Types
The main forms of country dancing are: longways set, square set and circle dances. By the time of John Playford's "The English Dancing Master" (1651) it was a dance for everyone. The English term "Country Dance" was taken to France, probably after "Cogadh an Da Righ" 1689-90, which ended the Stuart dynastic rule of England and Scotland. It became became corrupted into "Contredanse", before being re-anglicised as contra-dance. Even in modern America the phrase "Contra Dance" is used alongside the more familiar term "square dance" or "barn dance".
The longways set was the most popular type of country dance in the first edition of Playford's book. A line of males faced a line of females "for as many as will". "Roger de Coverley" and "The Grand Old Duke of York" are among the most familiar examples of this kind of dance. By the 1820s it was considered old-fashioned in England, but continued to develop in Scotland.
The square set, or quadrille, was a group of 8 people, a couple along each side. "Les Lanciers" and the "Eightsome Reel" are among the most famous examples of this kind of dance. Dancing in square sets still survives in Ireland, under the name "set dancing" or "figure dancing".
Read more about this topic: Country Dancing
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