Dance socials in Montreal.
6 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Plateau, Mile-Ex, Rosemont. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
These are social dance nights and weekly classes in Montreal: swing, salsa, bachata, tango, folk and contra. Nearly all start with a beginner lesson, and the social dancing after it is the point, so you can arrive alone and dance all evening.
The listing shows the day and start time. If there is a lesson first, the club's own page says when it begins and whether you need a partner, which you usually do not.
All 6 dance socials in Montreal.
A to Z, in each club's own words. Every one links to the club, and every day and time is the one the club publishes.
Twenty-year-old Friday swing social run by the Cat's Corner non-profit dance community on rue Frontenac. Optional drop-in intro classes from 6:30, then DJ'd social dancing from 8:30 to midnight, with a live band once a month.
Fridays, time varies · $15 · catscorner.ca →Tuesday swing social with DJs at Chez Ernest, a bar on Saint-Hubert, hosted by Studio 88 Swing. A free intro lesson at 8pm, no partner needed, then dancing.
Tuesdays, 8pm · Rosemont · $5 · meetup.com →Weekly live-jazz swing dance night at Café La Ligne Verte on Ontario East: a free intro lesson at 7, then a live band from 8. Non-dancers welcome; pay what you can at the door.
Wednesdays, time varies · $15 · meetup.com →Friday-night milonga at Tango Libre, a 35-year-old Argentine tango school on the Plateau; a Sunday afternoon practica too. Social dancing, not a lesson.
Fridays, 8:15pm · Plateau · Entry charged · tangolibre.ca →Monthly called Québécois trad dance evening with a live band, run since 1981 by the EspaceTrad non-profit, now at the Centre du Plateau. A beginner initiation at 7:30 precedes the called dances at 8; all ages.
Monthly, third Saturday · Plateau · $25.50 · espacetrad.org →Monthly West Coast Swing social at Espace 215 on Jean-Talon West: a free basics class at 8, then a dance party from 9.
Monthly, first Saturday · Mile-Ex · $15 · meetup.com →
Questions people actually ask.
Do I need a partner?
Almost never. Social dance nights rotate partners during the lesson and expect people to ask and be asked all evening. If a class is couples only, the listing says so.
I have never danced. Where do I start?
Pick a night with a beginner lesson before the social, which most have, and arrive for the lesson. Flat shoes you can turn in are the only equipment.
What does it cost?
Social nights often run ten to twenty dollars at the door including the lesson. Folk and community dances are often cheaper or free. The cost column has the number.
Every listing links straight to the club. Know a dance social in Montreal we don’t? Add it.