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 Lowe
(R)SCDS Book 3, 1926
| The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow | Lowe, Edinburgh, ~1831 Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide The RSCDS attributes this to Mozart Allan's Allan's Reference Guide to the Ball-Room, Glasgow, ~1895, and a dance with this name and figure is in that work, but it occurred elsewhere earlier. Johnson published a dance called Rock and a Wi Pickle in 1742, but the figure is completely different. The Lowes write: First couple cross over, giving the right hand, and cast off one couple; cross back again, giving the left hand, and up to places; four hands round, and back again; down the middle, and up again, and pousette. If you look at other dances by the Lowes you will find that "down the middle and up" is progressive, and "poussette" is not. This is at variance with the RSCDS which does the reverse, but is quite in keeping with 19th century dances.
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(R)SCDS Book 4, 1927
| The Falkland Beauty | Lowe, Edinburgh, ~1831 Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide The RSCDS claims this is "from the Border Country". The Lowes write: The first Lady crosses over, and sets between the second and third Gentlemen; the first Gentleman the same, and sets between the second and third Ladies; the six in hand advance and retire, and hands three round on the sides; pousette by the first and second couples.
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(R)SCDS Book 13, 1945 (Victory Book)
| Fly Not Yet | Lowe, Edinburgh, ~1831 Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide RSCDS Book 13 says "collected in Fife. Goulding published a dance of this name in his Twenty-four Country Dances for the Year 1812, but the figure is different and the music is shorter. In about 1831, the Lowes wrote: The first Lady turns off, and goes half round two couples; at the same time her partner follows her, and (bringing her back by the promenade) turns her into her place; she then goes down the middle, her partner following her, and bringing her back by the promenade; they join hands four round with the second couple, and advance and retire; then cross hands fully round, and turn partners half round by the right hand; they join hands round again, and advance and retire, then pousette. The Lowes call this an "Irish Country Dance". |
RSCDS Book 34, 1986
| C'Est L'Amour ~ RSCDS | Lowe, Edinburgh, ~1831 Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide The Lowes write: The first Lady makes a chassé round, and sets between the second and third Ladies; she does the same again, and sets betwixt the third and fourth Ladies; she repeats the same turning up behind the Ladies to her place; and when she commences dancing up, her partner dances down behind the Gentlemen with the same steps; the Gentleman finishes betwixt the third couple, and goes three hands round with them; whilst his partner does the same with the second, they pass through below the hands, and meet in the middle, and pousette with the second couple. The instructions mention the fourth couple, which is rare. Might this be a quadruple minor? (Kyneston devised a few around 1720, so it is possible but very unlikely) but the 4th lady doesn't do anything, nor do the 1s go below her, so it's more likely that Lowe is just following the 19th century's convention of having a neutral couple between every triplet. Ignoring that one phrase the rest of the dance seems like a normal triple minor. |
Miss Milligan's Miscellany 1, ~1977
| Clydeside Lassies ~ RSCDS | Lowe, Edinburgh, ~1831 Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide Miss Milligan's Miscellany attributes this dance to Mozart Allan's Allan's Reference Guide to the Ball-Room, ~1880 in which it is called "Clydesdale Lassies". However the Lowes published it fifty years earlier as "Clydeside Lasses". The Lowes write: Four hands round; down the middle, and up again; pousette, and right and left. It is worth noting that to the Lowes "down the middle, and up again" was a progressive figure, while "pousette" was not. |
Statistics
Number of dances published by city (or region)
| Edinburgh | 5 |
Number of dances published by semi century
| 1800-1849 | 5 |
Number of dances by early publisher/devisor
| Lowe | 5 |
References
| Lowe | Lowes' Ball-Conductor and Assembly Guide, Edinburgh, about 1831 |
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.