

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:
| Delvine Side | William Campbell, London, ~1800 Campbell's 15th Book of New and Favorite Country Dances & Strathspey Reels Campbell's 15th book does contain a dance with this name, but I have been unable to find more than a table of contents and can't verify the choreography.
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| The Birks of Invermay | Thomas Skillern, London, 1776‡ Skillern's Compleat Collection of Two Hundred & Four Reels and Country Dances | |
| Fidget | Thomas Wilson, London, 1814†‡ Button and Whitaker's Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1814 A dance with this name was published by Button & Whittaker, but whether it matches the figure I do not know. The RSCDS attributes this dance to the publishers but Wilson was the deviser: see the Regency Dance site's paper on Button and Co. The use of double triangles does suggest Wilson was the choreographer. | |
| Woo'd and Married and A' | Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡ A Companion to the Ball Room In Wilson's A Companion to the Ball Room, 1816, he published "Woo'd & Married & A'". Wilson writes: SINGLE FIGURE (Each strain repeated) Wilson's music is a slip-jig with 2 four bar strains. The RSCDS uses the DOUBLE FIGURE so it should be played AABBAABB. Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.
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| The Gentle Shepherd | Anonymous, date unknown† RSCDS Book 17 says "from an old book of Scottish-Irish dances (title page lost). |
| Lady Baird's Reel | Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡ A Companion to the Ball Room In his A Companion to the Ball Room, 1816, Thomas Wilson published Lady Bairds Reel: SINGLE FIGURE Each strain repeated Wilson's music consists of two 4 bar strains, both repeated. The RSCDS chose to interpret the DOUBLE FIGURE so the music should be played AABBAABB. Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.
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| Leith Country Dance | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| Longwise Eightsome Reel | Hill MS, Aberdeenshire, 1841† RSCDS Book 18 says "collected in Aberdeenshire (Hill MS - adapted)." |
| New Park | Bishop, London, 1788‡ Six New Minuets and Twelve Country Dances for the year 1788 |
| The College Hornpipe - RSCDS | William Boag, London, 1797 A Collection of Favourite Reels and Strathspeys by the most Eminent Composers | |
| Up in the Air | William Boag, London, 1797†‡ A Collection of Favourite Reels and Strathspeys by the most Eminent Composers | |
| Village Reel | William Campbell, London, ~1793†‡ Campbell's Eighth Collection of the newest & most favorite Country Dances and Reels According to the the Regency Dance site Campbell did publish a dance with this name. Whether the figure matches I cannot check. |
| Kingussie Flower | D. Anderson, Dundee, ~1886 D. Anderson's Ball-Room Guide I have not yet found a copy of Anderson's earlier work but this dance also appears in D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, of 1897, wherein he writes:
On page 117 Anderson claims to be the devisor of this dance. | |
| Loch Leven Castle | Anonymous, date unknown† Book 21 contains the note "Collected in Glenesk, Angus". | |
| My Only Jo and Dearie, O ~ RSCDS | Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡ A Companion to the Ball Room In Wilson's A Companion to the Ball Room, 1816, (page 33) he published "My Only Joe & Deary O". Wilson writes: SINGLE FIGURE (Tune played straight thro') Wilson provides 2 eight bar strains, presumable played as reels not strathspeys. Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.
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| Alyth Burn | Miss W R Webster, Perth, 1963 RSCDS Book 22 | |
| Balmoral Strathspey | John A. Charles, Kawerau, NZ., ~1963 RSCDS Book 22 |
| Alltshellach | Elizabeth D Gilroy, East Lothian, 1967 RSCDS Book 23 |
| The Chapman | Anonymous, date unknown† In his Twenty four Country Dances for the Year 1789, Goulding published a dance called "Chapman's Dance", but it's figure does not match this one. | |
| Miss Isabella McLeod | Anonymous, date unknown† The Scottish Country Dance Dictionary attributes this to "Dorothy Arton". |
| Miss Shaftesbury's Fancy | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| Two to One | Anonymous, date unknown† Thompson published a dance named "Two to One" in 1785, but it's figure does not match. Thompson published another dance named "Two for One" in 1765, which contains the cross and turn corners figure, but does not match the rest of the dance. |
| Hame Came Our Gude Man ~ RSCDS | Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡ A Companion to the Ball Room Wilson writes (page 42): SINGLE FIGURE (Each strain repeated) The music consists of two 4 bar strains. Probably played as a reel rather than a strathspey. The RSCDS is interpretting Wilson's DOUBLE FIGURE Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.
