To support and promote social dancing and its various styles and traditions.

By providing a combined calendar where dancers can find a dance whenever they want.

By providing an easy way for people to locate venues, groups, bands, demonstration groups and callers to help run a social dance.

A Social Dance is an event open to the public that involves dancing and interacting with more than a single partner/person.

A Social Dance has some mechanism for introducing inexperienced dancers to the dancing.

A Social Dance does not require a partner to attend with.

A Social Dance is inclusive and non discriminatory on the basis of sexual preferences, race or religion.

Classes and class series are classed as social dances but a series may require you to attend the whole series from the beginning.

Social dancing facilitates expanding connections in the community.

At a social dance it is permitted to have some uncalled/untaught or performance/demonstration dances for experienced dancers but they should be in the minority.

Social Dances may be “Family dances” where you are encouraged to bring the whole family and introduce the children, teens and grandparents to dancing.

Performance group practices for traditional styles. These are usually by invitation.

Dances for Dancers.

Ballroom Dancing. In this style it is normally expected for participants to have learnt the basic steps in classes so they can participate. We would be delighted to list as social dances any dances where members of the public can attend individually or as couples that include a lesson or dances they can attend once they have the basics without being associated with a studio.

Ballet and other performance oriented dance styles.

Since its formation in 1980, the Traditional Social Dance Association

of Victoria (T.S.D.A.V.) has been involved in the collecting, promoting, presentation and preservation of our traditional social dance heritage.

To this end, it runs classes at festivals, dance weekends & dance days, social dances, as well as regular dance workshops now known as Dance for Dancers. It also runs the annual Dance Composers’ Competition, for contemporary folk dances written in the style of traditional dances.

The main styles of dancing promoted through these events have been traditional Australian (Colonial), Old Time, English, Irish, and Scottish.

More recently we have added Welsh and (New England style) Contra.

The TSDAV and VDA have also produced a number of dance publications.

These are available for purchase.