Dance, Music, & Song CampsAugust 13-17, 2026 // Plymouth, MA
Songs and English and American dance inspired by the deep blue!
Program Description
Welcome to the new SEA Session! A sampler pack of CDSS’s music, dance, and song offerings, this long weekend will include Singing, English dance, and American dance with a loose maritime theme. There will be seafaring songs, of course (think sea chanteys), and we may even get out on the water to sing in boats! There will also be plenty of land-based activities, such as dancing of various forms: contra, English, bal folk, and morris; song technique; instrument classes; and more. We’ll have workshops and jams by day, evening dances and festivities by night, and lots of magic in between. Join us for a weekend of dance, song, music, companionship, and group spirit on the shores of Long Pond!
Schedule
Arrival & Departure
Thursday Arrival Schedule:
| 3:00 p.m. | The earliest you can start arriving at camp |
| 4:30-6:00 | Welcome party / lifeguard on duty for swimming |
| 6:00 | Tour of camp starting from the Camp House |
| 6:30 | Dinner |
| 7:30 | Orientation gathering |
| 8:15 | Opening night dance and party |
Monday Departure Schedule:
| 7:45-8:15 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 10:00 a.m. | Final departure |
Daily Schedule
| 7:45 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:35-8:50 | Morning song |
| 9:00-10:00 | Class Period 1 |
| 10:15-11:15 | Class Period 2 |
| 11:25-12:00 | Gathering |
| 12:30 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:45-2:45 | Class Period 3 |
| 3:00-4:00 | Class Period 4 |
| 4:15-5:15 | Class Period 5 |
| 6:30 | Dinner |
| 8:00-10:30 | Evening dance |
| 10:30 onward | After-dance activities |
Class Descriptions
Period 1
Dancing With Style: ECD for All—Joanna Reiner Wilkinson with Ben Schreiber, Anna Patton, and Karen Axelrod
A typical weekly or monthly ECD event focuses, by design, on the social aspects of English dancing. In this class, we’ll take the time to focus on how we dance: body mechanics, phrasing, dancing in concert with others, etc. to increase your skills, confidence, and enjoyment of this fabulous dance form.
Ukulele The DADGAD Way—Armand Aromin
Learn how to make the ukulele not sound like your average ukulele, all without needing to re-tune! We’ll talk song and tune accompaniment, strum and finger-picking patterns, all while reveling in not needing to lug around a six-stringed beast.
Note: this class will be using standard gCEA tuning. Baritone players, please capo at the 5th fret.
English Clog Dance—Laurel Swift
Come and learn this intricate and satisfying style of percussive dance! Laurel teaches dances from East Lancashire that she learned from Pat Tracey and Camden Clog. We will learn a “heel and toe” routine, which takes you from the basics to some fun and flashy steps! It’s not as complex as it looks, however, so everyone is welcome to have a go, regardless of whether you’ve tried clog dancing previously. Clogs available to borrow; hard-soled shoes can also work.
Period 2
Cool Contras and Spicy Squares—Ben Sachs-Hamilton, with Dave Langford, Glen Loper, and Bethany Waickman
We’ll dance a variety of fun contra dances, with a few squares thrown in for good measure. We’ll also spend a little time discussing how to be a supportive partner and neighbor on the dance floor.
Three-Course Pub Sing—Armand Aromin
An aural pub sing repertoire experience catered for you! On the first day of class we’ll start with…Starters, of course: songs that are great for the “come all ye”-ification of a social singing event. The next day, we’ll serve Entrées, or songs that are a little more involved in the learning process and oh-so-worth the investment. And on the last day we’ll inevitably end with…Enders, though worry not, drinks and dessert may be introduced at any point!
Period 3
Advanced ECD: Untangling Knots—Joanna Reiner Wilkinson with Ben Schreiber, Anna Patton, and Karen Axelrod
What makes a dance “advanced?” Is it new or new to you? Does it feature different sensibilities than much of our modern ECD repertoire? Does it have a high piece count? This class will feature a wide variety of challenging dances, old and new, and explore the skills required to master complex choreographies. Cheerful recovery skills and knowledge of ECD figures and basic repertoire are expected!
Learn Tunes by Ear—Dave Langford
All instruments are welcome! We will spend the week learning tunes by ear by breaking them down into small manageable pieces, and then gradually stringing those pieces together until we have the entire tune. All tunes will be revisited every day, with the goal of having a solid repertoire of new tunes memorized by the end of the week! Related topics such as chord theory are possible as an aid to more effective learning.
