Contra dancing

If you want to find out what contra dancing is, the best way is to try it! It's where you'll find people having the time of their lives, where a roomful of strangers becomes a roomful of friends, and where you will quickly realize that if you can walk, you can dance. You won't need a partner, just a spirit of adventure and the desire to enjoy music and movement.

On a more technical level, contra dance is done in sets of couples to jigs and reels or southern old-time tunes. You dance with a partner and with all the other dancers in your set in turn. Each dance is a sequence of moves taught before the dance begins, and then repeated by the caller as the music plays to keep everyone moving and dancing together.

Come with a friend or without - the tradition is to change partners after every dance, so you will quickly find yourself part of the community. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers - the dancing can be aerobic.

Take a look at some of our contra dance videos.

Fellow callers can check out some contra dances we have written.

Where can I contra dance?

Here's where you can find us, and many other fine callers:

• Our Schedule
• In Ontario:
• Toronto Country Dancers
• Hamilton Country Dancers
• Peterborough English Country Dancers
• Owen Sound Contra Dances
• Ottawa Valley Contra Dancers
• In upstate New York:
• Country Dancers of Rochester
• Buffalo Contra Dancers
• Ithaca Contra Dances
• Syracuse Contra Dances
• Further afield:
• NEFFA list of All Things Contra
• Ted Crane's database of contra dance events