Page "English country dance" Paragraph 6

Although John Playford used the sub-title Plaine and easie Rules for the Dancing of Country Dances, with the Tune to each Dance, anyone who studies the book now will quickly discover that this is not true.

The style is very condensed, with many mistakes, possibly as a quick reminder to people who had danced the dances before and knew exactly what the terms meant.

When Cecil Sharp produced his interpretations he was working in the dark, and others have built on ( and sometimes disagreed with ) his work.

Later interpreters include Douglas and Helen Kennedy, Pat Shaw, Tom Cook, Ken Sheffield, Charles Bolton, Michael Barraclough, Colin Hume and Andrew Shaw.

Some are concerned with producing something as close as possible to the original ; others will introduce major changes in order to make the dance more interesting.