Sacred Harp Singing—Ben Sachs-Hamilton
Shape-note music is a style of a cappella hymn singing that dates back to the 1800s, but is also a living tradition today. The latest revision of the Sacred Harp tunebook, released in 2025, has 113 newly added songs, many by living composers. We’ll sing a mix of old favorites and some of these new songs, while practicing how to read the fa-sol-la syllables. Some music-reading ability is helpful.
Intro to DADGAD Guitar—Bethany Waickman
Learn both movable chord shapes and families of shapes with the aim of backing fiddle tunes. The focus will be rhythm playing (expanding and sharing our respective right-hand toolboxes), but there will be a bit of melody work along the way to illustrate how chords can be chosen. If folks have already logged some time in DADGAD, we’ll look at getting outside of the key of D, both with and without a capo.
Period 4
Great Formations Dances—Ben Sachs-Hamilton and Lisa Greenleaf with Dave Langford, Glen Loper, and Bethany Waickman
Camp is a great place to explore the different formations related to contras and squares. On Friday and Saturday, Ben and Lisa will treat you to triplets, quads, and circles, as well as some interesting shapes within contras and squares themselves. On Sunday, Lisa will lead a special Dutch Crossing—an eight-couple advanced dance—for the brave at heart.
Finding Vocal Harmonies—Anna Patton
For singers and curious listeners: a workshop to sharpen the musical ears and help us invent and sing harmonies. We’ll take songs that are easy to pick up (folk songs, popular songs, pub-style singalongs, etc.) and sing our way into the mysteries of what makes their harmonies tick. There will be some “music theory” in this class, but we will keep it to a homeopathic dose, concentrating on ears, voices, and intuition.
Playing For Ceilidh—Laurel Swift
Come and get your ears and your fingers around this vibrant, accessible and joyful cousin of ECD and contra! English Ceilidh dance music is full of catchy and accessible tunes, fun things to do when you’re not playing the tune, and a myriad of ways to make the music your own. Learn how to put the bounce into the tune. We’ll be working primarily by ear, but come along even if you think you can’t play by ear. This is a workshop for instrument players of all levels, Laurel promises to keep you all busy and challenged, but mainly having fun!
Sea Songs: “The Other Soggy Songs”—Bob Walser
This class will celebrate sea-chantey-adjacent musical traditions: cargo-loading songs, steamboat songs, songs for fishing, rowing, hauling ships into port, and more. We’ll sing songs that are quick to learn, full of energy, and with scrumptious harmonic opportunities!
Period 5
Open Mic/Open Band Dance Party!—Joanna Reiner Wilkinson, with Ben Schreiber and Karen Axelrod
Come one, come all! Bring your dance shoes, an instrument, an old favorite or new contra or English dance to share, and we’ll make a party together. Callers, please bring copies of any ECD music not in Barnes, and check with Joanna a day ahead for planning purposes. Musicians, please bring your Barnes books and Portlands. Dancers, bring your sense of adventure!
Write A New Folk Song—Laurel Swift
Tired of searching for folk songs to sing and can never quite find one that speaks to you? Nothing to say, but love playing with words? Always wondered how to write a song? Laurel will take you through the process of writing a song, from coming up with a concept, turning random words into lyrics, and pulling a great melody out of the ether, to honing your work until it’s ready for the world! The best bit? Only time will tell if it’s a folk song, so no pressure to deliver! All welcome, no experience needed.
Mandolin Toolbox—Glen Loper
It’s pretty fun being a mandolin player. Come learn some tunes by ear and explore some options of how to play them/back them up in a dance band setting. Workshop will be aimed for “intermediate” skill level (knows some tunes, can play some chords), but we’ll try to have a little something for everyone.
Bal Folk—Bob Walser
What folk dance fills five dance floors from 8:30pm until 3:00am for two weeks every summer at Le Grand Bal de L’Europe? Bal folk! Join in to celebrate dances from Brittany, the Auvergne, and other regions of France—and beyond. No experience or partner needed for this enticing mix of circle, line, and couple dances that range from hypnotic and groovy to exhilarating and even goofy.
Period 6
The Big Jam—Armand Aromin and Benedict Gagliardi
T.B.J. is a jam for everyone! Anything and everything is welcome provided it’s join-y in-y. Songs for singing and tunes for tinging. And for the folks who don’t play an instrument, worry not, for we’ll be vocalizing the tunes as well. Mayhaps there are steps in your feet that need desperate liberation? We’d love nothing more!
Dance Terminology
| American dance | TBD |
| English country dance | TBD |
Registration and Fees
Camp fees cover all accommodation, meals from dinner on the arrival day to breakfast on the departure day, and all of the various dance, music, and song events in the program.
Sliding Scale Fees
Check back soon for fee information.
