English Square Dance
Square dance is a folk dance with four couples (eight dancers) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side. The dance was first described in 17th century England but was also quite common in France and throughout Europe and bears a marked similarity to Scottish Country Dancing. It has become associated with the United States of America due to its historic development in that country. Nineteen US states have designated it as their official state dance. Traditional square dance, which is also called "old time square dance". Traditional square dance is not standardized and can be subdivided into regional styles. The New England and Appalachian styles have been particularly well documented; both have survived to the present time. One ancestor of New England style square dances is the quadrille, and older New England callers occasionally refer to their squares as “quadrilles.”
English Country Dance
Published instructions for English Country Dance first appear in John Playford's The English Dancing Master of 1651. This collection was reprinted, revised, and enlarged many times, with a final edition published sometime around 1728. In the early 20th century, English Country Dance was revived in England by Cecil Sharp, who is well known in the folk world for collecting folksongs. English Country Dance continues today as a social dancing form, in Britain, the United States, and around the world. There are several related dance forms, such as Scottish country dance, Contra dance, and square dance.
Longsword Dance
The Long Sword dance is mainly from Yorkshire, England. It is related to toher forms of sword dance but uses rigid metal or wooden swords, rather than the flexible spring steel rappers used by its northern relation. Long Sword dances vary in the way they are performed, with some being slow and militaristicor performed with pace and speed. They have different features including variations of numbers of dancers and distinctive movements. Unlike many traditional dances in England, which are mainly performed by revival teams, Long Sword dances are often still performed by their own village teams who generally maintain the traditions of their dances with traditional performances on specific days of the year.
