The English Dancing-Master

…and courtly: Italian (15th–16th century), English (16th–19th century), and French (18th century). The chief English source is John Playford’s The English Dancing Master of 1650, continued in additional volumes until 1728 and critically revised in 1957 by M.J. Dean-Smith.

…dances through seven editions of The English Dancing Master. The first was published in 1651. His work was carried on after his death by his son Henry and later by John Young through the 18th and final edition in 1728; after the first edition the work bore the abridged title…

…not prevent the appearance of The English Dancing Master (issued 1650; dated 1651), by the bookseller and publisher John Playford (1623–c. 1686). This was a collection of English traditional dances and tunes. It had 18 editions in 80 years, each one adding to the repertoire. Its 900 choral dances of…

…principal source of knowledge of English country dance steps and melodies. His book, The English Dancing-Master (1650, but dated 1651; critical ed., M. Dean-Smith, 1958), originally contained 104 dances and accompanying tunes set to the fiddle; its 18th and last edition (1728, published by John Young) held about 700. Many…