Contra Dance / Contradance in Canada

Contra Dance in Canada

Regional | Dances | Bands and Musicians | Callers | Organizations

This page is devoted to listing contra dances in Canada along with bands, musicians, callers, and organizations that are based in Canada. URLs and e-mail addresses are listed when available. New entries, additional information, and changes in information are always welcome. Links to other pages in the www.contradancelinks.com web site are listed at the bottom of the page.

New links are simply new to me, not necessarily new to the World Wide Web. Change in URL means that a link has changed its WWW address or URL.

Regional

Here are some links for coverage of festivals (music or music and dancing) in Canada:
And the Trente Sous Zero site has information about several dances in Quebec.
Société Pour La Promotion de la Danse Traditionnelle Queébécoise has listings for dances, festivals and other events in Quebec.

Dances

Vancouver Country Dance sponsors the annual Raincoat Ruckus in late February in Burnaby.
While the group's title is Playford Dancers, they do include English Country dances and contras in their repertoire when they dance on Tuesdays (September-May) in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
The Chehalis Contra Dance Camp is held near Gibsons, a ferry ride from Vancouver, in late September.
Dance Nova Scotia, headquartered in Halifax, can give some guidance about finding dances in the area that may include a contra or two.
The Folkdancers' Association of Nova Scotia sponsor a series of New Times/Old Tyme Dances in Halifax on various Saturdays. The dances include New England contras, English longways, big circle dances and turning dances, mostly from the British Isles, Europe and North America but with a few surprises.
The Hamilton (Ontario) Country Dancers hold monthly dances on a Saturday from September to June. Check their calendar for exact dates.
The Rogue Folk Club in Kitsilano, British Columbia, holds some contra dances, usually on the 1st Saturday of the month, as part of its event schedule.
There's a new contra dance group in Lennoxville, Quebec. You can "Meet boys and girls, men and women and some really, truly old guys" at their dances. Last dance mentioned was in April 2007 (March 22, 2008)
The True North Music & Dance contra dances are held in London generally on the 3rd Saturday of the month. The dances feature mixed programmes including a variety of country dance styles, i.e. contras (longways sets), New England squares, circles, waltzes, as well as English and Scottish country dance. Eric Praetzel maintains the site.
There is a contradance on the 4th Saturday of the month in Montreal.
The 16th Canadian Square & Round Dance Convention will be held in London, Ontario from July 17-19, 2008.
The Woods Music and Dance Camp, which includes some contra dancing and related activities, occurs in mid-August each year in Muskoka, Ontario. The web site is designed and created by Jack Cole.
For Ottawa, there is information on folk dancing including contras. Shantnu Mishra created the page.
The Old Sod Folk Music Society in Ottawa sponsors contra dances generally on various Saturdays each month. Ian Robb maintains this site.
The Ottawa Valley Contra Dance also holds dances on various Saturdays, but not the same Saturdays.
The Fiddlefern Country Dancers hold their dances in Owen Sound on the 1st Saturday of the month and every Tuesday during July and August.
In Owen Sound, in early May, there is the Spring Fling Dance Weekend sponsored by the Georgian Bay Folk Society in conjunction with the Fiddlefern Country Dancers.
While there is not much information about contra dancing, the Thirty Below web site covers the Quebec traditional music and dance scene.
There is a fledgling group of contra dancers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan who hold occasional dances. For information please contact Paddy Tutty at paddytutty@sasktel.net.
The Toronto Country Dancers sponsor dances on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Saturdays of the month. In addition, they host the Spring Thaw Weekend in early April, a special holiday dance in late December, and a Summer Island Dance in July.
The Vancouver Country Dance holds dances on a variety of dates each month.
The Victoria Contra Dance holds monthly dances, usually on one the last Saturdays of the month.
The Victoria Fiddle Society holds occasional Urban Barn Dances in Victoria which includes contra dances. Change of URL (March 22, 2008)

