Monymusk or Money Musk ~ RSCDS is a Scottish Country Dance. It was published by Preston in 1786 in Twenty four Country-Dances for the Year 1786, London. It was interpreted by RSCDS in 1936 and published in RSCDS Book 11. It is S8×32 3C/4C, a proper Triple Minor dance. St32.
Monymusk is an estate in Aberdeenshire is Scotland.
Cracking Chestnuts says the tune was written by Daniel Dow and published in Thirty Seven New Reels and Strathspeys in 1776. Francis Werner set figures to the tune in his 8 Cotillions, 6 Favorite Contry Dances and two Minuets, with their proper Figures for the Harp, Harpsichord and Violin Book xvii for the year 1785. John Preston in 1786 published a different set of figures in 1786 and this version of the dance appears to be based on those.
Hugh Thurston in Scotland's Dances (1954) claims: "'Monymusk' is not a traditional Scottish dance. It was resurrected in 1934 (out of a book published in England in 1786) and there is no evidence that it was ever danced in Scotland before that date." (as quoted in Cracking Chestnuts)
Werner Book XVIII For the Year 1785 (London, 1785) writes:
Turn your partner with the right hand; quite round, and cast off one Cu. Turn with the left quite round, Set three and three top and bottom, and turn your Partner, Set three and three sideways and turn your Partner. Hands six quite round and back again Lead out sides and turn your Partner with both hands.
John Griffiths in The Gentleman & Lady's Companion (Norwich, CT, 1798) has a different figure:
Six hands half way round and back, first and second gentlemen balance together and turn round, the 1st and 2nd ladies do the same, down the middle, up again, cast off, right and left
In A Treatise on Dancing (Boston, 1802) Saltator writes:
First couple cross over, down the out side, promenade round the gentleman, fall between the second couple, the lady between the third, six dance address, first couple promenade and fall below the second, six demicircinate, right and left atop.
Wilson Treasures of Terpsichore, page 80 (London, 1809)
Single Figure
Whole figure at top down the middle, up again, and foot it to the top couple .
Double Figure
The top couple swing with right hands round one couple, then with the left set three across and three in your places hands six round and back again , and lead through bottom and top .
Howe Complete Ball-room Hand Book, page 82 (Boston, 1858)
First couple join right hands and swing once and a half round, go below second couple (the first lady goes below second gentleman on the outside) (first gentleman at the same time goes below and between second and third ladies) — forward and back six, first couple swing three quarters round — first gentleman goes between second couple (on the inside) first lady goes between third couple (on the indside) forward and back six, first couple swing three quarters.
Burchenal American Country-dances, page 55 (New York/Boston, 1912)
Swing Once and a Half Around
Cast
Forward and Back Six
Swing Three-Quarters Around
Forward and Back Six
Swing Three-Quarters Around to Place
Right and Left
The animation plays at 120 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily. Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.
An online description of the dance may be found here.
The dance contains the following figures: hand turn (allemande), set, circle, cast, hey, petronella (and probably others).
If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.
If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=Monymusk
The dance itself is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. The interpretation is copyright © 1936 by RSCDS. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2020 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This website is copyright © 2021,2022,2023,2024 by George W. Williams V
My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.