I accept the logic of your argument Howard - and if people want to "dance well and learn more" and "there don't seem to be many opportunities to learn" - perfectly true.

I am making two points I guess: Who is defining "dancing well"? Is it the shear joy of dancing with other people to appropraite music or is it dancing specific and sometimes complicated steps that take quite a time to learn? I don't think the answer is one or the other, they are both versions of dancing well.

The second point is about the nature of "English Country Dancing". Great danger here of going down the road of what is folk - but here I go: On this thread, in the folk scene, at dance clubs and festivals I guess we have some collective idea of what ECD is. Maybe not, but lets start there.

Sharp published those 10 volumes of "Country Dance Tunes" and they clearly represent a considerable influence on what, in the 20C became known as ECD - is that right? The first two volumes have the line "Collected in Country Villages"

As I pointed out above, 8 of the volumes are from Playford, first published in the 17 & 18C. Did some of these Playford dances 'leek' into the country side? I guess they did but I don't know - maybe others can answer the question.

What seems reasonably clear is that Playford, the Dancing Master, was organising dances for relatively rich (urban?) people, dancing in well appointed ballrooms and not for farm workers dancing in pubs or barns. Playford Balls are a feature of the world of ECD but to get to the point - are they "Country Dances" in any meanigful sense?

So, what on earth am I wittering on about? This thread "English Folk Dancing - Present and Future" - generated by Derek Schoffield from an article in the EFDSS publication "English Dance and Song" asks the question 'Will ECD survive?'

I think it's best chance is at the wedding and community dances partly because they are most fun and that is because that is the true heritage of ECD.

God, I can bore for England.

Trust that is clear and best wishes

L in C#