introduction

Canadian style-paddling–with the solo paddler kneeling on the bottom of the canoe and paddling on one side–appears to have developed in summer camps around and in Algonquin Park in the late 1930s or early 1940s. From there it spread through Canada and into the northern US.

Canoe dance also has its roots in the summer camps of central Canada and in their tradition of the end-of-session torchlight parade. For longer than I can remember, on the last night of camp, the best paddlers would perform a set of figures with burning torches fastened into their canoes or held by someone in the bow. It was solemn, beautiful and silent.

The torchlight parade continues as a camp event and alongside it, Canadian style-paddling has developed into a well-defined and progressive approach to paddling. There have been a couple of important developments in the past twenty years: instruction has evolved from being focussed on the paddle stroke to focussing on the maneouvre, and we have begun codify an approach to paddling in groups based on the maneouvre: canoe dance.

The purpose of canoe dance is personal enjoyment. It can also act as a motivator and means for practising paddling; it can be a public performance event; but its real purpose is to allow good paddlers to do beautiful and challenging things with their friends. If that sounds appealing to you, read on...