These indexes are for the dances included in Playford’s 18 editions of the Dancing Master published between 1651 and 1728, sometimes called Volume One.
Standardized Titles – Often titles changed or alternate titles were added or removed. This index standardizes the titles with the ones most frequently used through the publication of each dance.
Publication Information – A sortable list of all the dances with the year they were first published and which editions they were published in.
Comprehensive Table of Contents – A sortable list of page numbers for every edition available.
Dances Continually Published – A list of the dances that were included in every one of the 18 editions of Playford’s Dancing Master.
Dance Steps Used – A list of all the dance figures used throughout the 18 editions, followed by lists of all the dances that use each of those figures.
Dance Complexity – Dance steps or figures affect the complexity of the dance. The more involved the steps or the greater variety of different activities included in the dance, the harder the dance can be to learn. This index sorts the dance by quantities of different steps or figures.
Dance Groupings – Each dance requires that the dancers be arranged in a particular way, such as in a circle or line. Some dances are for a specific number of people, while others are for “as many as will.” This index sorts all the dances by how the dancers are grouped and arranged.
Most Common Dance Figures – Some steps or figures are more common in Playford’s Dancing Master than others. This index lists the dance figures and some qualities of the dances, ranked by how many of the 488 dances use them.
Musical Elements – A chart of all the dances with their key and time signatures, how many sections repeat, and how many measures are in each section.