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Kellom Tomlinson is justly celebrated for his beautifully illustrated treatise, The Art of Dancing (1735). He also published six dances for the Ball Room between 1715 and 1720. While apprenticed to Thomas Caverley, Tomlinson began writing a Work Book in 1708 and added to it over a number of years. The manuscript contains copies of existing publications including five dances from a French collection, and a dance by Caverley. The most significant section of the manusc ript contains six dances composed by Tomlinson and performed at Lincolns Inn Fields Theater between 1716 and 1721-there are two solos for a woman, two solos for a man, and two dances for a man and a woman.
This facsimile edition of the hitherto unpublished manuscript has dance commentary by Jennifer Shennan who is a member of Sonnerie, a New Zealand ensemble performing Baroque music and dance. The manuscript has been identified in a book collection of a family that has included several generations of d ance teachers since migrating to New Zealand from Scotland in the mid-19th century. Two other manuscripts from that family collection are being published in this series.
Review-…will prove invaluable, indeed essential, for any early-dance or dance-history library. Susan Bindig, Dance Chronicle vol. 16 no.2, 1993
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