This publication is a compilation of all of the dances, tunes and songs
contained in The Dancing Master, from 1651–1728. It includes indexes
for all of the editions, and a graphic image for each "unique" dance, with
its printed music and dance instructions, 186 tunes without dances and three songs,(Dunmore Kate, Mr.
Lane's Magot, and The Quakers Dance).
This publication is a replica of the Internet web site,
The Dancing Master, 1651–1728: An Illustrated Compendium.
John Playford published a new book called The English Dancing Master
in London in 1651. This volume contained the figures and the tunes for
105 English country dances, the first printing of these group social dances
that were to dominate Western ballrooms for the next 150 years. The book
appeared at a time of great upheaval in England. Civil disorder and natural
disasters forced city residents to seek refuge on remote country estates;
expanding trade and emigrations to distant lands carried Englishmen far
from their homeland. Both phenomena affected the social life of the upper
classes for whom these dances were a satisfying vehicle for leisure time
recreation.
Playford’s slim volume sold quickly and the next year he issued
a second edition with nine additional dances. Two editions of
a third appeared in 1657 and 1665. He dropped the term “English” in the
second edition and thereafter the books were simply called The Dancing
Master. The books evidently filled a real need in Englishmen's lives
and copies were very likely carried or shipped to country homes and colonial
outposts as soon as they appeared in Playford’s shop.
The series eventually grew to eighteen editions
of the first volume (1651–1728), four of a second (1710–1728), and two
of a third (1719?–1726?) and long out-lived its originator. The three volumes
eventually encompassed 1,053 unique dances and their music. Many were copied
from one edition to the next so that the entire contents, with duplicates,
amounts to 6,217 items.
For this publication every dance was reduced
to a code enabling comparison with similar dances. The unique or “Ur” dances
were identified and collected into a database where each dance’s printing
history and other information is summarized and a facsimile of the dance
and its music is included. The Index presents every item by title with
links to the Ur Dance Index. The Title/Link takes the reader to a bibliography
of the sources. Searches can be made on all text entries as well as on
the dance coding to find instances of specific dance figures in juxtaposition
with others.
Robert M. Keller
Copyright © 2000 Robert M. Keller