English Country Dances
Paul DeGory
Like many other things that survive from the middle ages the majority of dances available to us are those of the aristocracy. This means that they are either very stately and formal, or extremely complex as befits a class with plenty of leisure time in which to learn them. However, such people only represent a fraction of the English population so what of the rest? What did the other classes dance or, for that matter, what did the aristocracy dance when they let their hair down?
The
first book of dance instruction to specifically mention
"Country Dances" (as opposed to 'dances for the gentry') is
the collection published in 1651 by John Playford
(1623-1686) a music publisher, bookseller, clerk to the
Temple Church and vicar-choral of St. Paul's Cathedral. His
book is entitled 'THE ENGLISH DANCING MASTER or Plaine and
Easy Rules for the Dancing of Country Dances with the Tune
to each Dance'.
Country dances were however not new to the seventeenth century. At Cowdray in 1591 it is recorded that Queen Elizabeth took great delight in watching the country people dancing and that "Lord and Lady Montague joined in and danced with their tenants". The style obviously found royal favour: a letter from Rowland White to Sir Robert Sidney at Christmas 160 says "Her Majesty is in very good health, and comes much abroad these holidays; for almost every night she is in the Presence, to see the Ladies dance the old and the new county dances, with Tabour and Pipe".
So what sort of dances did the country people "who presented themselves to the Queen in pleasant dancing" in 1591 do? Probably not the style recorded from an account of an evening entertainment at an inn in 1577. The company have danced Galliards, La Rouse, Old Lusty Gallent and several other dances after dinner then the cry goes up "A Hall, for dancers must have room!" The tables are cleared and "set and turn about the cross back and forewords..." not to mention a "little wholesome talk" and "kissing..."! Definitely not your refined court dancing.!
A lovely description of dancing on the village green is to be found in Nash's 'Have with you to Saffron Walden' from 1596. The preacher Dick Harvey "having preached and beat down three pulpits in inveighing against dancing, one Sunday evening, when his Wench or Friskin was footing it aloft on the Green with foot out and foot in, and as busy as might be at Rogero, Basilena, Turcke Loene, All Flowers of the Broom, Pepper is Black, Green Sleeves, Peggie Ramsay, he came sneaking behind a tree and looked on, and though he was loath to be seen to countenance the sport, having laid God's word against it so dreadfully, yet, to show his good will to it in heart he sent her 18 pence in hugger mugger to pay the fiddlers". Things never change. . .Various other dances like the Shaking of the Sheets, John Come Kiss Me, the Cushion Dance, the Hay and Selenger's Round are mentioned in Elizabethan literature however for actual descriptions of the dances we have to turn to Playford's book.
However are Playford's dances truly rustic? The answer is, probably not. John Playford's background and his book's dedication to "The Gentlemen of the Innes of Court, whose sweet and ayry Activity has crowned their Grand Solemnities with Admiration to all Spectators" shows he was aiming his book at the gentry (one could hardly expect to get rich by selling books to peasants after all!). Certainly Playford's collection of dances had rustic origins, otherwise he would not have described them as "Country" but his book probably presents the formalised versions used by the gentry rather than the rustic ones. On the other hand we know that the Nobility danced with the commoners so perhaps the dances are not too far removed from their rural origins after all.
Using Playford's Dances
Playfords's book ran to seven editions (simply called 'The Dancing Master' from the second edition onwards) during John Playford's life and another five during his son Henry's. Publication then passed to James Young who produced another six editions, the last one in 1728. This means that Playford's dances extend beyond our period. Even in Elizabeth's time the dances were changing, how else could "the Ladies dance the old and the new country dances"? In fact it might well have been the court influence that was causing the changes in much the same way as the French court introduced more ornate stepping into English country dances in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bearing this in mind, we would chose dances with early characteristics, that is one danced in rounds, squares and other shapes for fixed numbers (including short longways sets), for our revels.
But how do you actually dance them? There are two schools of thought upon this. The first, started by the old dance collector Cecil Sharp, interprets the figures and stepping retrospectively from later folk and Morris dances. The second tries to use information gleaned from period dancing manuals which tend to be from the wrong country and the wrong class! Whenever the two schools meet there is instant confusion on the first 'Step and turn single' as all the folkies go right and all the early music lovers go left!
Playford unfortunately does little to help. In his "Table Explaining the Characters which are set downe in the Dances" he says that D. is for Double and S. is for Single. He then states that "A double is four steps forward or back, closing both feet" and "A Single is two steps, closing both feete". This is fine except he then doesn't describe the terms 'Arming', 'Siding', 'Slip', 'Rise' or 'Hey' at all! As these comprise the major part of his dance figures this could be construed as rather unhelpful! His dance descriptions are also very brief and can easily be misunderstood. For example 'Turn Single' means turn yourself (i.e. singularly) not turn using the 'Single' step described above.
So here is how I am going to interpret Playford! Firstly I feel that the dances were strongly influenced by the court dancing styles. These use alternating stepping starting with the left foot. However the degree of formality would depend upon the setting; courtly dancers might well start with two perfectly stepped Doubles while country revellers would simply take eight steps.
Secondly, I am turning to later dance books and
traditional Morris dancing to interpret the figures, quite
simply because they are not mentioned in period dance
manuals! So here we go. . .
Single: Two steps closing both together feet at the
end.
Double: Four steps closing both together feet at
the end.
Slip: Spring sideways onto one foot then bring the
trailing foot next to the leading one.
Siding: Step foreword to stand right shoulder to
right shoulder with the person opposite you, retire, then
repeat on other side. Look at each other as you do this, you
are supposed to be dancing WITH this person, not BY
them!
Arming: Step forward and link right arms, elbow to
elbow, with the person opposite, rotate all the way around
then repeat using left arms.
Hey: Dancers move round weaving in and out of
formation, the exact pattern of weaving being determined by
the dance. By the way - in two couple sets your
Partner is the person of the opposite sex standing
next to you and your Opposite is the person of this
sex who isn't your partner. This leaves on person, of the
same sex as you, who is your Corner. In larger sets
it's even easier, all you have to do is remember who your
partner is!
Don't worry too much; as Thomas Morley says in his 'A plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke' of 1597 "it will fall out well enough in the end, the art of dancing being come to that perfection that every reasonable dancer will make measure out of no measure, so that it is no great matter of what number you make your strain."
References and Sources
"The English Dancing Master"; John Playford, edited by Hugh Mellor and Leslie Bridgewater, published by Dance Books Ltd 1984. Unabridged reprint of the original edition of 1651 with music in modern notation.
"The Playford Ball, 103 Early English Country Dances"; Kate Van Winkle Keller and Genevieve Shimer, Published by Dance Books Ltd 1990. Playford dances with C. Sharp's interpretations.
"Nonsuch Early Dance Volume IV"; Peggy Dixon, 1986. Number four in a series of early dance books and accompanying tapes - very useful.
"English Country Dances from Playford's Dancing Master 1651 to 1703"; the Broadside Band, Saydisk CD-SDL 393 1991. Yes, I'm quoting a compact disk as a source! Contains good booklet and music specifically recorded for dancing with eight of the 22 tunes coming from the first edition of Playford. The recording proceeds chronologically through the first twelve editions thus enabling the changes which took place in country dance tunes to be heard.
