Dance, Music, & Song Camps“We started by bringing our children; now, our teens bring us.”
–Tom Cole
August 17-23, 2026 // Schwenksville, PA
For Adults & Families
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Program Description
This year, I have been more and more interested in how we group ourselves together and in the many ways we find to share space through music and dance. Cascade of Music & Dance at Camp Kweebec is an exploration through a musical treasury of experiences. In it, you will find many things: the joy of dancing with your neighbors; small-group instruction insight into playing guitar, fiddle, or singing; some fabulous English music and dance calling; some fabulous contra dance music and calling; an opportunity to be coached in making an instrument, crankie, or sculpture in a shared art space; the great, nearly lost art of Stuntology and Tuneology with crack stuntologists and tunesmiths of the day; warm family gatherings and community dancing every day; a chance to jam and sing, listen to a story, and discuss the role of traditional music and dance in our respective communities, all while spending a very rich week experiencing some of the best community-building activities out there!
In the morning, the kids have activities with their age group, playing music, learning songs, dancing, crafting, and generally staying out of your hair. There are morning dance, instrumental, and choral offerings. There’s a community dance and gathering to share some talents, human tricks, and entertainment before swimming and lunch commence.
The afternoon has more class offerings in English dance, art making (crankies, papier mâché, instruments!), Camp Chorale, a discussion of music and tradition in the community, and opportunities to jam, take a nap, or go swimming.
Finally, there will be an evening dance and gathering with entertainment from our talented staff and camper presentations, with the littles going off to bed with a pied piper as the elders have some more dancing and revelry (some planned, some spontaneous) into the night.
Bring your family, your friends, your loved ones, or all the above. Cascade of Music & Dance provides a great opportunity for learning new material and insight into community activities such as dancing, tune playing, art making, and singing. It also makes for a week of connecting with those around you, be they your kin or a brand new friend. See you in Schwenksville!
–Stefan Amidon, Program Director
Schedule
Monday Arrival Schedule:
| 4:00 p.m. | The earliest you can start arriving at camp |
| 5:00-5:45 | Welcome party / lifeguard on duty for swimming |
| 6:00 | Tour of camp |
| 6:15 | Dinner |
| 7:30 | Community dance and gathering |
| 8:30 | Bedtime for 9 and under |
| 8:30-10:45 | Opening night dance |
| 9:30 | Bedtime for 10-12 |
| 11:00 onward | Opening night party |
Sunday Departure Schedule:
| 8:00-9:00 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 10:00 a.m. | Final departure |
Daily Schedule
| 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 9:00-10:00 | Class Period 1 |
| 10:00-10:15 | Snack |
| 10:15-11:15 | Class Period 2 |
| 11:30-12:20 | Community dance and gathering |
| 12:35 pm | Lunch |
| 1:45-2:45 | Class Period 3 |
| 3:00-4:00 | Class Period 4 |
| 4:15-5:15 | Class Period 5 |
| 4:15-6:00 | Swimming |
| 5:30-6:00 | Adult schmooze / Sing for Your Supper |
| 6:15 | Dinner |
| 7:30-8:30 | Community dance and evening gathering |
| 8:30 | Bedtime for 9 and under |
| 8:30-10:45 | Evening dance |
| 9:30 | Bedtime for 10-12 |
| 11:00 onward | After-dance activities |
Class Descriptions
Period 1
Littles (ages 6 and under) Music and Movement—Maddie Smith, with Kerry Bacon
A playful time for moving, making, and being together, we’ll get the wiggles out with folk songs, fingerplays and singing games, then slow down with open-ended crafts using natural and recycled materials. Come sing, dance, and create!
Mediums (ages 7-9) Stories and Songs—Mary Alice Amidon
Come enjoy amazing folktales with lots of participation (Jack tales, stories from around the world). We will sing songs that you will not stop singing and play some singing games to keep us moving.
Bigs (ages 10-12) Dance to the Music—Mary Wesley and Rosie Newton
This class is all about the joys of dance, music, and song! We’ll look at the ways they are all interconnected and the ways they can help us connect to each other. Together we’ll learn a variety of dances; explore tunes, songs, and stories; and generally have a great time!
Challenging ECD—Joanna Reiner Wilkinson, with Karen Axelrod and Ben Schreiber
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 is expected!
Couples Dance—to the music of Dave Langford and Eric Schedler
Class description coming soon!
Writing Simple Songs—Brian Dolphin
Bring in songs and we arrange them (and even perform them later), or we co-write them together—probably a mix of both.
English Dance Musicians Master Class: Making Dance Magic—Dave Wiesler
Participation by pre-registration only. More class details here.
Period 2
Littles (ages 6 and under) Music and Games—Stefan Amidon
Come inhabit a world of wild animals and circle dances, silly stories, and singing games. We’ll keep things moving with hand games and acting out songs and stories, and we’ll sing about nature and find ways to all sing and play together. Stars! Cows! Bling! Blang! Come for the zingo and stay for the zango!