Bands and Musicians

Afro Shillelagh is a mix of old-time fiddle tunes, beat in West African percussion and stir with a Celtic stick with a pinches of music from Brittany, Sweden and Quebec. It is based in Vancouver.
Rachel Aucoin is a pianist who plays in band Tidal Wave (Raz-de-Mar&ecutee) and with other musicians and groups. She is based in Quebec. New entry (May 7, 2008)
Michael Ayles is a Montreal-based musician specializing in the traditional music of Ireland and Quebec and plays with the groups La Part du Queteux and Garton's Crimson Avengers.
Back Up and Push (Ontario) has been the Hamilton Country Dancers for more than a dozen years and has a repertoire which focuses on the traditional music of the British Isles and French Canada.
Ian Bell plays fiddle for concerts, square dances and contra dances and also tells stories at venues in Southern Ontario and elsewhere.
Along with his regular schedule of concerts and other events, Duncan Cameron occasionally plays at a contra dance in Canada.
Les Chauffeurs á pieds travel as their name suggests: by the stomp and tap of their feet. Since they have been taping out their jigs and reels in Quebec and abroad. MySpace page.
Flapjack plays backwoods acoustic music with a back alley groove and resides in the Toronto, Canada area. MySpace page.
Quebecois fiddler Richard Forest has been a member of such groups as Domino and RŽveillons.
Garton's Crimson Avengers is working their way onto the contra dance circuit in Canada.
Gentricorum are a Quebecois band and an energetic and original traditional 'power trio' incorporating the dynamism of today's North American and European folk cultures in their music. MySpace page.
Paul Gitlitz plays a variety of instruments including violin, mandolin, guitar (acoustic and electric) and tenor banjo and lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Change of location (December 2, 2007)
The Glenelg Full Moon Country Dance Band has been performing traditional Irish and North American acoustic dance music together since 1991 and has played on a regular basis for the dances in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Le Vent Du Nord was formed in 2002 and has become well known in the Quebecois music scene. MySpace page. New entry (June 22, 2008)
A native Manitoban, now living in Toronto, fiddle player Anne Lederman plays with bands such as Fiddlesong but is also known for her work preserving the works of Native and Metis fiddlers.
Tom Leighton plays at a variety of instruments for dances and concerts in Canada and other countries.
Dave Marshall plays fiddle at jams, sessions, and dances in the Vancover, British Columbia area.
The Victoria English Country Dance Society has information about the Odd Hack Band from Canada. The band features Brenda Callen (fiddle), Brian Titus (woodwinds) and David Gartrell (keyboards). In addition, you can e-mail them.
The Old Sod Band was formed primarily to play for New England-style Contra Dances, and while its repertoire is drawn from the jigs, reels and waltzes of Ireland, Scotland, England, the US, Canada and even Denmark, the style definitely owes much to the strong, driving rhythms of New England dance music. The page was prepared by Ian Robb and redesigned & implemented by Deb O'Hanlon.
The Brian Pickell Band is friendly, funny and plays with passion, mostly in Canada and includes Shane Cook, Mark Sullivan, James Stephens, Pat O'Gorman, Sahra Featherstone, Julie Schryer and Brian Pickell.
Relative Harmony's music is an energetic and engaging selection of English, North American and Quebecois tunes. Their style is influenced by the playing of many of the current New England dance bands, and is sure to keep you on your toes with a strong, steady back-beat and energetic fiddling. They are based in Ontario.
The Canadian band, plays traditionnal Québécois for contra dances and square dances in Québec, Ontario and United States, along with concerts and other events. MySpace page. New entry (June 4, 2008)
Fiddler Laura Risk plays music suitable for 18th-century Scottish drawing rooms to driving strathspeys and reels suitable for a Cape Breton dance floor and plays at a contra dance on occasion. She lives in Quebec. MySpace page.
Ian Robb is a member of bands such as JIIG, Finest Kind, and The Old Sod Band and is known for his playing of the English concertina and his songs. He is based in Ottawa, Canada.
Sheesham & Lotus met in Alabama, settled in Kingston, Ontario in Canada and play s Old-time Rag-time High Steppin' Mountain music. New entry (April 27, 2008)
Smokin' Contra Band is a Halifax (Canada) based lively traditinal band playing an entertaining and foot-stomping assortment of old-timey fiddle tunes, jigs and reels with a whisper of bluegrass.
Gordon Stobbe's musical interests lie in the field of traditional music, especially as it is expressed in the wide variety of North American fiddle styles. He plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and clawhammer banjo. Along with concerts and festivals, he does play at events that include contra dances.
Mark Sullivan, while playing at concerts and other venues in Canada and the United States, continues to be part of the old-time music and dance scene in Canada.
Sybaritic String Band is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Carl Thor plays with Vancouver Celtic and folk group Talisman and Portland contra dance band Hands4, Carl also plays in Cascade Crossing, the Portland Megaband, in other groupings for folk dancing, and as a soloist.
Tidal Wave (Raz-de-Mar&ecutee) is grounded in traditional Quebec rhythms and melodies but not limited by it. The band includes Sabin Jacques, Rachel Aucoin and Stuart Kenney with guest musicians Andr&ecute Brunet, Eric Favereu et Claudine Arcand with occasional guests Benoit Bourque et Kimberly Holmes. The band is based in New England and Quebec. New entry (May 7, 2008)
Tuq, from Montreal, Canada, posesses a passion for Contra Dances, they fuse Quebecois reels with Yiddish Hongas, Irish jigs with Sweedish Polskas, Breton Andros with Texas Swing.
Whirlygig is a dance band from the Guelph/Kitchener area of Ontario that plays jigs, reels and hornpipes from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Galicia, as well as haunting airs and songs for ceilis, weddings and folk festivals along with contra dances.
Nicholas Williams is a Montreal based musician who plays blackwood and bamboo flutes, piano, and piano accordion in a variety of traditional and contemporary styles and plays with bands such as Crowfoot and Les Jouers de Bon Accord. MySpace page.

