Early Sources of RSCDS dances
None of the dances published by the RSCDS before book 13 were devised by the RSCDS, instead they were considered "traditional" dances. Many dances published in subsequent books fall into that category as well. I have tried to track down the sources of these dances and display here the earliest published versions of the dance's figure which I've been able to find.
In some cases the RSCDS mentions a source. Often I have found earlier examples of the dance. Sometimes I have been unable to find the RSCDS source and will present the earliest source I have found.
When I know the deviser, I mark the name in italics. In most cases for these old dances I only know the publisher.
When a dance source is marked with "†" it means I have been unable to verify the source of the dance, when it is marked with "‡" it means I have been unable to find any Scottish dance manual containing this dance (prior to 1924).
Hovering the mouse over a dance's devisor/publisher will (often) produce a popup containing the text of the original.By default the list below shows only traditional dances interpreted by the (R)SCDS. I believe that Book 34 (1986) was the last book to contain any traditional dances. Before Book 13 all (R)SCDS dances were traditional, but Book 13 contains The Reel of the 51st Division, the first published modern dance. No further modern dances were published until Book 22 (1963), and after that some books contained modern and some traditional dances until Books 31&34, which contains both.
At the end I have several tables of statistics.
Order by:
Include:
(R)SCDS Book Range:
Containing figure:
(R)SCDS dances devised by Johnson
(R)SCDS Book 8, 1932
| Lassie Wi' the Yellow Coatie | Johnson, London, 1742 A Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 2nd The RSCDS attributes this dance to David Rutherford, but John Johnson published the same figure a few years earlier. Rutherford writes: The first Couple casts of two Couple cast up again Cross over & half figure right hand and Left quite round with the second Couple foot it Corners and turn foot it the other Corners and turn Lead through the Mens side and turn your Partner Lead through the Womens side and turn it out |
(R)SCDS Book 12, 1938
| Jenny Dang the Weaver | Johnson, London, ~1742‡ A Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 2nd Walsh published a dance called Jenny Dang the Weaver in his book Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1736 (and in several later books), but it has a different figure from this dance. Johnson published his version first in about 1742 in A Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 2nd, and also in later books. Johnson called it Musselborough, or Jenny bang the Weaver. Johnson writes:
The music consists of two 4 bar strains. The dance appears to need 64 counts of movement, so I presume the strains are intended to be played at 4 counts per bar. After the first turn, Johnson says: Then the 2d. Cu. being at top. Only the 2s aren't at the top. Only W2 is at the top (and that's assuming that the turn in the previous figure is once and a half. So we assume that Johnson left out how far to turn and that the 2nd corners should do the same as the first. Only then will the 2s be at the top. The RSCDS also made this choice. Johnson says to take Hands which implies a two hand turn, but the RSCDS chose a right hand one. Johnson has the lead down followed by a cast up to the top, while the RSCDS has a lead down, lead up to 2nd place. Johnson's then Right and Left would have to be three changes (because the 1s are at the top and they need to progress) rather than the four used by the RSCDS. |
RSCDS Book 18, 1955
| The Lassies of Dunse ~ RSCDS | Johnson, London, 1742 A Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 2nd The RSCDS interpretation seems basically the same as the original. RSCDS attributes this dance to David Rutherford, but Johnson published the same figure earlier. Unfortunately I can't find his work online so I provide a link to Rutherford. Both Johnson and Rutherford spell the title as "The Lasses of Dunce". Rutherford writes: The first Man Cast of and the second Woman Casts up at the same time, and turns The second Man and first Woman does the same Lead Down two Couple foot it and half Figure with the third Couple Lead up to the top foot it and half Figure with the second Couple Some sources say the 1s "lead" down (and up) while others say they "dance". This animation follows the ones which say "dance". |
Statistics
Number of dances published by city (or region)
| London | 3 |
Number of dances published by semi century
| 1700-1749 | 3 |
Number of dances by early publisher/devisor
| Johnson | 3 |
References
| Johnson | A Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 2nd, London, 1742. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. |
Scans of old dance manuals are scattered about the internet. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, International Music Score Library Project, Scott Pfitzinger's Playford site, Richard Powers' website, Library of Congress, and The Library of Dance all provide primary sources. A number of other sites provide indeces of these sources: The Regency Dance site, The Library of Dance again, and my own site have all proven useful for finding old sources. Finally there is Robert Keller's index which does not provide sources directly but lists thousands of dances, the publications containing them, dates and a brief coded description of the figures. This last has proven invaluable for tracking down dances for which I had no complete sources.
And, of course, both the Scottish Country Dance Database and the Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary provide online descriptions of all the RSCDS books and often hint at early sources.
This website is copyright © 2021-2026 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.