Scott MacHaffie's home page - Irish and Scottish dancing
Some of these books are linked to Amazon.com.
Emmerson, George S.,
ISBN: 0-7735-0087-1
5 stars -- worth buying if you are interested in a detailed history of Scottish dancing
This book covers the history of Scottish dancing from its origins in the Middle Ages to modern Scottish dancing. If you are interested in the history of Scottish dancing, it is worth getting.
One thing to note is that this book is extensive in its coverage of the history of Scottish dancing, it is by no means complete. For example, in term of medieval and Renaissance times, my web pages cover some sources which this book doesn't.
Ewart, David and Ewart, May,
ISBN: 1-8515-8845-0
Buy Scottish Ceilidh Dancing at Amazon.com
Flett, J. P., and Flett, T. M.,
ISBN: 0-7100-1369-8
ISBN: 0-7102-0731-X
5 stars -- worth buying if you are interested in dances which are different (and older) than Royal Scottish Country Dancing
This book is interesting because both this book and the next book (by the same authors) are the results of field-work to discover what dancing used to be like. They interviewed numerous elderly people in the 1950's and 60's to see what they remembered of dancing in their childhood. The dances and the dance steps are different than what is currently taught in the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.
5 stars -- worth buying if you are interested in an older form of Scottish step-dancing
Again, this book, like the previous book, is a result of the authors' field work in the 1950's and 60's talking to elderly people about what they remembered of dancing from their childhood.
MacGillivray, Allister,
Buy Cape Breton Ceilidh at Amazon.com
Martin, Christine (compiler) and Huges, Anne (Compiler),
Buy The Scottish Ceilidh Collection for... at Amazon.com.
Milligan, Jean C.,
4 stars -- worth buying if you are looking for a good collection of Scottish country dances
This book is a good standard book of Scottish country dances. It has descriptions of steps and figures in the beginning of the book. The majority of the book is descriptions of Scottish country dances. The descriptions are done fairly well. Typically, each dance will have at least one diagram for the figures. There is no history of the dances given, unlike some of the other books.
Shepherd, Robbie,
ISBN: 0 86241 412 1
3 stars -- worth buying for beginners with an interest in learning how to dance, plus some history and music
This book has a collection of a wide variety of dances. Each dance has a brief history, together with the steps and suggested music. There is also a section in the back which has some sheet music for the dances.
The book pulls together standard dances from a variety of sources. For example, you get dances such as "The Virginia Waltz" and "The Eightsome Reel". As an overview (or for a beginner), it is okay. As a more experienced dancer, however, I would look for a book which has more of a focus. For example, Scottish Country dances (or even more specifically, Scottish Country dances in a particular format like "Longwise sets of 4").
Buy Let's Have a Ceilidh at Amazon.com.