Callers

Bev Bernbaum calls in Toronto, Canada and other nearby locales.
Dieter Brock called in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 2, 2008.
Catherine Burns calls on a regular basis at the Old Sod dances in Ottawa, Ontario. (e-mail for person)
Tom Calwell has been calling in Ontario and upstate New York since 1993.
Maureen Collier called in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 14, 2008.
Martha Cooper calls on a frequent basis at the Old Sod dances in Ottawa, Canada.
Judy Greenhill calls on a regular basis in Hamilton, Ontario.
Jackie Hall calls and runs contra dance events in Lennoxville, Quebec.
Pippa Hall calls on a frequent basis at the Old Sod dances in Ottawa, Canada.
Myra Hirschberg calls regularly in Ontario and upstate New York.
Mike Jones has been calling contra dances since 1998 in southern Ontario (his home) and northern New York.
Shelagh Maguire calls in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. (e-mail only)
Marian Rose calls contra, square, English, and family dances throughout Canada and the US and also plays piano and accordion for English and contras. She is based in Vancouver.
Lorraine Sutton does not limit herself to contras on the dance floor, but does call contras in Toronto and other locales.

Organizations

The Old Sod Folk Music Society of Ottawa ("Old Sod" to its friends) has been a fixture on the Ottawa music scene since the early eighties, when it was conceived as an attempt to bring some of the best-known names on the British and Irish folk scenes to the city. Since then its scope has expanded to include Anglo- and Franco-Canadian, American and European performers, but the emphasis is still largely on music with strong and recognisable traditional roots.
The Canadian Square and Round Dance Society (CSRDS), as you might expect, promotes square and round dances across the nation. While contradancing is not the main purpose of the site, there is enough overlap of interests to include it. John Sellers and Mae Cutler maintain and support the web site.

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