Dance- and Music-Related Links

A collection of links to online sources of general information for new and experienced dancers, and links to other dance organizations. (to suggest a link to be added, send email to )

Be sure to check out CDSS (Country Dance & Song Society) at https://www.cdss.org and their calendar of upcoming events at https://www.cdss.org/community/events-calendar.

About Dance Styles

What is English Country Dancing?

An article by Linda Repasky, posted to the English Country Dance Mailing List.

What is Contra Dance?

An entertaining article by Gary Shapiro of the Santa Barbara Country Dance Society.

Hands Four, a terrific article by Greg Rohde of St. Louis about contra dancing.

What is English Ceilidh?

A ceilidh-centered article outlining some of the differences between English ceilidh, English country, and contra dances.

Ten Stupid Things Beginners Do to Mess Up their Contradance Experience

A WikiBook with good advice about how to enjoy your first time at a contra dance; most of the advice is good for English dance as well.

An Open Letter to Creepy Leads

A FaceBook note about how not to be perceived as a creepy partner. Written in the ballroom dance context, it's extremely applicable to country dancers as well.

Northern California Organizations

Bay Area English Regency Society

BAERS organizes monthly English Regency dances in Palo Alto, featuring English and Early American country dancing and waltzes in the spirit of the early 19th century (the era of Jane Austen),co-sponsored by BACDS, as well as occasional special balls and events throughout the bay area.

Hayward Contra Dance

While BACDS in-person dances are suspended during the COVID pandemic, a group of Hayward dance series managers joined together to re-open the Hayward Contra Dance even before BACDS dances open officially. The Hayward Contra Dance is an independent contra dance series, with dances held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, COVID conditions permitting.

North Bay Country Dance Society

NBCDS organizes contra and English country dances in the north bay communities of San Rafael, Sonoma, Sebastopol, and Santa Rosa. Dances in Calistoga, Ukiah, Philo, and Point Arena are also listed. NBCDS also sponsors Apple Tree Morris, a morris team dancing primarily in the Bampton tradition.

Traditional Dancers of Santa Cruz

TDSC organizes contra dances in Santa Cruz and Felton, as well as English country dances in Santa Cruz. TDSC organizes the annual President's Day Weekend Dawn Dance in Santa Cruz.

Sacramento Country Dance Society

SCDS organizes contra and English dances in the greater Sacramento area. Its special events include an annual New Year's Eve dance and the Echo Summit contra dance weekend in late September.

Monterey Country Dance Community

MCDC organizes contra dances in Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Aromas. MCDC's special events include the Foggy Moon Dance and Auction in October and a First Night (New Year's Eve) dance.

Foothill Country Dancers

FCD organizes contra dances in the communities of Nevada City and Auburn, as well as the annual Fall Has Sprung day of dance in Grass Valley during the first weekend of November. Information on FCD's dance schedule can be found on the Sacramento page.

Bay Area Queer Contra

Queer contra holds gender-free dances in San Francisco and Berkeley, for "lesbians, gay men and friends of all descriptions".

Ashkenaz Dance and Music Community Center

The Ashkenaz, a Berkeley institution since 1973, hosts dances and concerts for traditions ranging from African to Balkan to Swing and Cajun.

Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse

The Freight hosts concerts by folk artists of international, national, and local stature. Many Tuesday evenings are Open Mic nights.

San Francisco Folk Music Club

The San Francisco Folk Music Club organizes singing and jamming sessions on alternating Fridays and the annual San Francisco Free Folk Festival in June. SFFMC's Folknik, available online, has one of the most comprehensive listings of bay area folk events.

Period Events and Entertainments Re-Creation Society

PEERS organizes period and costume balls ranging from a Middle Earth Ball to 1930s Mystery Parties to Diplomatic Balls set in a Babylon Five universe. In keeping with their cardinal rule ("If you're having fun, you're doing it right!"), period dress will be admired, but is not required.

Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, San Francisco Chapter

Active since 1967 but with roots dating to the mid-1940s, the San Francisco chapter of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society sponsors classes throughout the San Francisco and Sacramento/Central Valley areas, as well as a number of demonstration teams and an annual weekend at Carmel's beautiful Asilomar Conference Grounds.

Northern California Cajun/Zydeco Links

A resource for those looking for Cajun and Zydeco dances and music in the bay area.

Northern California Lindy Society

NCLS organizes Lindy Hop workshops and promotes Lindy Hop and Swing events in the bay area.

Northern California Western Square Dance Clubs

A sizable list of western square dance clubs in northern California. A subset of the western square dance resources available at www.dosado.com.

Bay Area (Square) Dance Calendar

A calendar of western square dance clubs and events in northern California.

Queer Swing San Francisco

A portal for SwingOUT! and Queer Jitterbugs, two swing dance clubs serving the local Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered communities.

Northern California Bluegrass Society

Formerly the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society, the Northern California Bluegrass Society promotes the performance, appreciation, and enjoyment of bluegrass and related acoustic music in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.

