Rufty Tufty
Rufty Tufty is an English Country Dance. It was published by John Playford (website) in 1651 in The English Dancing Master. It was interpreted by Cecil Sharp (website) in 1911 and published in The Country Dance Book (Part 2). Found in The Playford Ball. It is a Facing Couples dance. There is no progression in this dance. It is a USA dance. The dance lasts 84 bars. It is in the key: D major.
Playford writes:
Meet all a D. backe againe That again Set and turne S. Lead your owne with the left hand to each wall, change hands, meet again, turne S. One man lead up and the other downe, change hands, meet againe and turne S. Sides all That again As before As before Armes all That again As before As before
The tune, also called Rufty Tuffy, appeared in Playford with the dance. It was performed by Bare Necessities (Earl Gaddis, Mary Lea, Peter Barnes, and Jacqueline Schwab) on the album By Choice. The music is used with permission from the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre, Inc.
The animation plays at 116 counts per minute. Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color.
| I.A | 1-4 | Up a Double, back (small steps in) |
| 5-8 | Up a Double, back (repeat) | |
| II.A | 1-4 | Right Siding |
| 5-8 | Left Siding | |
| III.A | 1-4 | Right Arming |
| 5-8 | Left Arming | |
| B | 1-4 | Partners set and turn single |
| 5-8 | Again, set and turn single | |
| C1 | 1-4 | Lead partner away, turn, lead back |
| 5-6 | Turn single away (cloverleaf) | |
| C2 | 1-4 | Lead neighbor away, turn, lead back |
| 5-6 | Turn single away (cloverleaf) |
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.
The dance itself is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. The interpretation is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2019 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This website is copyright © 2021,2022,2023 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.