North American Festival of Scottish Country Dance!
November 28, 2025
The TAC Youth Committee is excited to announce the launch of a brand new event: the first North American Festival of Scottish Country Dance, to be held in Philadelphia in April 2026.
Inspired by the renowned Newcastle Festival in the UK, this North American counterpart will offer dancers – both local and international – the chance to experience a similar spirit of friendly competition and community, right here in North America.
The idea for the festival emerged from the Teachers’ Association of Canada (TAC)’s 2023 strategic plan, which emphasized the importance of recruiting and retaining dancers, especially younger generations. As part of this initiative, members of the TAC Youth Committee traveled to the Newcastle Festival as part of the North American Team, gaining valuable insight and inspiration. They returned with a mission: to create a unique event that captures the essence of the Newcastle Festival while tailoring it to the North American context.
Beyond recruitment, this festival also speaks to a broader goal – preserving the art of Scottish Country Dance for future generations. Events like these are more than just performances; they are opportunities to shape the way new dancers engage with the tradition, and to contribute to the living legacy of this beautiful, historical form of dance.
The beauty of Scottish Country Dance lies in how it brings all generations and abilities together. That’s exactly why the North American Festival is structured to welcome and encourage everyone - regardless of age or skill level - through a range of different categories.
The first category (called “class” in the guidelines) is the Social Demonstration class. It is designed for teams who may not focus on technical footwork, but still want to demonstrate strong phrasing, covering, and the social enjoyment of the dance. It’s a great option for demonstration teams that already perform at local events and are looking to share their work with the wider dance community.
Class 2 is High Impact. This is for dancers who have the energy (and the knees!) to perform footwork and all other aspects of Scottish Country Dance at a high technical level. While more technically demanding, this category is not meant to be elitist - anyone looking for a good challenge and constructive feedback is strongly encouraged to join.
Classes 3 and 4 are for children and youth: one for dancers aged 13 and under, and one for dancers aged 18 and under. If you have a children’s class in your branch or community, this is a fantastic opportunity to introduce them to the wider SCD world and show them how much fun dance can be as they grow up. Young dancers will receive thoughtful feedback and, in addition to any trophies awarded to their teams, each participant will receive a small medal as a token of participation.
Class 5, the Improvers category. This category is for dancers who began Scottish Country Dancing no earlier than two years before the event. For the 2026 Festival, that means anyone who started after April 4, 2024. The spirit of this class is the same as the High Impact category and encourages newer dancers to keep learning, stay engaged, and become active, connected members of the wider Scottish Country Dance community from the very beginning.
Class 6, called Open Technique, will be themed each year. For 2026, the theme is MacNab dances. This year, this class will allow for greater flexibility in team composition and dance format - not limited to the usual three or four-couple longwise sets.
Finally, Class 7 is the Display category. If you’re not familiar with this format, we recommend watching videos from the Newcastle Festival to see some inspiring examples. This is a highly creative category where teams can include as many dancers as they wish. Each group will have up to six minutes from entry to exit to perform at least three published Scottish Country Dances, of which one must show Strathspey. It’s an opportunity to showcase creativity through music, choreography, and presentation, offering a memorable highlight to the day.
If you have any questions - about age eligibility, number of dancers, type of dances, or music format - please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Festival organising committee at [email protected]. You can also subscribe to the mailing list directly here.
We hope you’ll be part of this exciting Scottish Country Dance event. See you in Philadelphia!
