The Dancing Master is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English Country Dance

English Country Dance

English Country Dance is a form of folk dance. It is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted to have been entertained by "Country Dancing," although the relationship of the dances she saw to the surviving dances of...

s. It was published in several editions by John Playford

John Playford

John Playford was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churches...

 and his successors from 1651 until c1728. Dances from The Dancing Master were re-published in arrangements by Cecil Sharp

Cecil Sharp

Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...

 in the early 20th century.

The first edition of The Dancing Master contained 105 dances with single line melodies. Subsequent editions introduced new songs and dances, while dropping others.

Known Editions and Supplements

• 1651 – 1st edition (the only edition to be called The English Dancing Master, published by John Playford)
• 1652 – 2nd edition
• 1657 – 3rd edition
• 1665 – 3rd edition
• 1670 – 4th edition
• 1675 – 5th edition
• 1679 – 6th edition
• 1679 – A Supplement to The Dancing-Master
• 1686 – 7th edition
• 1687? – Tunes of other Country-Dances
• 1688? – A new Additional Sheet to the Dancing-Master
• 1689? – A new Addition to the Dancing-Master
• 1690 – 8th edition (the first marked as published by Henry Playford
  Henry Playford
  Henry Playford was an English music publisher, the younger son and only known surviving child of John Playford, with whom he entered business. He lived in Arundel Street in London and had a shop near Temple Church 1685–1695 then in Temple Change 1695–1704 and finally in Middle Temple Gate in 1706...
  
  )
• 1695 – 9th edition
• 1696 – The second Part of the Dancing Master
• 1698 – The Second Part of the Dancing Master, 2nd edition
• 1698? – [Untitled supplement]
• 1698? – An Additional Sheet to the Second Part of the Dancing-Master
• 1698 – 10th edition
• 1701 – 11th edition
• 1702 – Twenty Four New Country Dances. Printed by William Pearson
  William Pearson
  William Pearson may refer to:* William Pearson , English astronomer who helped found the Royal Astronomical Society* Charles William Pearson , pioneer Anglican missionary in Uganda...
  
   for Henry Playford
• 1703 – 12th edition
• 1706 – 13th edition (the first edition published by John Young)
• 1709 – 14th edition
• 1710? – Vol. the second, 1st edition
• 1713 – 15th edition
• 1714? – Vol. the second, 2nd edition
• 1716 – 16th edition
• 1718 – Vol. the second, 3rd edition
• 1721 – Vol. the first, 17th edition
• c1726 – The Third Volume, 2nd edition
• c1728 – Vol. the first, 18th edition
• 1728 – Vol. the second, 4th edition

External links

• The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium, a comprehensive scholarly database allowing comparisons across all versions of Playford's work
• First Edition
• Second Edition
• Tenth Edition, facsimile at Library of Congress
• What are 'Playford' dances?
• Online Playford, dance reconstructions by John Garden
• The Dancing Masters, one of several music ensembles around the world devoting their music entirely to Playford's dances
• Origins of 'Playford' Dances, traces back the origins of dances found in the Playford books
• John Playford and The English Dancing Master, British Library's virtual exhibition