Contra dancing is a joyful, energetic community dance for all ages. We dance to live music – fiddles, guitar, accordions, and more – and talented callers guide us through dance formations. Check out our Schedule page or subscribe to our email newsletter for upcoming dances.
Beginners are very welcome – all dances are taught and no partner or previous experience needed – just bring your smile!
“It was [a] very friendly atmosphere. The instructions were good. The music was fantastic!” “Very welcoming.”
Contra dances take place twice a month on 1st and 3rd Saturday evenings, September through June each season (no dances in July and August).
Doors open at 7 PM
Introductory lesson 7:30-8 PM (highly recommended for new participants)
Dance 8-11 PM
Location: Churchill Recreation Centre, 345 Richmond Road, Ottawa (see our Location page)
Schedule
- April 5th, 2025 – Plus a Waltz Dance!
- 🙂 Waltz dance, 6:30-7:30 PM. $5 🙂
Band: Magia Vestis Café Orchestra
Caller: to be announced April 19th, 2025– No dance!- Easter weekend. Hall is not available. No dance.
- May 3rd, 2025 – Plus an afternoon English Country Dance!
- 🙂 English Country Dance for Contra dancers, 3:30-5:30 PM. Come give ECD a try! 🙂
Band: Trio of Ian Clark, Greg Brown & Ann Downey
Caller: Drew Delaware - May 17th, 2025
- Band: Greg Brown, Richard Forest, James Stephens & John Mitchell
Caller: Grace Hendrickson-Jones - June 7th, 2025
- Band: Atlantic Firth
Caller: Catherine Burns - June 21st, 2025
- Band: JET (James Stephens, Emily Addison & Tim Cutts)
Caller: Nicholas Smith - July & August 2025
- No Ottawa Contra dances during the summer.
- September 2025
- Our next season begins! Check back this summer for dates and talent.
- Octobers 31st – November 2nd, 2025
- Hey Fever! dance weekend!
For ticket prices and more information, check out our Schedule page.
Masks are optional. Please stay home if you’re sick.
Dancers are most welcome to wear a mask if they wish to. If you feel unwell, test positive for Covid, or are a close contact of someone with Covid, please do not attend. Staying up to date with vaccination is highly recommended. Please see our full list of Covid measures here.
Hey Fever!
We host our own Dance Weekend, Hey Fever!, Oct 31st to Nov 2nd, 2025. It’s a blast!
Newsletter
To stay informed, if you are not already subscribed to our Newsletter, please sign up for our emails here.
