Early Dance – or Historical Dance, as it is also known – covers all social dancing for which there are surviving records, ranging from the mediaeval period to the end of the 20th century. It also includes theatrical dance up to the middle of the 18th century, after which theatrical dance became a purely professional activity.

The Middle Ages are a period for which there are no known extant choreographies. There is, however, ample music that clearly is for dance. Several researchers and practitioners have made credible new choreographies to suit this music.

The Renaissance period of dance covers at least two centuries and, for dancers, falls into two distinct parts. The Early Renaissance covers the later 15th and early 16th centuries, while the Late Renaissance covers the rest of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries. This division is made on the basis of available documentary sources and the changing styles of dance that they record. Despite the chronological limits given above, the Early Renaissance period of dance is commonly referred to by dancers as ‘Fifteenth Century’ and the Late Renaissance period of dance as ‘Sixteenth Century’.

The earliest original source of complete (realisable) choreographies is an Italian manuscript of c.1455. The dance descriptions contained are purely verbal, detailing a sequence of steps with minimal directional instruction. From this and a number of later sources, both Italian and Burgundian, we are able to reconstruct dances with a reasonable degree of confidence in their accuracy. The Italian dances may use up to four distinct rhythms in a single piece, and some are composed to illustrate a particular theme or scenario.

The sources for this period are English texts, formerly known as the ‘Inns of Court manuscripts’, and manuals of a number of Italian dancing masters. The Italian dances are still described verbally but in considerably greater detail than was usual in the Early Renaissance. The step-vocabulary has become more elaborate, placing the interest strongly on the footwork, while many floor-patterns are based on symmetrical figures.

For the most part, the development of dance styles in the 17th century is obscure. Sources for the first quarter-century are often difficult to understand; by the last quarter the Baroque style has already come into being. In England, however, the publication of Playford’s English Dancing Master in 1651 provides our first major source for the country dance, which soon achieved lasting popularity in the ballroom and even now remains England’s principal contribution to the international repertoire of social dance. In the 18th century this English style led to the development of Scottish country dance as we know it today.

The baroque style of dance evolved during the middle of the 17th century, although our knowledge of it comes primarily from texts published in the last decade of the century and in the first thirty-five years of the 18th century. This is the first time that dance steps are accompanied by highly codified use of the hands and arms. Dance notation is no longer verbal, and it is necessary to study contemporary dance manuals in order to understand the relevant diagrams.

Industrial development, the move to the towns and the political upheavals of the later 19th century produced changes in social structure that also affected the world of dance. Couple dances which permitted many people to take the floor simultaneously became prevalent with the advent of the waltz and polka. Both of these were initially regarded as scandalous because of the close proximity of man and woman and because of the exhilaration of constant spinning. As quadrilles gained in popularity, so the steps were gradually simplified until, by the end of the century, they were virtually walked. By then, however, more modern fashions were beginning to be seen, as the tango and ragtime moved into Europe from the Americas.

The study of 20th-century dancing is already under way using the same methods that have been applied to earlier periods. The written sources are, in principle, far more abundant and detailed (not only instruction manuals, but newspapers, magazines, posters, programmes), but are still, in practice, frustratingly difficult to locate. We have recorded music (on wax, shellac, vinyl, magnetic tape, CD, and digital media), but it is the invention of moving pictures, captured on photographic film or video, that has revolutionised our ability to study the actual movements of many dancers in the 20th century. Nevertheless, these are not universally available and do not always give the complete picture, so established methods of historical research are still required.