Srivastava
- Tracing the Historical Threads from an Old Maypole Photo, by David Roodman
- Calling All Callers: Old And New, by Douglas A. Singleton
- Contra: Square Dancing for Hippies, by Keegan Hempill
- CDSS Maps Future Direction at Annual Board Meeting, by Jolaine Jones-Pokorney
- CDSS Affiliates Map
- Community Grants Far and Wide
- A Figure By Any Other Name: Exploring Alternatives to Gypsy
- Organizer Discussions at Regional Events: A Great Remedy for Stagnation, Burnout, and Stress, by Emily Addison and Linda Henry
Dances
- Contra Dance: The Lowdown, by Alan P. Winston
- English Country Dance, A Trip to Provence, by Susan Kevra
Last Page
(photo by Nikki Herbst)
Masthead
Letters and Announcements
Columns
- Balance and Sing: Store Update
- All Join Hands: Dispatches from the World of Community Dance - Community Dancing in Utah, by Larraine Miner
- News From Canada: Remembering Cameron Stewart, Patriarch of Country Dance in Vancouver, BC, by Jane Srivastava
- CDSS Sings — Lucy Picco Simpson's "What's In A Song," by Peter Amidon
Web Extras:
- What’s in a Song
- Done Found My Lost Sheep
- Angels Hovering Round
- Blessed Quietness
- Climbing High Mountains
- Prodigal’s Return
- We do not have a recording of Lucy singing this hymn she found in an old hymnal.
- Peter’s arrangement – Tony Barrand solo, Mary Alice Amidon harmony
Articles
- Celebrating the Life of Tom Siess, by Anne Siess and Brad Foster
- Larks and Ravens: A Report From The Field, by Dela and Dugan Murphy
- Stories from the CDSS Legacy of Joy Society: Beverly Francis and David Chandler
- Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the CDSS Grants Program, by Linda Henry and Katy German
- CDSS Archives Receive New Collection, New Energy, by Susan Creigton and Katy German
- Tips on Becoming a Better Intermediate Level Dancer, by Laura Brodian Freas Beraha
- Taking Someone Aside, by Jeff Kaufman
- Improving the ECD Open Band Experience, by Robert Reichert
- CDSS Executive Committee Kicks Off Strategic Direction in Nashville, Tennessee, by Pam Paulson
Web Extras:
- Downloadable PDF of the CDSS Strategic Direction — 2019 - 2023
- The Experience of a Lifetime: Contra Dance at Burning Man, by Mark Mathis
Dances
- English Country Dance: Ties of Love, by Jenny Beer (with tune The Rose By The Door, by Andrea Hoag)
Web Extras:
- Ties of Love danced at Hey Days 2018 - Joanna Reiner, Caller, with musicians Anita Anderson (piano) Dave Bartley (plucked strings), and Sande Gillette (fiddle)
- Contra Dance: Rainbows Over Ogontz, by Don Veino
Last Page
- Back Cover (photo by Mitch Diamond)