The object of the present work is to develop a method for a structural analysis of European chain and round dance patterns with a view to establishing a categorisation of these dances according to their basic step patterns. This attempt has never been made before as surprisingly few works have been published on this subject. The first of the three volumes contains an introduction to chain and round dances in Europe and describes the collected data used for the analysis. The second volume explains how to read the catalogues and presents the groupings of the material. The third volume contains the complete material as tables and examples. The study concludes that a series of main categories can be established on the basis of the theoretical models suggested here.