Mendocino English Dance

The newest English dance series to start up in northern California, this dance is operated by Mickie and Elizabeth Zekley, the organizers of Lark Camp.

Womens Contra Dance

This monthly dance series, held in El Cerrito, is organized by women, for women.

Live Oak Grange Family Dance

An independent contra and family-friendly dance series based at Santa Cruz's Live Oak Grange hall.

Other California Organizations

California Dance Cooperative

The California Dance Cooperative organizes contra and English dances in the greater Los Angeles area--English dances in Torrance and contra dances in South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Frazier Park, Laverne, and Pasadena. Annual events include a New Year's Eve contra dance in Pasadena.

The Living Tradition

The Living Tradition organizes contra dances, folk music concerts, and folk music jams in the Orange County communities of Anaheim and Bellflower. It also organizes the annual dance camp at Mount Baldy in April.

Santa Barbara Country Dance Society

Santa Barbara Country Dance Society organizes contra dances in Santa Barbara and co-sponsors English dances with the Santa Barbara Friends of English Dance. It also hosts the annual Sprung Floor dance weekend. SBCDS's website also has links to dances in the nearby communities of Ojai and Los Olivos.

San Diego Folk Heritage

San Diego Folk Heritage organizes contra dances, concerts, jams, and storytelling sessions in the San Diego area. SDFH organizes the annual San Diego Folk Heritage Festival in May and co-sponsors the annual Sea Chantey Festival in July and Train Song Festival in October.

Central California Country Dance Society

CCCDS organizes monthly contra dances in San Luis Obispo.

Tuolumne County Dancing

This site lists the monthly contra and English dances in the foothill community of Sonora.

California Traditional Music Society

CTMS organizes concerts at the Folk Music Center in Tarzana, as well as the annual Summer Solstice Folk Music, Dance, and Storytelling Festival in Calabasas.

California Contra/English Dance Schedule

Rich Cageao's periodic list of all ongoing and irregular contra and English dances in California.

California Bluegrass Association

The California Bluegrass Association is dedicated to the furtherance of Bluegrass, Old Time, and Gospel music in the state of California.

National and International Organizations

Country Dance and Song Society

Founded in 1915 as the American Branch of the English Folk Dance Society, CDSS has promoted English and Anglo-American dance, music, and song. Their sales department is an amazing resource for dance leaders and traditional musicians. Major CDSS member groups include BACDS, Country Dance * New York, and CDS Boston Centre.

English Folk Dance and Song Society

Originating from the merger of the English Folk Song Society (founded in 1898) and the English Folk Dance Society (founded in 1911), EFDSS has long been instrumental in the collection, performance, and promotion of traditional English folk dance and song. Luminaries such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Cecil J. Sharp, Maud Karpeles, and Douglas Kennedy were instrumental in recording and preserving traditional English and Anglo-American dances and songs in the British Isles, United States, and Canada.

The Lloyd Shaw Foundation

The Lloyd Shaw Foundation was founded in 1964 to continue the legacy of Dr. Lloyd Shaw, a Colorado-based educator instrumental in the collection and promotion of western square dances and music. Shaw's dance company, the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers, was a leading promoter of a precursor to what is now known as western (or club) square dances.

The Morris Ring

In 1934, the Cambridge Morris Men invited the Letchworth, Thaxted, Oxford, East Surrey, and Greensleeves morris teams to join them in the formation of an organization dedicated to the preservation and encouragement of morris dancing. Today, with more than 260 teams as members, the Morris Ring is the largest worldwide organization dedicated to all-male morris dancing.

The Morris Federation

The Morris Federation seeks to encourage all who are interested to experience the pleasure of morris dancing and to strive for the highest standard of execution of which they are capable. Begun in 1975 as a federation of women's morris sides, the Morris Federation accepted mixed-gender sides for membership in 1980, and has been open to teams of all genders since 1982.

Open Morris

Founded in 1979 by a number of teams based in East Anglia, Open Morris was the first organization open to mixed-gender teams. Today, Open Morris has over 100 teams as members.

Lavender Country and Folk Dancers

The Lavender Country and Folk Dancers is an umbrella organization covering a loosely knit group of gender role free dance clubs. A CDSS affiliate, LCFD encompasses several dance traditions, including contra and English contry dance.

International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs

The IAGSDC is an umbrella organization for gay square dance clubs in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Denmark, formed by and for lesbians and gay men in their community and for their friends. The IAGSDCis active in the world of Modern Western Square Dancing, and all IAGSDC clubs dance the Callerlab specified levels of Modern Western Square Dancing.

Anglo-American Dance Service (Belgium)

AADS promotes Anglo-American Dances in Western Europe, has dance courses and a large sales division (which often has UK dance materials you can't easily get in the US.

Dance And Music Webrings

BACDS is part of:

• The English Ceilidh webring: [Skip Prev] [Prev] [Next] [Skip Next] [Random] [Next 5] [List Sites]