American Dance & Music Week at Pinewoods | CDSS Dance, Music, and Song Camps

“It will be, without a doubt, the most fun you’ve had in a long time.”

–Helen Whitty

August 17-23, 2026 // Plymouth, MA

Dance, sing, play, repeat: contra party in the woods!

Program Description

American Week 2026 is lined up to be the most rejuvenating, heartwarming, and soul-filling fun week of the year. We’ve got new friends, old friends, swimming, dancing, singing, parties, and an absolutely star-studded lineup of musicians and callers. Come dance to the incomparable Engine Room, Deb Shebish’s Good Time Old Time band, and the continued support of the Julie Metcalf–Max Newman duo. To get us moving in the right direction, we have calling from Janine Smith, Lisa Greenleaf, Will Mentor, and Alyssa Adkins.

2026 highlights:

As well as the contra and square dancing you expect, some of the other options this year include a Square Dance Calling intensive, classes on Musicianship, Embodied Harmony, Observational Nature Drawing, and the Big Arc of chordal accompaniment.

Dancers:

Four fabulous callers will guide you through fun and satisfying contras, squares, line dancing, and more. Tune up your dancing style with Alyssa Adkins’s morning Dancing with Style workshop, engage your mind and feet with Lisa Greenleaf’s afternoon Mind-Bending Dances, and get ready for a hoot-and-hollerin’ good time with Janine Smith and Lisa Greenleaf’s hot daily squares.

Musicians:

Dive deep into New England tunes and accompaniment with Max Newman’s philosophical and encouraging piano class—or if you’re fiddle-inclined, learn about tunes and styling from the awe-inspiring Noah VanNorstrand. If old time is more your style, Deb Shebish and Travis Stuart will share their depth of knowledge of old-time tunes from North Carolina, and Kelsey Wells will teach you new old time tunes. Go Beyond the Boom Chuck with Josh Bearman’s old-time guitar workshop, and Alex Sturbaum will share their infinite wisdom to use chords and rhythm accompaniment to make fiddle tunes shine. And that’s not to mention the daily Raccoon Bar, led by Julie Metcalf and Josh Bearman (read as: golden hour lakeside old-time jam party with ample snacks and beverages).

Callers:

Sign up early for Will Mentor’s Square Dance Calling workshop intensive. There was so much interest in this course when it was offered two years ago, we knew it needed to happen again! Come to camp with 3-4 squares that you’re ready to practice, and be open to supportive feedback and coaching from Will and the other callers in your class. Even if you’re not in the calling intensive class, an afternoon Open Squares calling workshop will be open to everyone to call, dance, and play (can there really be too many squares?). And there’s always Camper’s Night, where staff have a night off and campers put on the dance.

Singers:

If you haven’t learned songs and harmonies from Lexi Ugelow (and if you have), you’re in for a real treat. Lexi teaches those soul-filling, heartwarming types of songs that will keep you singing all year long.

On top of all that, there’s still more: swimming, jamming, late night parties, relaxing and the daily Raccoon Bar social hour to round out the week. No matter your experience as a dancer, singer, musician, or caller, there is something for everyone. So come, stay awhile, take a dip, pick a few, and enjoy yourself.

–Joe Carter and Sonya Kaufman, Program Directors

Musicians jamming under the Raccoon Bar sign

Schedule

Arrival & Departure

Monday 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

Sunday 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
5:30-6:15	Raccoon Bar and old-time jam
6:30	Dinner
8:00-10:30	Evening dance
10:30 onward	After-dance activities

Class Descriptions

Period 1

Dancing with Style—Alyssa Adkins

There’s a secret sauce to partner dancing that helps it feel connected, flowing, and intuitive — let’s learn it together! In Dancing with Style, we’ll look at pieces of partner dance technique that will help us connect with ourselves, our partner, and all those around us—things like physical communication, elasticity and connection, timing, creativity, and more. Each class will focus on a technique, then move to live dancing and dance games that will help us practice it, so we can embody it out on the contra dance floor.

Square Dance Callers Course—Will Mentor with Deb, Travis, and Pokey

Participants in the Square Dance Calling course call squares. Campers are welcome to dance.

