English Country Dance is a form of social folk dance which originated in Renaissance England, and was popular until the early 19th century in parts of Europe, the American colonies and the United States. It is the ancestor of several other folk dances, including contra and square dance. English country dance was revived in the early 20th century as a part of the larger English folk revival, and is practiced today primarily in North America and Britain. In Britain, this form is often referred to as "Playford", while "country dance" is applied to a range of English folk dances.
Read more about English Country Dance: Form, History, Influence, Some (modern) English Country Dance Terms
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—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“This country is at present engaged in furnishing material for future authors; not in encouraging its living ones.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“God be with the times when I
Cared not a thraneen for what chanced
So that I had the limbs to try
Such a dance as there was danced—
Love is like the lion’s tooth.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)