Family Week at Pinewoods

Community. Song. Dance. Laughter.

Join us among the pines for a week full of magic and joy, music and dance, for young, old, and everyone in between. Family Week at Pinewoods is a rejuvenating and inspiring way to spend time with your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, or other children dear to you. Together, we participate in the rich traditional music, dance, and song program offered by our skilled staff.

Morning classes are enjoyed by age groupings, with younger participants delighting in traditional song, dance, stories, and crafts, facilitated by expert children’s educators. Meanwhile, teens and adults choose from an array of energizing community dance classes. Teens are welcome to join in adult activities throughout the day, but also have a daily class of their own that will weave together music and dance with dynamic instructors.

Each day there are two all-community gatherings (morning and evening) where the staff and campers alike share stories, songs and talents. There is also time in the afternoon for campers to offer one-off classes, so bring your talents to share!

Nestled between two pristine New England ponds offering daily idyllic swimming and canoeing, both natural beauty and community spirit are ever-present. Together, we celebrate the charm of living in woodland cabins, eating delicious, home-cooked meals, and participating in the rich traditional music, dance, and song program offered by our skilled staff.

~Naomi & Erica Morse, Program Directors

Saturday Arrival Schedule:

Saturday Departure Schedule: 

Draft Daily Schedule

Period 1

Ages 2-3: TBD

Description coming soon!

Ages 4-5: TBD

Description coming soon!

Ages 6-7: Music – Ann Percival

Description coming soon!

Ages 8-9: Longsword – Erika Roderick with Natty Smith

How do wooden swords stick together to make a star? It’s your turn to learn! We will work as a team to learn a traditional English longsword dance, and will then get to perform it for our camp community! Make sure to wear shoes or sneakers that stay on securely.

Ages 10-12: Social Dancing Fun – Imogen Mills with Owen Morrison and Aaron Marcus

10s-12s will learn aspects of Community, Contra, and English dancing, with a focus on giving weight and being playful. We’ll also sing songs and play games.

Ages 13 & up: English Country Dance for All – Margaret Bary with Karen Axelrod and Anna Patton

Celebrate the day by joining hands with others to share the joy of English Country dance. Inspired by glorious tunes, repertoire will range from 17th century Playford to modern choreography. Margaret will offer clear instruction to orient beginners, along with style tips and challenges for more experienced dancers. All levels are welcome.

13 & up: Appalachian Flatfooting from the Ground Up – Sophie Wellington with Naomi Morse

In this all-levels flatfooting class, we’ll focus on learning 3 basic flatfooting steps and using them to improvise. This class will help folks understand and feel the rhythms deeply rooted in old time fiddle music, with a focus on repetition and groove. No experience necessary. Please bring a pair of hard soled shoes (leather, hard plastic, etc.) that don’t grip the floor. Check out thrift stores for affordable options, test ’em out before buying them for sound and grip – and comfort of course!

Period 2

Ages 2-3: TBD – Sophie Wellington

Description coming soon!

Ages 4-5: TBD – Erica Morse

Description coming soon!

Ages 6-7: Singing, Dancing, and games – Imogen Mills

6-7s will learn songs by ear, community dances, and music and social games. Come ready to play, move, and share!

Ages 8-9: TBD – Ann Percival

Description coming soon!

Ages 10-12: Morris – Natty Smith

Description coming soon!

Ages 13 & up: Morning Cup of Dance – Susan Michaels with Eden MacAdam-Somer and Owen Morrison

Start the day off right with Fun and Flowing dances. Learn new figures and revisit favorites from the past. Level up your swing! Gender Neutral. All welcome.

Ages 13 & up: Rapper – Margaret Bary with Aaron Marcus

Teamwork is key in this vigorous dance form originating in northern England. Linked in a ring by the flexible swords held in our hands, we work together to weave intricate patterns overhead, while our feet step in time with lively jigs. This class will guide beginners through the basics of rapper, and teach some choreography from the repertoire of Margaret’s team, Half Moon Sword. Those with more sword dance experience will have the opportunity to develop their own sequences of challenging scoops and jumps. For best sound production, wear hard soled shoes.

Period 3

All ages (under 9 with a parent): Community Art – Ann Percival

Description coming soon!

Ages 8 & up: All-Comer’s Chorus – Anna Patton

For anyone who is excited to raise their voice in song: an All-Comer’s Chorus! We will spend the week working up a short set of charming and accessible harmony singing arrangements in 2, 3, and 4 parts. All songs will be taught by ear with word sheets. The repertoire will be mostly American songs that fall under the “folk” umbrella. Some will be “insta-songs” and a few will be more challenging pieces we will return to often through the week. No prior singing experience is needed.

Ages 10 & up (younger with permission): Community Band – Eden MacAdam-Somer

Musicians of all ages and abilities are invited to join this week’s Family Band, led by Eden MacAdam-Somer. We’ll work with familiar tunes, learn some new ones (maybe even write our own!), develop our sense of rhythm and groove, arrange some medleys for dances, explore harmony and improvisation, and more, depending on the needs and interest of participants.

Late Afternoon

Ages 13-17: Teen Class – Imogen Mills with Sophie Wellington

Games, dances, and songs, with a focus on leading in community.

All Ages: Stories – Susan Michaels

Relax and recharge with great, real-life stories — a mix of personal shenanigans, family history, and little-known stories from our shared past (history of the Flying Saucer anyone?). Bring your own short family story to share. Also, feel free to bring your favorite plushie friend for a stuffed animal story swap. Bring favorite poems too!

Ages 10 & up: Instrument / Singing Jam – Various Staff

Description coming soon!

Camper-led Activities

Description coming soon!

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.

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

Fees for kids

You can find more information about the registration process here.