Join our friendly classes and learn some ceilidh (barn dance) skills, get some excellent exercise to cheery music and have a good laugh.
What people say:
“I absolutely love it! Had sooooo much fun again this evening, thank you so much.”
“Great dances tonight. 8.5 minutes stripping the willow – fab! Thanks Kate and dancers.”
“Your knowledge of so many dances is very impressive and I like that we do dances from different countries.”
Welcome to all (recommended for roughly age 12 to adult), inclusive, no partner or experience required.
Classes last 1.5 hours and cost £8 per person per session. We will dance to recorded music. You can secure you place by booking online in advance, or you can pay on the door by cash or card.
You can book a block of four consecutive classes at the same venue, which costs £24, working out at £6 per class.
If you wish to attend multiple venues and different classes you can also pre-pay for an 8 class pass, which costs the same as 7 classes, so your 8th class is free. At your first class of 8 collect a physical class pass and then get it punched each time you come until your dance card is full.
New to ceilidh classes or not been for 6 months or more? – £4 taster class. Ideally, please register online for the class to avoid paperwork on the door, and then send a message saying you’d like a taster session and you can pay on the night. You can also just turn up but please arrive 5 minutes early to fill out emergency contact paperwork.
Class locations and times
At each venue classes will run roughly weekly, however, for some venues every week was not available to hire, so please check the list of class dates at your preferred location when booking and pop those in your diary. All class dates (as well as other ceilidh events) are also on our what’s on calendar.
What to expect at a ‘regular’ class
Ceilidh dancing and ceilidh classes should be fun! This is the main goal. I will encourage you to join in, get moving and have a go. We’ll be exercising our bodies and our minds! I aim to be inclusive to everyone and hopefully make you feel part of a friendly community.
I’ll walk you through all the dances, and teach you the steps and the patterns, explaining everything you need to know. I’m more than happy to answer any questions you may have and to explain things a second time. We will also work as a team to master some dances if they prove tricky – multiple brains are better than one.
You can’t look silly, you won’t be laughed at.
“I just want to say how much I enjoy the ceilidh dancing as an older person – it’s a lot of fun, we always laugh a lot, and because you call throughout the dances, I don’t have to remember and learn the dances – a bonus with a failing memory!”
No partner is required and no experience is required. We welcome experienced dancers too and are delighted to have your expertise in the room, but I’d ask you please to show patience to all beginners and avoid correcting perceived mistakes (unless asked for help); participation and inclusion are more important than perfection.
If you have any aches and pains or moves that you can’t do, do let me know, and the rest of the class or your dance partner as required. If you need to take a break that is also fine. I’ll aim to mix dances with different energy levels to give us some breaks from jigs and reels, but I also hope to get your heart rate up and give you a bit of a workout while having fun!
Age guidance for ‘regular’ classes
Our main ceilidh classes are advertised as adult/regular classes with a suggested age of 12 to adult. However, people of any age can ceilidh!
Evening classes sometimes have a mixture of adults and teens. We wouldn’t advice the evening classes for families with young children because they could be tiring due to the time of day.
Due to the time of day of daytime classes they will mostly be attended by adults, when most children are in school, but home schooled children may sometimes attend and on inset days children and grandchildren are welcome to attend if they would either like to participate or sit quietly occupied in a safe spot at the side of the room. Some dances later in term, once we’ve got the basics, could be challenging for much younger dancers.
We don’t run any specifically adult-only ceilidh classes at the moment. However, if you are an adult who would most enjoy classes where there are only adults the later evening class at Carharrack Social Club on a Tuesday 19:30-21:00 is likely to be most appropriate. This is mostly attended by adults and families with children under 12 are advised to consider some of our earlier classes instead.
If you would like to arrange a workshop or class suitable for all ages or for a group with many children under the age of 12 please get in touch.
Other practicalities
Arrival time: The classes run for 1.5 hours. If you plan to pay at the class (cash or card is fine) please try to arrive 5 minutes early so that we can aim to be dancing as soon as possible at the start of the class. Booking online is always the speediest method of payment and secures your space ahead of the class if it is busy.
Shoes: If your shoes are likely to be very wet and muddy in this weather it would be good to bring some alternative shoes to dance in. The best sort of shoes are flat, or fairly flat, and comfy.
Clothes: Wear anything that is comfortable for you. Layers are useful in case you are chilly to start with and heat up when dancing.
What else to bring: A water bottle is a good idea. You will be able to refill it at the venue.
Ceilidh Cornwall 