Set Running - Cecil Sharp in America
The name "running set" comes to us from the work of the great English song collector Cecil Sharp, founder of the English Folk Dance Society and, in 1915, what became Country Dance and Song Society. During the years 1916–18, Sharp and his colleague Maud Karpeles spent more than 40 weeks traveling throughout the southern Appalachians, collecting ballads and other songs.
It was at a school in Pine Mountain, Kentucky, that Sharp first encountered dancing on August 31, 1917. No musicians were present, but someone commented, "Let's run a set," and people started clapping hands to set a beat for the dancers. (That casual comment became solidified as Sharp dubbed the observed dance form the "running set.") Sharp was entranced by the dancing and took detailed notes on a later occasion that form the basis of his description in his Country Dance Book. He wrote in his diary (October 8, 1917), "This dance is as valuable a piece of work as anything I have done in the mountains."
Michael Yates, an Englishman, has written a detailed account of Sharp's travels in America that appeared in the journal Musical Traditions. If you're only interested in the dance part, once you've opened the article, do a search in your browser for "Pine Mountain" and it will take you to the right place.
There are many resources in this collection that relate to set running. Stew Shacklette and the Kentucky Dance Foundation created a video with instruction and a demonstration; North Carolina dance historian Phil Jamison discusses the dance and Cecil Sharp in a videotaped interview. The Search function will bring up additional examples.
Subjects: Southern / Appalachian / Big sets
Tags: Appalachia, article, big set, Cecil Sharp, Kentucky running set, Maud Karpeles, Michael Yates, running set, set running
Item Relations
| Item: Phil Jamison 4 - Cecil Sharp and the "running set" | is related to | This Item |
| Item: Origin of Appalachian Square Dance | is related to | This Item |
| Item: Kentucky Set Running - 1917 firsthand account | is related to | This Item |
| Item: Cecil Sharp at Pine Mountain Settlement School | is related to | This Item |
| Item: Big set - Silver Spurs | is related to | This Item |
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It was at a school in Pine Mountain, Kentucky, that Sharp first encountered dancing on August 31, 1917. No musicians were present, but someone commented, "Let's run a set," and people started clapping hands to set a beat for the dancers. (That casual comment became solidified as Sharp dubbed the observed dance form the "running set.") Sharp was entranced by the dancing and took detailed notes on a later occasion that form the basis of his description in his Country Dance Book. He wrote in his diary (October 8, 1917), "This dance is as valuable a piece of work as anything I have done in the mountains."
Michael Yates, an Englishman, has written a detailed account of Sharp's travels in America that appeared in the journal Musical Traditions. If you're only interested in the dance part, once you've opened the article, do a search in your browser for "Pine Mountain" and it will take you to the right place.
There are many resources in this collection that relate to set running. Stew Shacklette and the Kentucky Dance Foundation created a video with instruction and a demonstration; North Carolina dance historian Phil Jamison discusses the dance and Cecil Sharp in a videotaped interview. The Search function will bring up additional examples.