We dance on Sunday evenings in North Austin. One hour is dedicated to beginners and learners; two hours of social dancing follow. All our dancing is led by teachers who hold full certificates from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Are you interested in particular dances, formations, or techniques? Just let us know! We strive to make each evening fun and interesting for dancers at all levels, as well as to prepare members for upcoming SCD events.

Classes for Adults and Children

Classes include stretching and step practice.  Wear comfortable clothing that permits you to take long steps, typically a loose-fitting skirt for women and slacks for men, and soft-soled shoes that have not been worn outside.

Studio Location

We dance at Shirley McPhail School of Dance, 8020 Mesa Dr, Austin  78731

Adult Classes

Adult classes and social dancing are on Sunday evenings. Newcomers welcome any day! PLEASE CONTACT KATE at scottishdancekate@gmail.com to get details of timing and how the evening is divided. We do a mix of simple and complex dances to maximize the fun for everyone. Beginners may be asked to watch a dance or two during the evening for inspiration.

Children’s Class

Children, ages 6 and up or by teacher consent. Parents welcome to watch or dance, but this class is designed for kids and includes rhythmic movement and dance etiquette as well as a variety of traditional and modern dances. This class is not currently being held. If you wish to be notified when class resumes, please email Kate at scottishdancekate@gmail.com

About SCD

Scottish country dancing is a traditional social dance form in which groups of couples follow a specified pattern to the music.  It is related to contra dancing, English country dance and Old Time dancing.  Scottish country dance (SCD) features energetic reels and jigs, and we enjoy the slower, elegant strathspey as well. SCD is the best of all worlds:  mental and physical activity, plus a great social arena, accompanied by fantastic music!

About Us

We do traditional Scottish country dancing in and around Austin, Texas, as the Scottish Country Dance Alliance (SCDA). Our website can be found here: http://scda.us/

Dances that we did recently are listed on our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Austinscd

You may notice that we are far more interested in dancing than in websites. The best way to get involved is to email Kate at scottishdancekate@gmail.com

Kate Bio

Kate started Scottish country dancing at age 10, and has been enjoying it ever since.  She completed her teaching certificate in 2008.  One of the aspects of SCD that she considers especially wonderful is its consistency around the world.  After dancing in Sweden, the UK, and many locations across North America, Kate looks forward to extending her experience to other continents as well.  In addition to dancing and teaching, she writes about the theory and philosophy of SCD.

Marty Bio

Marty has been a Scottish Country Dancer since 1995.  He has been teaching since 2007.  He also has experience with court dancing and country dancing from performing at the Texas Renaissance Festival.  Marty received his teaching certificate from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society in 2012.

2026 Austin Valentine’s/Super Ball: February 7th

Our next annual ball will be held on Saturday, February 7th, 2026. We are looking forward to enjoying the music of Sarah Lynn on fiddle. She will be joined by Colin MacLeod on fiddle and Kendall Rogers on keyboard. Other local musicians may make guest appearances.

We will return to Triumphant Love Lutheran Church: 9508 Great Hills Trail, Austin  78759

The ball program is available as a pdf here, but note that one locally-devised dance is not yet published.

Regular and Upcoming Events

Time to renew your RSCDS membership! The form can be found here: RSCDS-Houston-and-District-Branch-Membership-Form-2025-2026

Dancers travel to San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, and further to enjoy balls and workshops worldwide.

The Houston Ball is coming up on Saturday, October 25th, 2025. It will be held at Liedertafel Hall in Sealy, Texas. Musicians are Keyreel Raskolenko on fiddle and Susie Petrov on piano.

The program is available here: 2025 Houston Ball Program

We hold an annual bake sale at the Austin Celtic Festival, where we also dance a demonstration and workshop.  Come try our delicious baked goods and enjoy some dancing! ACF 2024, which was held November 2nd and 3rd, was a fantastic success. We sold over 1400 home-baked items and danced with almost 80 festival attendees over the course of the two days.

Involved in baking or staffing the sale?  CLICK HERE for password-protected access to the inventory list and instructions.  Ask for the password at dancing on a Sunday night, or email Kate.