Singing One-on-Ones—Lexi Ugelow

Throughout the week, Lexi has special time available for singing/vocal coaching. If you want to learn, practice, explore, and exercise your singing and vocal work, see Lexi to schedule. Don’t miss!

Beyond the Boom Chuck—Josh Bearman

Happy with your backup guitar chording, but wanting to add in some flair? Unleash your inner Gene Meade and Riley Puckett with this workshop. Bass runs, low melodies, hearing changes, and faking your way through the changes you miss. All this and more!

Period 2

Square ’em Up!—Janine Smith and Lisa Greenleaf with Good Time Old Time (Deb, Travis, Josh, Pokey)

We love squares! And you will, too, as we guide you through some rip-roaring choreography to absolutely inspiring old-time music. Singing squares, gems from the past, contemporary choreography, and more— all chosen to keep you engaged and happy to be dancing.

Embodied Harmony—Lexi Ugelow

In this workshop, we will explore basic elements of music theory and harmony singing through various exercises and songs. Participants will learn about rhythmic and melodic content and will leave with a stronger foundation for further understanding and engagement with the musical language. We will integrate these concepts using our bodies as the instruments, through voice, body percussion and movement. All levels of musical background are welcome.

Noah Teaches Fiddle Tunes—Noah VanNorstrand

Noah shares some fave tunes from the Northeast (and probably a few of his own tunes thrown in). The class will be geared towards intermediate fiddlers, but other levels and instruments are welcome.

More New England Piano—Max Newman

Get your shovel: we’ll dig into the style and technique of classic boom chuck New England piano playing, particularly that of Bob McQuillen. Learning the rudiments of this style is accessible for first-time piano players, although we’ll also be exploring more nuanced topics like bass/chord emphasis, chord choice, and rhythmic groundedness. Students will each have opportunity for individual instruction and feedback. All levels: beginner to advanced.

Period 3

Mind-Bending Dances—Lisa Greenleaf with Engine Room

These adventurous contras and odd formations are for those dancers up for a little bit of a challenge. We have a hot band, so don’t be shy about giving this workshop a try.

North Carolina Old-Time Tunes—Travis Stuart and Deb Shebish

In this class, Travis and Deb will teach several old-time tunes from North Carolina. In addition to teaching new repertoire, the class will focus on playing with a steady dance rhythm, good intonation, and a solid tone. This class is best suited to those who have intermediate to advanced proficiency on your instrument. All tunes will be taught by ear.

Drawing from Nature—Toki Oshima

The first day, we will assemble your own nature journal with simple bookbinding. Each day, we will add to our book and draw from nature. A different technique will be presented in each class. You can also have freedom to wander and observe nature to create your own pictures. Pencil, pen and ink, and watercolors are our materials. $8 materials fee.

Square Dance Callers Course—Will Mentor with Max & Julie

Participants in the Square Dance Calling course call squares. Campers are welcome to dance.

Period 4

Chord Journeys: Adventures in Backing Fiddle Tunes—Alex Sturbaum

Join Alex Sturbaum for a deep dive into the world of fiddle tune accompaniment! We’ll explore groove, rhythm, chord choices and substitutions, The Big Arc, and the many and myriad ways that a backer can influence the feel of a tune. For guitarists and bouzouki players, we’ll talk about various alternate tunings and their uses. All chordal and rhythmic instruments are welcome. Players of all skill levels are welcome in this class, but you’ll get the most out of it if you are already comfortable on your instrument.

New Old-Time Tunes—Kelsey Wells

Come learn a few favorite newly-composed old-time tunes! Tunes will be taught by ear on the fiddle; all melody instruments are welcome. For fiddlers, some experience cross-tuning will be helpful but not required.

Open Squares—Will Mentor

Participants in the Square Dance Calling course call squares. Campers are welcome to dance.

Campers’ Choir—Lexi Ugelow

For those of us that can’t get enough singing! This class will focus on a few through-composed arrangements of folk songs. Although we’ll work from sheet music, sight reading is not required, as all songs will be taught by ear.

Period 5

Hot Shots

A time for one-offs. This could be dance, song, craft, a walk in the woods, a genre jam session, etc. Most of these will be camper-initiated, so bring your ideas!

Dance Terminology

Contras and squares	TBD
Couple dances	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.