Social Dance (3)
A slightly more formal occasion may have a predominance of the older period dances, such as those from the ‘Playford’ collection and other historical collections of dances. The dance might be called a Playford dance or Ball.
These dances originated from collections of English country dances from the 17th through to the 19th century, beginning with John Playford’s English Dancing Master in 1651. They were revived and popularised by Cecil Sharp in the early part of the 20th century and are similar to those seen in the dance sequences in films of Jane Austen’s novels.
Social dancers
1950
Photo: John Gay, Vaughan Williams Memorial Library collection