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| Autumn in Appin | John Drewry, Aberdeen, 1982 RSCDS Book 31 | |
| Clutha ~ RSCDS | Kate Hughes, Dundalk, Ireland, ~1867 Kate Hughes' Dancing Book RSCDS Book 31 attributes this to Thomas Murphy's Aide Memoire, a manuscript from about 1890, but it is clearly derived from Clutha C.D. in Kate Hughes's Dancing Book, ~1867:
Hughes's dance is longways, but the figure is closely related. |
| Bedrule | Betty Grant, Toronto, 1984 RSCDS Book 33 |
| New Scotia Quadrille | D. Anderson, Dundee, 1897 D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide The RSCDS attributes this dance to the New Enlarged and Complete Ball-Room Guide, but when you go to the National Library of Scotland's catalogue and request that book what you get is D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, The Solo Dance Guide appears to have a second title page claiming to be the New Enlarged and Complete Ball-Room Guide. Both are said to have been published in 1897 and I suspect they are indeed the same work. At any rate this dance is in the Solo Dance Guide. D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, he writes:
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| New Scotia Quadrille | D. Anderson, Dundee, 1897 D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide The RSCDS attributes this dance to the New Enlarged and Complete Ball-Room Guide, but when you go to the National Library of Scotland's catalogue and request that book what you get is D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, The Solo Dance Guide appears to have a second title page claiming to be the New Enlarged and Complete Ball-Room Guide. Both are said to have been published in 1897 and I suspect they are indeed the same work. At any rate this dance is in the Solo Dance Guide. D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, he writes:
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| Argyll Strathspey | Roy Goldring, Leeds, 1985 RSCDS Book 35 |
| The Argyll Ludging | A. N. Shearer, [Unknown City], ~1990 RSCDS Book 36 |
| Le Moulin Rouge | Liliane Chamoin, [Unknown City], ~1996 RSCDS Book 39 | |
| The New Virginia Reel | Anna Holden, [Unknown City], ~1996 RSCDS Book 39 | |
| Prince Charles of Edinburgh | Allie Anderson and Florence D Lesslie, [Unknown City], 1949 RSCDS Book 39 | |
| The Robertson Rant | Mrs. Douglas Winchester, [Unknown City], 1949 RSCDS Book 39 |
| EH3 7AF | Roy Goldring, Leeds, 1999 RSCDS Book 40 |
| The Queen's Quadrille | Alan MacPherson, [Unknown City], 2002 RSCDS Book 43 |
| Crathes Castle | Ted Willitt, [Unknown City], 1999 RSCDS Book 44 |
| The Mentor | Brian Charlton, [Unknown City], 2007 RSCDS Book 47 |
| MacLeod's Wedding | Robert Coupe, [Unknown City], ~2014 RSCDS Book 48 | |
| The Tri-Mariner | Ann Dix, [Unknown City], 1993 RSCDS Book 48 |
| The Library of Birmingham | Kenneth J Reid, [Unknown City], 2015 RSCDS Book 49 | |
| MacDonald of Keppoch | Chris Ronald, [Unknown City], 2015 RSCDS Book 49 |
| Australian Ladies | Peter Fish, [Unknown City], 2014 RSCDS Book 50 |
| The Tea Pottery | Duncan Brown, [Unknown City], ~2020 RSCDS Book 54 |
| High Road to Wigton | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| Lady C Bruce's Reel | Anonymous, 1801† Ladies' Companion | |
| Lady Glasgow | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| The Munro Rant | Anonymous, date unknown† |
| The Carl cam' ower the Croft ~ RSCDS | Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡ A Companion to the Ball Room Wilson writes (page 35): SINGLE FIGURE (Each strain repeat) Wilson spells the title as "The Carle came o'er the Craft". The music consists of two 4 bar strains. The RSCDS is interpretting Wilson's DOUBLE FIGURE (The Wilson's poussette and double triangle are completely different from those of the RSCDS). Wilson defines most of his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing, 3rd Edition.
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| The Countess of Lauderdale's Reel | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| The Ladies of Dingwall | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| Lass o' Loudon | Anonymous, date unknown† | |
| La Russe | Kate Hughes, Dundalk, Ireland, 1867 Kate Hughes' Dancing Book The RSCDS attributes this dance to Mozart Allan's Allan's Reference Guide to the Ball-Room, ~1880 with a note that it may also be found in Kate Hughes's Dancing Book.
J. F. Wallace also published it in about 1872 in his The "Excelsior" Manual of Dancing:
Note: Wallace is using the quadrille system for numbering couples. The second couple is the one directly across from the 1st. While Allan says:
This Figure is repeated other three times, 3 and 4 being done by alternate couples. Courtesy of National Library of Scotland, licensed under: | |
| The Seagull | Anonymous, date unknown† |
| [Unknown] | 29 |
| London | 12 |
| Dundee | 3 |
| Dundalk, Ireland | 2 |
| Leeds | 2 |
| Aberdeen | 1 |
| Aberdeenshire | 1 |
| East Lothian | 1 |
| Kawerau, NZ. | 1 |
| Perth | 1 |
| Toronto | 1 |
| Unknown | 14 |
| 1750-1799 | 5 |
| 1800-1849 | 9 |
| 1850-1899 | 5 |
| 1900-1949 | 2 |
| 1950-1999 | 12 |
| 2000-2049 | 7 |
| D. Anderson | D. Anderson's Ball-Room Guide, Dundee, about 1886. May be found at Trinity College Library, Hartford CT, or the National Library of Scotland, or Cambridge University Library |
| " | D. Anderson's Ball-Room and Solo Dance Guide, Dundee, 1897 |
| Anonymous | Ladies' Companion, 1801. I don't know where to find it. |
| " | Hill MS, 1841. I don't know where to find it. |
| Bishop | Six New Minuets and Twelve Country Dances for the year 1788, London, 1788. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the British Library. |
| William Boag | A Collection of Favourite Reels and Strathspeys by the most Eminent Composers, London, 1797. I don't know where to find it. |
| William Campbell | Campbell's Eighth Collection of the newest & most favorite Country Dances and Reels, London, about 1793. I don't know where to find it. |
| " | Campbell's 15th Book of New and Favorite Country Dances & Strathspey Reels, London, about 1800. I don't know where to find it. |
| Kate Hughes | Kate Hughes' Dancing Book, Dundalk, Ireland, about 1867 |
| Thomas Skillern | Skillern's Compleat Collection of Two Hundred & Four Reels and Country Dances, London, 1776. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow. |
| Thomas Wilson | Button and Whitaker's Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1814, London, 1814. I don't know where to find it. |
| " | A Companion to the Ball Room, London, 1816. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the British Library |
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.