Belfast Flying Shoes

Belfast Flying Shoes The mission of Belfast Flying Shoes is to bolster the spirited dance and music community in Midcoast Maine. Calling by Chrissy Fowler & Lisa Newcomb.

Traditional Music and Dance 👞🎻
Building Community
Cultivating Well-Being
People of all backgrounds and identities WELCOME
Midcoast Maine 🌲
Belfast Flying Shoes is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2005 We achieve our mission by producing a variety of programs in our region, including community programming and a monthly dance series (on hold because of Covid). Our programming includes:
-School residenci

es where we use traditional participatory social dance and music to build community among students, staff, and families in PreK-12 schools. We also provide resources for educators, including repertoire, mentoring, and an annotated bibliography of dance-related children’s books.

-Community Programming which includes music and dance sessions for older adults, for residents at the ME Coastal Regional Reentry Center, for mentors and staff at the Restorative Justice Project, and more!

-Special dances, which in the past have included Dancing in the Park (free outdoor series); Beatles Contra; {put your} Hoe Down square dance; weekly contra classes; English country dance; and more!

-Workshops for contra and ECD musicians; Workshops for callers; Period dances for the Game Loft and for a Regency Ball; and more! Our monthly dance included three parts:
-The community dance, consisting of fun and simple dances, such as those presented at weddings or schools. Music by the All-Comers Band, led by a core ensemble and open to all musicians. New dancers, experienced dancers, families, and musicians all collaborate to create the event.

-The social break, which is a sociable half-hour between the Community and Contra dances, with emphasis on strengthening community connections through shared conversation.

-The contra dance which is zesty dances and tunes in a program of contras and squares presented by a variety of talented callers and musicians, especially touring performers. Expectations for this particular thread are colored by committee members’ collective experiences in other exciting dance communities.

Happening now! ✨🎶🌸
05/17/2026

Happening now! ✨🎶🌸

05/15/2026
🌸May Blossoms🌸 Community Dance & Contras at the Rockport Opera House
05/03/2026

🌸May Blossoms🌸 Community Dance & Contras at the Rockport Opera House

Mark your calendars!
05/03/2026

Mark your calendars!

03/22/2026

NO English Country Dance today!
In case you haven't already heard, we CANCELED the English Country Dance originally planned for today ~ NO ECD TODAY, March 22. (Instead, join Maura, Elaine & Raine for ECD at DECDF Saturday 3/28, and join Sarah-Hadley Yakir, Kristen Planeaux and callers from the BFS ECD team on Sunday 4/12.)

Let your shoes fly to the gorgeous Rockport Opera House for another “OH! BFS!” dance, this one as a Cabin Fever Reliever...
03/11/2026

Let your shoes fly to the gorgeous Rockport Opera House for another “OH! BFS!” dance, this one as a Cabin Fever Reliever, to help us feel fortunate on Friday the 13th of March ~ Program partnership with the Rockport Opera House (OH), the Town of Rockport, and BFS.

6:30 Community Dance – Chrissy Fowler calling with music by Springtide (W***y Clemetson, Elsie Gawler & Ethan Tischler) ~ All musicians are invited to be a Back Row Bandit and play along during the community dance.
7:30 Intro Session with Chrissy Fowler, to welcome those who are new to contra dance
7:45 Contra Dance – Chrissy Fowler calling with music by Springtide (W***y Clemetson, Elsie Gawler & Ethan Tischler)
$15 – 25 sliding scale admission*. The Rockport Opera House is at 6 Central St in Rockport. (*for folks only attending community dance, it’s $1kids/$2adults)

On March 20th, come celebrate the onset of spring in the Katahdin Region at a “Mud Season Stomp” trad dance with live fi...
03/11/2026

On March 20th, come celebrate the onset of spring in the Katahdin Region at a “Mud Season Stomp” trad dance with live fiddle music. This program is presented by BFS in partnership with the Katahdin Folk School Project, with support from the Katahdin Collaborative.

Chrissy Fowler will teach easy-to-learn dances from the unique cultural traditions of square dancing and contra dancing. Live music by W***y Clemetson (fiddle), Samuel Foucher (accordion), and Ethan Tischler (guitar) will lift everyone’s spirits and keep their toes tapping.

The all ages program starts at 6:30 pm at the Northern Timber Cruisers clubhouse, 10 Northern Cruise Trail on the Lake Road in Millinocket. All are welcome! Admission is $5-15 for adults and $1-2 for kids. Pay what you can, and enjoy this special program with your family and friends.

The Katahdin Folk School Project is a collaborative initiative focused on celebrating and sharing traditional skills, knowledge, and wisdom found in the Katahdin Region. Partners include the Millinocket Memorial Library and the Outdoor Sport Institute, with support through the Katahdin Collaborative. Special thanks to the Northern Timber Cruisers for their venue for the Mud Season Stomp. To learn more, email [email protected] and visit katahdincollaborative.org

First Friday dances tonight! 🪩All Comers Band warmup at 6pm, Community Dance at 6:30pm, Contras at 8pm featuring Steve Z...
03/06/2026

First Friday dances tonight! 🪩
All Comers Band warmup at 6pm, Community Dance at 6:30pm, Contras at 8pm featuring Steve Zakon-Anderson calling and music by Nobody’s Business (Hayden Stern, Casey Murray & Helen Kuhar) with Ethan Tischler providing sound. Admission $15-25 (for only the Community Dance it’s $1kids $2adults)

The same band played for the Rockport Opera House dance and they were awesome! Come on over to the UU Church this aftern...
02/22/2026

The same band played for the Rockport Opera House dance and they were awesome! Come on over to the UU Church this afternoon, Chrissy will be calling some very fun English dances, you wont want to miss it!
See you there!

English Country Dance to Lift Our Spirits 🌷

On Sunday, February 22, Belfast Flying Shoes presents our monthly English country dance with callers Maura McCampbell and Chrissy Fowler. Featuring the musical talents of Carol Bittenson on violin, Cecile Leroy on viola, and Daniel Raine on guitar, this program will elevate our spirits in the final weeks of winter.

English country dance, or ECD, is a folk tradition similar to our local contra dance culture, emphasizing both participatory
dancing and live music, with partners and neighbors dancing together in a set. Contemporary English dancing has gorgeously varied music, with choreography that feels like floating (whether gliding on thermals or being propelled down a river at full spring thaw flood levels!). Arrive by 2:00 for the brief intro session to get everyone set to turn single.

“We are cultivating a lively, intergenerational English country dance scene that encourages connection and play,” says
Maura McCampbell, who helps to organize the series. According to Flying Shoes ED, Chrissy Fowler, “We’re introducing experienced contra dancers to ECD in a lively and compelling way, while also welcoming participants with no prior involvement in these forms of participatory dance. It’s a delightful mix!”

The UU Church is an accessible venue at 37 Miller St in Belfast. Admission is sliding scale $15-25. All are welcome!

Address

93 Kaler Road
Belfast, ME
04915

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