New to Scottish Country Dancing

What is it?

It's a fun, active way to spend an evening, dancing and socialising!

In every dance, you have a partner (you can choose someone new for each dance!) and are in a set with at least 4 or 6 other people – You can't get much more sociable than that!

It's not quite such hard work as highland dancing - we have some steps to get the hang of, but it's more social than technical or competitive. And it's a bit like ceilidh dancing, with some dances that are a bit more challenging, to provide a workout for the brain as well as the feet. It can take a bit of practice to get a dance right, but there's a great sense of achievement when the team comes together and it works! And happily, lots of dances are easy enough to get right every time.

Contrary to expectations, we don't often dance to bagpipes (thankfully!) – music is usually provided by accordion and fiddle, and we dance to live music at socials and balls at least 4 or 5 times a year in Birmingham. Dancing around the room, in time with the music and so many other people is good for the soul!

Where can I try it out?

There are weekly classes, one-off workshops and dancing clubs across the West Midlands. Come along to one of our workshops to try out dancing in a fun, friendly atmosphere. Or join one of our classes in Birmingham to learn more about the steps, formations and dances. If you live outside of Birmingham, why not join one of the dancing clubs around the region? You'll bound to have a fun evening, at a very reasonable price! Just look at our Classes & Workshop page for more information.

What kind of events can I come to?

We have social dancing evenings about once every two months in Birmingham - have a look at the events page to find the next social coming up.

A programme of dances is published beforehand, but all the dances are walked through once on these evenings, so you don't need to know them all in advance. They're fun, informal evenings which are perfect for newer dancers to come along to.

We also have run a ball each year in the Spring. This is an opportunity to get your posh clothes on and enjoy fabulous live music to dance to as well as a two course supper. At balls, the dances aren't usually walked through, so a little bit of practice beforehand may be needed - so why not join us at our classes beforehand?

Core Dances for the West Midlands

Click here to find this year's list of Core Dances. These are used to encourage new and inexperienced dancers to learn some more well-known and popular dances, as well as introduce one or two new dances to our branch repertoire.

The branch will aim to ensure that all our dance programmes in the 2021-22 season include at least two core dances, and it would be great if other local groups would like to follow suit!