This art has been anciently handled by Athenaeus, Julius Pollux, Caelius Rhodiginus, and others, and much commend it to be excellent for recreation, after more serious studies, making the body active and strong, graceful in deportment, and a quality very much be seeming a Gentleman.' John Playford


In the 17th and 18th centuries, John Playford and his successors published The English Dancing Master. a manual of instructions for hundreds of dances. It consisted of dance tunes and brief notes on how the dance was done. Reconstructions of many of the dances are available these days, but many of them include dance movements that did not appear in the original, and other changes.

In this section, all the dances have the original instructions and the original tune.

Each dance in this section has a twin in Contemporary Playford which contain minor changes. Where dances have the 1s doing most of the work, I have given the other dancers more to do. Triple minor dances have been changed to duple minors or 3-couple sets. The dances in the section all have different names, to distinguish them from their authentic Playford counterpart.

In reconstructing the dances, I start with what we know:
  • Playford marks which instructions go with which part of the music
  • Instructions were for the 1s, unless stated otherwise
  • Playford gave us a diagram of where the dancers stand at the start of a dance
  • Improper dances were rare and were always marked as such
  • Dancers learned some intricate footwork, which took up more time than a simple walking step

If you like your Playford pure and simple, with no additives, you will like the dances in this section.
If you'd prefer a more modern interpretation, see Contemporary Playford.

Playing for Early Dancing - a guide for musicians

Fun with Playford - adapting Playford to appeal to the modern dancer
Original Playford material was obtained from Playford’s Dancing Master: The Compleat Dance Guide