Royal Scottish Country Dance Society

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), was founded in 1923 as the Scottish Country Dance Society by Jean Milligan and Ysobel Stewart of Fasnacloich, who wanted to preserve country dancing as performed in Scotland, country dancing having fallen into disuse after the influx of continental ballroom dances such as the waltz or quadrilles and, later on, American-style dances like the One-step or foxtrot. (The SCDS didn't become the RSCDS until the early 1950s.)

The RSCDS collected dances from living memory as well as from old (17-19c.) manuscripts and republished them in a series of books. Most of these dances needed some interpretation, and the dance style itself underwent serious standardisation, becoming much more balletic instead of the easy-going style that was the norm in the early 20th century, and which the RSCDS's founders considered sloppy and untraditional. After some argument, in the late 1940s the RSCDS also started publishing newly-devised dances.

Today the RSCDS numbers some 20.000 members all over the world, served from the headquarters in Edinburgh, and the continuous well-being of the Scottish country dance scene is largely due to the efforts of the Society. The RSCDS offers teacher training and holds an annual summer school in St Andrews, Fife for four weeks in July and August.

Despite the apparently healthy membership, many of the society's members are middle-aged or elderly, with relatively few younger dancers. This is more of a problem in Scotland itself, and the society is trying to encourage the younger generation to take an interest in Scottish country dancing. The main problem in Scotland appears to be one of image, with other Scottish dance societies such as the St Andrews Celtic Society, founded in 1796, and Dunedin in Edinburgh attracting many young dancers. The RSCDS is making inroads into making the society more appealing to younger dancers. Elsewhere in the world, the age structure of the RSCDS membership is much more homogeneous.