Historical Resources

It is not always clear, if at all, where the demarcation between 'folk dance' and 'historic dance' lies, and the study of one perforce includes the other.

Internet Resources

For a bibliography of the history of social dance have a look at this list on the Stanford University website.

A long list of historical dance instruction manuals have been digitised by the Library of Congress. Includes Arbeau, Weaver, Feuillet, Playford, Wilson et.al.

There is a further list of historical British dance material at this Russian site, The St.Petersburg Ball

Many later dances can be found together with the tunes for those dances, and you will find links to them if you look on the Tunebooks List

A treasure trove website with much of great interest to say about historic dance is the Society for Creative Anachronism

The Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society

The Pattricke/Lovelace MS

A very interesting little-known English manuscript from the early 17th century containing the instructions for thirty two country dances has been discovered relatively recently. More information and an analysis of the dances can be found on Dafydd Cyhoeddwr's website

Playford's Dancing Master

Follow this link to John Playford