Royal Scottish Country Dance Society

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, or RSCDS, was founded in 1923 as the »Scottish Country Dance Society« by Jean Milligan and Ysobel Stewart of Fasnacloich, who wanted to preserve country dancing »as performed in Scotland«, country dancing having fallen into disuse after the influx of continental ballroom dances such as the waltz or quadrilles and, later on, American-style dances like the One-step or foxtrot. (The SCDS didn't become the RSCDS until the early 1950s.)

The RSCDS collected dances from living memory as well as from old (17-19c.) manuscripts and republished them in a series of books. Most of these dances needed some interpretation, and the dance style itself underwent serious standardization, becoming much more »balletic« instead of the easy-going style that was the norm in the early 20th century, and which the RSCDS's founders considered sloppy and untraditional. After some argument, in the late 1940s the RSCDS also started publishing newly-devised dances.

Today the RSCDS numbers some 20.000 members all over the world, and the continuous well-being of the Scottish country dance scene is largely due to the efforts of »the Society«. The RSCDS offers teacher training and holds an annual »summer school« in St. Andrews, Scotland. Its web site is at http://www.rscds.org/ .