Shake your tails: the history, excitement and impact of the Furry Dance Scene from 2008-now
by Dogpatch Press Staff
Guest post by Kamen the Lycanroc (Kameno-o)
Furry conventions are known to be a place to showcase the arts, and those include dancing. Alongside fursuit parades, music performances, and raves, dance competitions are a staple of the modern furry convention experience. Let’s look at how they got so loved, with memories from two deeply involved furries: Anthrocon’s long-time competition host Ronnie Noodles, and Tommy Dino, a member of the dance community.
Two ways to please crowds
Fursuit dance performances have gone from a small part of the con experience, to centrally scheduled main event attractions. Main event rooms are filled with people sitting both in chairs and on the floor to see fursuiters show off their dance skills and hype up the audience. Anthrocon, for example, saw over 80 applicants in 2025, with an estimated attendance of around 1500-2000 for the event.
Many people hear about dancing and only think of shows where fursuiters perform on stage, but there’s more to it than that. There are two kinds of dance shows present at furry events: Dance competition and Dance Battles.
