Mission

Youth Dance Weekend is an exciting and accessible Contra and English dance weekend that helps young people from across North America connect with each other and develop skills for participating and leading in all aspects of our vibrant dance community.

To accomplish our mission, we:

• Keep our admission fee as low as possible, so that young people can afford to come;
• Feature an exceptional lineup of talented young performers so that: 1) young people are excited to attend, and 2) aspiring callers and musicians can learn from their peers;
• Involve all participants in some aspect of running the weekend through volunteer jobs – chopping veggies, sweeping the floor, showing people to their cabins, etc.;
• Host discussion sessions about issues relevant to youth and to the broader dance community, dance workshops for exploring style points and safety, and open-mic sessions for callers and musicians to perform and receive feedback from weekend staff.