THE COUNTRY DANCE

Acountry danceis a socialdanceform in which two or more couples dance together in a set. In the course of the dance each dancer dances to his or her partner and each couple dances to the other couples in the set.[1]The longways set in which the men form a line facing the women, who form a second line is the most common formation. However, the English term country dance, first coined in print by John Playford of London in 1651, has always applied not only to dances in the longways formation, but to square dances, "round about the room" sets (not to be confused with "couple" dances) and even triangular sets- for three couples.Country dancing is generally recognized to be a form of folk dance, that is a traditional dance of the people, it should be clearly understood that it is a dance for participation rather than demonstration. Its participatory nature sets country dancing apart from folk dance forms such asClogging- which is primarily demonstration dancing. The social concourse implicit in the communal nature of country dancing also distinguishes it from the ballroom dances, couple dances in which dancers dance intimately with their partners but independently of the other couples on the dance floor.North AmericanContradanceis derived from the English form country dance, though in American usage the term appears to be narrowly applied to the longways set. The Appalachian music associated with American contra-dance is to this day recognisably Anglo-Celtic in form.

TYPES

The main forms of country dancing are: longways set, square set and circle dances. By the time ofJohn Playford'sThe 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 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, orquadrille, was a group of eight 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 inIreland, under the name "set dancing" or "figure dancing".

INSTRUMENTS

Shawmsandsackbutsor thebagpipewere popular instruments for outdoor dancing because of their loudness. Every European country, not justScotland, used their own local variant of the bagpipe for country dancing. From the late 17th centuryfiddlesbegan to take over, and dancing moved indoors. The main impetus for the development of theconcertina, the melodeon and the accordion in the nineteenth century was to satisfy the market for a loud instrument for country dancing.Jane Austen,Charles DickensandThomas Hardyall loved country dancing and put detailed descriptions into their novels.

LOCATIONS

Some country dances are confined to their place of origin: Ballo Liscio in Italy, Strathspeys in Scotland,MazurkasinPoland. The appeal of country dancing is almost completely confined to Christian countries.Having said that,klezmertunes (originally Jewish) are now cropping up in public dances. TheScottish Gaelicwordceilidh(Irish ceili) is sometimes used to mean country dancing, though the original meaning was a gathering for singing and dancing.Most country dancing is pretty robust in style but in Scotland, from the late nineteenth century, a very smooth and ornate style was cultivated. Soft shoes are worn. This makes Scottish country dancing very close to ballroom dancing, particularly since formal dress (white dresses and genuinekilts) are oftende rigueur. Appalachian dancers go to the opposite extreme, with metal caps fitted to the shoes. Couple dances with a highly developed element of display, such as thetango, do not qualify as country dances.