James Scott Skinner: The People’s Ball Room Guide’

The Collection's Dance Entries · Changing fashions · Francis Peacock
The Ball-Room Guide · ‘A Guide to Fashionable Dancing’
‘The People’s Ball Room Guide’ · Illustrated Guide to the National Dances of Scotland
‘Highland Dancing in the Olden Times’ · Dance Video Clips

(JSS0900-JSS0949)

Like the other manuals, ‘The People’s Ball Room Guide’ was meant to reinforce what dancers learned at classes. It also gives plenty of hints on how to behave on the dance floor.

Many dances are mentioned in the other manuals, for example:

• Quadrilles (JSS0910, JSS0911, JSS0912)
• Lancers (JSS0913, JSS0914)
• The Waltz (JSS0914, JSS0915)
• The Polka (JSS0916, JSS0917)

Skinner wrote music to accompany each of the dances he describes in ‘The People’s Ball Room Guide’.

You can watch most of the dances described here, including the Highland Fling, on video clips.

Pat Ballantyne

Historic Collections · Kings College · Old Aberdeen · AB24 3SW
Tel:(0)44 1224 274312 · E-mail: scottskinner@abdn.ac.uk