COUNTRY DANCE, a popular English dance of earlier centuries, which gave its name in due course, though in a cor rupted form, to the French contredanse and the German contre tanz. In the matter of its steps and figures it seems to have varied greatly, being sometimes of the "round" character, sometimes "up and down," sometimes introducing "realistic" figures, and so on, while as regards its music equal latitude prevailed, so that it could be danced to almost any kind of popular air of a brisk char acter and well-marked rhythms. A well-known collection of such tunes is that contained in Playford's English Dancing Master (1651).