Dance in Quebec includes dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

s that are specific to the province of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, it comprises traditional group, couple, and solo dance as well as contemporary jazz, ballet, and modern dance. There are a number of dance companies and dance schools.

Traditional

In late 17th century, English country dance

English Country Dance

English Country Dance is a form of folk dance. It is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted to have been entertained by "Country Dancing," although the relationship of the dances she saw to the surviving dances of...

s, contredances, cotillion

Cotillion

In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...

s, and minuet

Minuet

A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...

s were popular. The most known dance was the bastringue. In the 18th century, reels

Reel (dance)

The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure ....

 and jig

Jig

The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...

s were introduced to Quebec from the British Isles and British colonies in America.

Quadrille

Quadrille

Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...

s and the waltz

Waltz

The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

 started appearing in the 19th century, along with step-dancing (called la gigue in Quebec) and polka

Polka

The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...

.And they also create a funny move called jigly jigle.

The tradition included galop

Galop

In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse , a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popular in Vienna, Berlin and London...

s.

Dancing had traditionally been monitored by the Catholic clergy of the province of Quebec, which often used its social and moral influence to ban dancing altogether in many villages and towns.

Contemporary

Dance continues to evolve in Quebec today. Famous dance companies are Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is a Canadian ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec.It was founded in 1957 by Ludmilla Chiriaeff. Conductor and composer Michel Perrault served as the organization's first music director. In 2000, Gradimir Pankov became Artistic Director...

and the La La La Human Steps

La La La Human Steps

La La La Human Steps is a Québécois contemporary dance group in Canada, known for its energetic, acrobatic style that often involves fast-paced and athletic physical contact...

 modern dance troupe of choreographer Édouard Lock

Édouard Lock

Édouard Lock is a Canadian dance choreographer and the founder of the Canadian dance group, La La La Human Steps.In 1957 Édouard Lock's parents moved to Montreal, where he studied film and literature at Concordia University....

. There is also the École supérieure de ballet contemporain de Montréal

École supérieure de ballet contemporain de Montréal

The École supérieure de ballet contemporain de Montréal is a professional dance training school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which is part of the Maison de la danse Ludmilla Chiriaeff, a building that it has owned since 1982 and which is also home to the dance company Les Grands Ballets Canadiens...