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 Book 5, 1929
| Cold and Raw ~ RSCDS | Henry Playford, London, 1689‡ A new Addition to the Dancing Master The RSCDS attributes this to the 9th edition to the Dancing Master. This dance has a rather confusing history in the Dancing Master. In 1651 (the first edition) Playford called essentially the same tune "Stingo, or The Oyl of Barly". This dance had a completely different figure though. Then in 1689 addition to the 7th edition he published two dances with different figures but the same tune: "Juice of Barley" and "Cold and Raw". In the 9th edition (1695) the dance originally titled "Juice of Barley" became "Cold and Raw". The original "Cold and Raw" disappeared from the 9th through the 16th editions, and then reappeared as "Cold and Raw" in the 17th edition (1721) while the "Juice of Barley" figure then vanished. The RSCDS version appears to be based on the "Juice of Barley" figure. Playford writes: The 1. cu. go back to back with their Partners, and the 2. cu. do the same at the same time. Although Playford explicitly specifies a two hand turn, the RSCDS has chosen to do a right hand turn.
|
(R)SCDS Book 15, 1949
| This Is No' My Ain House | Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730† Holmain MS From the Holmain MS (dated sometime between 1710 and 1750): Cross four hands & cast down one pair, cross hands again, & turn down another pair, then sett & lead up to the head, then cast down then sett, & turn your partner, then go round the 2d woman, she round the 1st man, then back to back, & go round the 1st woman she round the second man, then turn her, then set to the 2d woman, she to the 1st man, & turn, then sett to the 1st woman, she to the 2d man, & turn your partner. Originally spelled "This is not My Own House". In 1803 Preston published a dance with this name and a different figure. |
RSCDS Book 22, 1963
| The Reel of Mey | George Smail, Belfast, 1963 RSCDS Book 22 |
RSCDS Book 43, 2003 (Golden Jubilee Dances)
| The Queen's Quadrille | Alan MacPherson, [Unknown City], 2002 RSCDS Book 43 |
RSCDS Book 44, 2004
| Hand in Hand ~ Bänninger | Minnie Bänninger, [Unknown City], 2002 RSCDS Book 44 |
RSCDS Book 52, 2018
| The Scallywag | Jennifer Kelly, [Unknown City], 1997 RSCDS Book 52 |
RSCDS Book 53, 2023
| Baldovan Reel | Douglas Henderson, Dundee, ~1960 RSCDS Book 53 |
RSCDS Book 54, 2025
| Donna's Dancing Shoes | Francis Walduck, [Unknown City], 2014 RSCDS Book 54 |
Statistics
Number of dances published by city (or region)
| [Unknown] | 4 |
| Belfast | 1 |
| Dumfriesshire, Scotland | 1 |
| Dundee | 1 |
| London | 1 |
Number of dances published by semi century
| 1650-1699 | 1 |
| 1700-1749 | 1 |
| 1950-1999 | 3 |
| 2000-2049 | 3 |
Number of dances by early publisher/devisor
| Alan MacPherson | 1 |
| Anonymous | 1 |
| Douglas Henderson | 1 |
| Francis Walduck | 1 |
| George Smail | 1 |
| Henry Playford | 1 |
| Jennifer Kelly | 1 |
| Minnie Bänninger | 1 |
References
| Anonymous | Holmain MS, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, about 1730 |
| Henry Playford | A new Addition to the Dancing Master, London, 1689 |
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.