Mediums (ages 7-9) Songs and Crafts—Elizabeth LaPrelle
Class description coming soon!
Bigs (ages 10-12) TBD—Eric Schedler and Sam Bartlett
Class description coming soon!
Morning Contras—Mary Wesley, with Dave Langford, Glen Loper, and Bethany Waickman (Stomp Rocket)
Tap your toes and kick up your heels with a grab bag of great dances from Mary’s collection.
Old-Time Fiddle—Sally Jablonsky
Come learn some old-time tunes with Sally. We will focus on technique, bowing, and learning by ear.
English Dance Musicians Master Class: Making Dance Magic—Dave Wiesler
Participation by pre-registration only. More class details here.
English Dance Advanced Leaders Course: Beyond Calling – Teaching ECD Technique & Style—Joanna Reiner Wilkinson
Participation by pre-registration only. More class details here.
Morning Gathering
Hosted by Karen Axelrod!
Period 3
Mummers Play (all ages)—Sam Bartlett and Dave Langford
Class description coming soon!
ECD For All, Style and Technique (ages 13 and up)—featuring intensive course callers and musicians!
Each afternoon, Advanced English Leaders Course participants will team up with English Dance Musicians Master Class participants to practice the techniques learned in the morning. Support your fellow campers as you enjoy a relaxing afternoon of dance. Open to all, and drop-ins are welcome.
Cajun Fiddle—Rosie Newton
In this class we will learn some Cajun fiddle tunes and talk about tricks to learn by ear and simple ways to back up the melody in this double-fiddle tradition.
DADGAD Guitar Workshop—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
Community Art Space—Elizabeth LaPrelle, Sally Jablonsky, and Brian Dolphin
- Make a crankie with Elizabeth!
- Work with clay/papier mâché/painting with Sally!
- Make harps and junky lutes and such with Brian!
Weaving Tradition with Community Discussion—Mary Wesley and Guests
Class description coming soon!
Tuneology—Sam Bartlett, Eric Schedler, and Bethany Waickman
Learn the best fun tunes.
Teen Class (ages 13-18)—Stefan Amidon
Class description coming soon!
English Dance Musicians Master Class: Making Dance Magic—Dave Wiesler
Participation by pre-registration only. More class details here.
Period 5
Old-time Jam—Sally Jablonsky, Rosie Newtown, and Sam Amidon
Come learn and play old-time tunes with some great multi-instrumentalist old-time masters. Sam, Rosie, and Sally all have different styles informed by the area they grew up in (Sam in the Northeast, Rosie near Ithaca, NY, and Sally in the Northwest), on fiddle, banjo, and guitar, and they share a deep understanding of this great and multifaceted American music.
Community Art Open Studio
Class description coming soon!
Camper-Led Offerings
Class descriptions by you!
Evening Gathering
Hosted by Sam Amidon!
Dance Terminology
CDSS camps use a variety of calling terms, including gendered and non-gendered role terms, as well as positional language, at the discretion of each week’s Program Director. Read more about CDSS and dance calling language here.
| English country dances | TBD |
| Contra 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.
This year, all of our weeks have sliding scale pricing for adults to help make camp financially accessible to more people. The fee you choose will not affect your chance of getting into camp.
How it works:
- The standard camper fee covers program staff pay and travel costs, facility fees, and all of the other costs associated with running this camp week.
- The higher price options allow you to add an additional amount to your registration fee to help make camp more accessible to more people. Thanks for supporting this community!
- If the standard camper fee doesn’t work for you, no worries! Feel free to choose one of the lower price options.
- If the lower price tiers still leave camp out of reach for you, we encourage you to apply for a scholarship and/or work exchange. See our Scholarships page for more details
Sliding Scale Adult Fees (2026)
| Standard Fee (2026) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $805 | $935 | $1,070 | $1,205 | $1,335 | $1,470 |
Fees for kids (2026)
| Ages 0-1 | Ages 2-3 | Ages 4-6 | Ages 7-9 | Ages 10-12 | Ages 13-15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $80 | $365 | $630 | $710 | $835 | $1,045 |
You can find more information about the registration process here.
Campers ages 16 and up can apply to be part of Cascade Crew, taking on a special role at camp! Crew members help establish a culture of community, leadership, and support for all campers, and it is an excellent way to be an active part of the camp community.
Cascade Crew tasks include:
- The day before camp starts: arrive early to set up the dance hall, hang signage, and help prepare for campers
- During the week: in teams of two, check in on campers under 12 who have gone to bed and alert parents at the evening dance if they are needed.
- After the week ends: stay after breakfast on the last day to help pack up and clean up camp
In exchange for their labor, the Cascade Crew members receive a 50% discount on the standard camp fee. Preference will be given to applicants who are available during the crew service period, which means arriving the afternoon of August 16 and departing the afternoon of August 23.
Staff
